Concrete Christian Prayer

Introduction

2006-07-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

“The names of the gates were these: Ear-gate, Eye-gate, Mouth-gate,Nose-gate, and Feel-gate”
- John Bunyan
As quoted in “The Marvelous City of Mansoul”
by A.P. Gibb

“let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak”
James 1:19

Yes, this is yet another book about prayer. And possibly one that is a little off the beaten track. And who am I to write such thing as a book that tells other people how they should pray? The shear impertinence!

I am reminded of a remark J.R.R. Tolkien once made about a new book on prayer his good friend, C.S. Lewis, had come out with (Letters to Malcolm Chiefly on Prayer). One of Tolkien’s other friends had asked him what Lewis’ new book was about. And he replied “It’s about Lewis praying.” Yes, this could very well be a book about how Stephenson prays, but I hope you will forgive my effrontery. I really do have a serious reason for writing this book.

My reason is that I grew up in a fundamental Christian home, and among fundamental Christians, but it was not until December 3rd, 1995 - when I was thirty-nine years old! - that I stumbled upon the fact that prayer actually does change things in daily life.

All my life before then, I had thought of prayer as a “spiritual duty” that was part of my on and off “devotions” and part of the public functions of the Christian assemblies I had fellowshiped with. I had always thought of prayer as something that had to do with the heavenly realm that had no significance or ability to change anything “down here.” Prayer always felt to me like I was stuffing an old, cobwebby suggestion box that had a rusty lock on it -- something that I could continue to deposit my concerns into without ever knowing if anyone was going to act on them or not.

The scandal of this - that I could grow up in a fundamental Christian milieu and not really believe in prayer - is one reason why I have decided to write this book and share with you what I have learned. I suspect there may be a good number of people brought up as Christians who have never learned how to pray properly and see their prayers answered.

My other reason is that I often regret how long it took me to discover the reality of prayer. I think about how much of my life I have wasted because I did not have the direction of the All-Seeing God. If I had only known when I was a youngster! If I had only known when I was in high school! If I had only known when I went to college! My life could have been completely different from the way it has turned out now. Spiritually speaking, “I coulda beena contenda!”

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. My life has turned out the way it did. Even that was God’s will. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”(Ps 37:23, KJV) By Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, I have had my bad removed from God’s sight and His good accounted to me. Despite my ignorance and spiritual deafness, I have always been where God wanted me to be. I just wish I had really known that during those times! But God is kind. “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25, KJV). I’ve still got a lot of life in me yet. And in writing this book, I hope to not only revive older persons in their prayer life, but also ignite young people in true prayer so that they will have a flying start in their Christian lives.

I am not saying that this is the way of prayer. I am saying that it is a way of prayer. One that opened up to me true prayer and fellowship with God. And for all of its stranger elements, it is Biblically based.

I need to give you a warning before you go further in this book: If you do not know Christ as your savior, this book may do you more harm than good. The harm is this: If you do not know Christ as your savior, and persist inordinately in prayer without Him, you may end up in communication with beings who are not the triune Godhead of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. The case of the evil King Ahab is instructive:

19 And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up andfall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?
21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.

2 Chr 18:19-21, KJV

The God of Heaven has revealed that: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”(Acts 4:12,KJV) To go on in prayer while ignoring this revelation is to risk attracting the attention of lying spirits who are always ready to volunteer their services against the souls of men. God turned against Ahab because he did evil and because he listened to prophets who were not prophets of the true and living God.

If this is all news to you, you need to read one or more of what are called “the gospels” in the Bible (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). The word “gospel” is an old English word for “good news.” And it is very good news. You can also read Christian books that are about the gospel, or you can read my Internet document entitled Twenty Seven Metaphors to a Grasp of Happiness.

In that document, I do my best to break the gospel message down into modern metaphors that modern people can understand while using as few Bible quotations as possible. I use as few Bible verses as possible, not because I have something against the Bible, but rather because the revelation the Bible presents is often couched in ancient and rural metaphors that are foreign to modern, urban minds. The revelation is the same. The metaphors have been modernized.

In any case, the point is that you need to be connected to God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit before you embark on a life of prayer.

One last thing. Just because I have written this book, no one should presume my spiritual life is better, or more advanced than another person's. I make no such claim. I have come to concrete prayer late in my life, and it shows. The only thing I have to say for myself is that God has a habit of using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. ( 1 Cor. 1:27). I assure you that you would be hard put to find a weaker or more foolish Christian than I.

Now, to get on with it!

Table of Contents

Part I - Airy-Fairy Prayer

-Chapter 1 Unknown Recipient

-Chapter 2 Lack of Direction

-Chapter 3 Conscious or Unconscious Unbelief

-Chapter 4 A Lack of Expectation and "Book keeping"

-Chapter 5 Lack of Persistence

---Caring, Bleeding, and Persistence

---Unconscious Inhibitions to Caring

-Chapter 6 - Un-thankfulness

Part II Concrete Prayer

---The Disciples Prayer
---A Note on Spiritual Immodesty

-Chapter 1 The Hallowing of the Name
---Ontology
---Reputation
---Signifier of Transformation
---The Personal Name of God
---The LORD’s Opinion of His Name
---The Basis of Communication
---Prayer Begins with a Name
---Names as Powers
---The Great Provision and the Great Permission
---Reciprocal Hallowing

-Chapter 2 Surrendering to Direction
---The Use and Abuse of Prayer
---Who Really Does The Praying
---The Ground Zero Prayer

-Chapter 3 The Reality of Prayer
---Can It Be Real?
---Contingent Truth
---Experiences?
---A Metaphor of the Reality of Prayer
---Practical Considerations
---The Subconscious and Synchronicity
---The Personal Reality of Answered Prayer
---The Objective Reality of Answered Prayer
---Time Versus Eternity
---But Not in a Vacuum
---Israel’s Testimony and the Birth of Science

-Chapter 4 The Green Eyeshade and the Telephoto Lens
---Recorded Prayers
---George Muller’s Green Eyeshade
---My Green Eyeshade
---The Telephoto Lens of the Serious Naturalist

Chapter 5 Keeping at It
---The Paradox of Repetition
---Vain Repetitions
---Why Prayer? Why Repetition?
---But "Without Ceasing?"
---Bombs away!
---Tag Team
---Other People’s Written Prayers
---Metaprayers
---Conformity to His Image and Into His Body
---Spinning Your Wheels
---Response to Evil: A Personal Odyssey

-Chapter 6 Staying Out of the Spiritual District Court of Thankyou
---Giving God Credit
---Out in Left Field

-Chapter 7 - The Word of God, Prayer, Santification, and Mysticism
---The Word of God
---Conversations with God - NOT!
---The Journey of a Thousand Miles ...
---... Begins With The First Step
---Imprints
---At the Root and Not the Fruit
---My Little Method of Bible Study
---Not in 15 Minutes ...
---... Nor a Lifetime
---The Swinging of the Front and Back Doors
---Not Christ, But I!
---A Stubborn Habit?
---No, It’s More Then Likely You Can
---The Strength that is Weakness
---The Deathly Deadly Clockwork Oranges
---The Deeper Life That Isn’t
---God’s Grace versus Lasciviousness
---The Anatomy of a Fifty Foot Fall
---The Cure of All Things
---Mysticism
---Mysticism and the Occult

Part III - Putting It All Together - Your First Prayer Notebook

Part IV Corporate Prayer

Epilogue - The Object Supreme

Epilogue - The Object Supreme

2005-08-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

When I was a Child ...

When I was a young teenage boy, I “went forward” during the “alter call” of a Baptist church service. With the front door of my mind, I “comitted my life to Christ,” as the terminology is used in evangelical Christianity. I was only somewhat aware of how much was still uncommittted, behind the back door. I was to discover that what was behind the backdoor was hugh in comparision to what was in the front door. I had many, many years of what evangelical Christianity calls “backsliding.” And many many years of what Evangelical Christianity calls “recomitting to Christ.” And with those years were years of a dreadful shuttling back and forth between those two extremes.

Today, I still have a termendous, hugh caboose behind the back door. That I know. But I am also being confirmed in my stablity in Christ.

II Th 2:16-17

16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

(KJV)

It was by God’s allowance that I discovered concrete prayer and was led into this stablility that has come into my life. The communication is now two way, and “He leadeth me.” (Psalm 23).

But what is it He has led me to?

When I was that young teenage boy in the Baptist church back then, every now and then I would hear one Christian say to another, “That brother really loves the Lord.” And I would cringe in my inward soul.

To escape hell, I went forward. To get peace from the omnipresent media news of death, destruction, violence, cruelty, hate, crime, madness, viciousness, meaness, meaninglessness, ugliness, and injustice, I went forward. To have some guidance into the terrifying and incompetent adulthood I was about to enter into, I went forward.

To love Christ, I went not forward.

To love a Lord? What was that? To me, in the deepest recess of my teenage soul, it seemed more like toadying to a totalitarian, booklicking a boss, placating a principal. I feared God. I respected God. I loved His justice on the rare occasions I saw it visited on the wicked. But to love Him? That seemed like flattery on a cosmic scale. Loving God was something I thought people did who tended to overdo things. Guilding the lily, as it were. I could not imagine God wanting me to love Him. I mean, God was God, and would always be God. That was His job, and He would not be one iota affected by my loving Him.

I recall an old story about one of the cruel autocratic German kaisers of two centuries back. The story is that there was a really mean kaiser, who liked to travel the streets incognito. One time a German peasant recognized him on the street and then tried to get away from him. But the monster caught the peasant and yelled at him, “Why do you run away?” The peasant was so terrified that honesty tumbled from his lips: “Your majesty, I was afraid of you.” And there upon the autocrat’s anger was kindled as he began to beat the peasant with his cain and yell “Fear me? Fear me? You dumkopf swine! I vant you to love me!” Whack! Whack! Whack!

That was the viscerial feeling. It felt inappropriate to love the Lord. Let alone say it out loud. And being a teenage boy didn’t help. Guys don’t say they love another guy, even if the guy in question is God incarnate.

In a lot of the hymns I was forced to sing, there was a lot of invented emotion I was forced to come up with:

There is a Name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest Name on earth.
Refrain:
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Savior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His precious blood,
The sinner’s perfect plea.

O HOW I LOVE JESUS, Frederick Whitfield, 1855

And there was also a lot of “gun to the head” kind of love that seemed to want to wring out of me more than I could possbly give:

All for Jesus, all for Jesus!
All my being’s ransomed powers:
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours.

Refrain:
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
All my days and all my hours;
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
All my days and all my hours.

Let my hands perform His bidding,
Let my feet run in His ways;
Let my eyes see Jesus only,
Let my lips speak forth His praise.

ALL FOR JESUS, Mary D. James, 1871

And quite frankly the Old Testament revelation of this God appeared to show some unlovely things about Him:

A streak of nastiness a mile wide.

Exod 20:4-5

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

(KJV)

A low tolerance for being sassed.
Lev 24:10-16

10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;

11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)

12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.

13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.

16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

(KJV)

An intolerance for “Romeo and Juliet” stories.

Num 25:1-11

1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;

8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

(KJV)

The mass murder of children and even infants.

Deut 2:32-34

32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

(KJV)

Ps 137:8-9

8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

(KJV)

These are unlovely things about this God had I committed myself to in the person of His Son. And yet He commanded me to love Hm “with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deut 6:5), along with my neighbor as myself. (Lev. 19:18).

The most I could say was that I liked God, but not that I loved Him. And as it happened, that was also true of my neighbors in regard to myself. Having grown up hard of hearing in a school system not characterized by Leviticus 19:14 ( “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD”), I had grown up with not much of a liking for people either, even if I could sympathize with them from time to time and wish them well. What I had for myself at that time was the golden idol of the self. That I could love unreservedly, even if it was a base and debasing idol to love.

... Then I Became a Man (of God)

God had His work cut out for Him. And this he proceded to do.

I had come to Him with a profession of John 3:16 on my lips. He was to take me and destroy everything I thought I understood about Him, and then pound some Jame 1:17 belief into me as well as some more John 3:16 belief. It was rough work.

My destruction was by the way of Job, with liberal helpings of Ecclesiasties along the way. Daily did those books of the Bible resonant with me. The toils of theodicy were liberally mixed together with the futility of life “under the sun.” This became my daily spiritual food.

Job 3:1-7

1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

2 And Job spake, and said,

3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

(KJV)

Eccl 1:2-11

2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

(KJV)

A pitiless, pitiless grinding and regrinding to dust, to atoms, of all I could love or put my hope in that was on earth.

Ps 90:3-4

3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

(KJV)

But always, always with the question of Abraham’s great faith:

“That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:25, KJV)

Unto Perfection?

Then one day an extraordinary thing happened to me while I was doing something as ordinary as buying groceries in a grocery store. Between walking from the side of one aisle to other, the following verse fragment popped into my mind:

“... God is love...” (1 John 4:16)

But that was not the extraordinary thing. Verses of scripture often pop into the heads of people who read Bible with any great regularity. This even happens with secular books.

The extraordinary thing was what happened next: I had an unbidden mental image come into my mind.

Since I was a scientific person , the image that came into my head was this:

I saw our solar system in space. I saw the mighty sun in the center, and all the planets going around it, in majestic procession. And then I saw that the heat energy of the sun was radiating, spherically radiating, ever and ever on all of the planets, ceaselessly and without fail, with more generosity than the wealthiest man in all history. Just radiating and radiating on them, on and on. And then I remembered a stray fact from astronomy to the affect that for all the heat energy the sun releases every second, only the tinest faction of it ever reaches the planets, and lesser still of it ever reaches the surface of a planet because its planetary magnetic field or its atmosphere absorb it.

Then suddenly this unbidden image and its odd factoid changed in my mind into something of like a spiritual allegory that explained what “God is love” really means. It showed me that God’s love is so infinite that it is infinitely unrequited. God’s love radiates ever and ever on every atom of the universe He has made, but very little of it is ever returned and requited by the objects He so shines it upon.

And my breath was taken away. Here was the consentration and perfection of the most ultimate love there could ever be, radiating itself eternally and infinitely -- and all for just the meagerest returns of love from its creatures. My heart was caught, and tears started in my eyes. Right in the middle of the grocery store.

Now fortunately I am, most of the time, a fairly cross-grained, hard case of a man, so I did not make a scene, even through scene had been made in me. I harumphed, wiped my eyes quickly and got back about my business.

But I knew I had been visited. An with a particular visitation. But what was the nature of this visitation? Had anybody else had something like this happen to them?

Later on I was to find out that, oh yes, somebody had:

"In this vision he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, and it was round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought "What may this be?" And it was generally answered thus: "It is all that is made." I marvelled how it might last, for it seemed it might suddenly have sunk into nothing because of its littleness. And I was answered in my
understanding: "It lasts and ever shall, because God loves it."
-- Lady Julian of Norwich (1324 - c1416)

Now, do realize that by adducing Lady Julian of Norwich here, I am not thereby ratifying everything she wrote, for she wrote for her time and her place. But what I am pointing out is that I had a similiar internal experience of a truth that is found in the Bible that was presented to me by way of an unbidden mental representation.

Julian called her representation a “vision,” because that was what they were commonly called in her time. I am calling mine an “unbidden mental representation” because I realize that the truth being illustrated by it, as written in the Word of God, has the rightful prior claim to anyone’s attention. My “unbidden mental represention,” while communicating things to me that cold print and my own mental framework could not, still remains a communication to me and not to anyone else.

This was, as I was finally able to figure out after along time, mysticism. It was an internal communication of the Spirit of God to my own tiny spirit.

Mysticism is not a thinking of what God thinks, it is a feeling of what God feels. It is to feel the overwhelming unrequiteness of His great love, and to love Him for it. That, and nothing else, it what mysticism is supposed to be for. It is not for trying to know what mysteries God may know without feeling anything towards Him. It is not for having estatic experiences, or experiencing paranormal phenomena. And it is most certainly not for making a big whoop-de-do over yourself.

Mysticsim is for feeling what God feels, so you can love Him for it and fullfill His commandment to love Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might, no matter how feeble your prompted obedience to that commandment is. In the end, it is the difference between having read “God is love” thousands and thousands of times, and having experienced that one moment that reveals to you what it really means and weeping over it.

This is why I have insisted throughout this book that Christianity is a bicycle with two wheels: The Bible, and the experience of the Holy Spirit of God. The external written Word of God, and the internal voice of the Living Word of God.

If we have only the dry reading of the written word, we will read that God is love thousands of time but never will the Lord find an answer to it in our own hearts. If we await only the voice with within, we may fail to recognize whose voice it is and fall prey to the one that is not from God. The Word and the Spirit. They go together, or they do not go.

This is what the writer of the book of Hebrews calls going unto “completion” - which is mistranslated as “perfection.”

Heb 6:1-2

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

(KJV)

The word “perfection” is in fact teleiotes, which according to Strong’s Greek Dictionary means “a completer, i.e. consummater.” What is it this writer says should be consumated? Well, the key doctrines of the Christian faith - what the writer calls “the foundation”:

1.) repentance from dead works,
2.) faith toward God,
3.) the doctrine of baptisms (the one into Christ and the one into water)
4.) laying on of hands
5.) resurrection of the dead
6.) eternal judgment.

The writer is complaining to the people he is addressing his letter to that it seems like they have to be taught these things again, that their foundation has to be laid again, when they should already have gone on to consumate these teachings and be standing on them as a foundation.
That is an interesting statement to make, because if you look at that list of doctrines: 1.) repentance from dead works, 2.) faith toward God, 3.) the doctrine of baptisms, 4.) laying on of hands, 5.) resurrection of the dead, and 6.) eternal judgment, you will quicky realize that they are what ninety-nine percent of all Christian books, sermons, videos, conferences, TV shows, radio shows, and tape casscette series are about. The writer to the Hebrews says that these things are foundational, and should only have been laid down only once, for each believer. This should tell us one reason why most church services are so boring. They are repetitions and recapitulations of all this basic information which should be every Christian's foundational understanding of the faith.

So if these doctrines are merely the foundation, what sits upon them? What does this foundation support? After giving out the famous “roll call of faith” (Hebrews 11) the writer of Hebrews goes on to tell his readers:

Heb 12:1-2

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [ the roll call of faith that he just gave ], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God...

(KJV)

What sits upon that foundation is the looking unto Jesus. And how it is that we look unto a man whom a lot of other people say is dead and buried? By faith to be sure - as the previous chapter 11 of Hebrews was so intent on demonstrating. But how is that faith practically expressed day by day? It is expressed concretely in concrete prayer. One prays unto the Father, in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. And one receives answers of one sort or another that daily proves that He is there, and that He answers prayer. This is the practical, concrete meaning of looking unto Jesus, and having faith in Christ.

The whole point about knowing all the foundational doctrines of Christianity is not knowing about all the foundational doctrines of Christianity. The whole point about knowing all the foundational doctrines of Christianity is so that you, yourself, can pray concretely to the Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, by means of the Holy Spirit of God indwelling you. The whole point of the Bible is, first to make you aware of this relationship, and then secondly to help you sustain it and grow in it while you are still down here below, while Christ is still up there in heaven at His Father’s right hand. That is essentially what true Christianity is about.

And this is all geared towards helping you run the race.

Tour de Heaven

So where did my bicycle take me? It took me on an accelerating path to finding more things to love God for, and give Him His due worship. And part of that acceleration was when God allowed me to notice that there was such as thing as concrete prayer as opposed to airy-fairy prayer.

The book of Leviticus has been called one of the most boring books in the Bible. It is basically the operating procedures manual for the tabernacle (tent) worship of the children of Israel’s He-Who-Is. It is about setting up the Tabernacle when the new camp was reached, conducting the sacrifices and other spirituals matters, and then taking it down for the move to the next camp. It is a book what was dictated by God to Moses, and Aaron the High Priest.

Lev 6:8-13

8 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

11 And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.

12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

(KJV)

Most Christians rarely read the book of Leviticus. Those that do, try to move through it as fast as possible. If an assembly has a through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan of public reading meetings, Leviticus is usually when the meetings will start to thin out. I can say this because I used to be one of the rare-readers, fast-movers, and non-attendees.

But my bicycle has now brought me to the place where Levitcus actually thrills me. And what is it that thrills me? That fact that the actual spoken words of the LORD are recorded on most of the pages. Only the gospels quote God this extensively. It thrills me to see God’s recorded words on a page of print.

The other reason it thrills me is that, for most of the book, the LORD commands something, and then Moses and the children of Israel scramble to do what is commanded. His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. That thrills me much. And the thrill tells me just how much God has done to bring my spirit to its rightful place before Him in worship.

Numbers is another famously boring book of the Bible. It is famous for having long interminable lists of things in it. Things that are numbered. But there was one time I was reading Numbers chapter 7, and came to an interminable list of the donations the twelve tribes of the children of Israel made unto the LORD for the dedication of His altar.

It finally came to a close at

Num 7:84-86

84 This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold:

85 Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

86 The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was an hundred and twenty shekels.

(KJV)

And then I received an unbidden mental image of the twelve tribes majestically passing by Moses to lay these beautiful things on the ground before him. And I was moved to tears for the LORD at this honor that was done Him. I was beginning to enter into “All for Jesus, all for Jesus” territory.

Once the bicycle has taken you this far, other things start to happen. You start see something that David son of Jesse saw:

Ps 18:24-27

25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

(KJV)

To be “froward” is to be crooked and perverse. If there appears to be nastiness and hatefulness in God, it is because there is nastiness and hatefulness in the human being (or the society) who approaches God. After a while of going on with God, you begin to see things from His perspective and take His aside against those who are froward to Him. You begin to see the pride of place God’s “lamborghini-hood” has over human “Yugo-ishness.”

Perry Mason Spiritualis

The stoning of the kid Egyptian? Almighty God worked a mighty deliverance for the children of Israel from the hands of Pharaoh and his army, and then revealed his sacred personal Name to them -- and the only thing this punk Egyptian kid can think of to do with this sacred Name is use it in profanity? “Hey Joshua! Anymore of them there stones left?”

Did Phinehas, the son of Eleazar put a premature end to an Israelish “Romeo and Juliet” story? No, that’s not what really happened. The children of Israel had been wandering in the wilderness for a generation and lost their immunity to venereal and other kinds of diseases. The Midianites had simply sent their tarts over to do a little germ warfare, and there was this one profane person of an Israelite who cared more about exercising his gonads than he did about his people and his God. “Hey Phinehas! Done with that javelin yet?”

Did the LORD order the killing of children and even infants? Of Israel’s enemies, yes, He did. But even this horrible thing has its mitigating circumstances.

1.) The taboo that infants should absolutely not ever be killed for any reason did not start to enter the Western world’s consciousness until a generation or so after the Jewish Diaspora resulting from the conquest of Ancient Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians. In much of the world before then, since time immemorial, unwanted babies (usually the “extra” girls or the deformed) where literally throw away. Thrown into rivers, or left outside to be eaten alive by wild animals.

The Diaspora itself was due to one of the controversies the LORD God had with his people over the subject of infanticide:

Lev 18:21

21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

(KJV)

This prohibition was ignored:

Jer 32:32-40

32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.

34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

36 And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

(KJV)

In the dispersion, a lot of lessons seemed to have been learned. And that apparently was good for the Western world, as the book of Act makes plain. “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” Which preaching would presumably would include the LORD’s opinion of Molech.

But the ball really didn’t get started until Christianity started taking hold in the cities of the Roman Empire. Prohibitions against infanticide were considered a Jewish custom. One took it up when one converted to Judaism.

The Christians, on the other hand, were nosy parkers who butted into other people’s business by rescuing abandoned babies. Their ethic for this came from Christ’s own lips,

Matt 18:2-5

2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

(KJV)

Matt 18:10-14

10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

(KJV)

This ethic was part of what got the Christians thrown to the lions from time to time. The pagan world thought the survival of an unwanted child brought bad luck. And such a survival could play havoc with settling estates at probate time

The coming of Islam also helped to suppress the practice of infanticide both in the West and the East.

As for much of the non-Islamic Eastern world, things pretty much went on as they had until a generation or two ago. After Billy Graham graduated from Florida Bible Institute, he was on his way to becoming a happy-faced evangelist to “Mom’s Apple Pie" America. But then he met his future wife, Ruth Bell, who had grown up in a Chinese city as a child of missionaries. She was the one who clued Billy into just what was at stake as far as the evangelism thing was concerned. Ruth had spent her childhood walking over a bridge over a river that always seemed to have dead baby girls floating by in it.

So what we finally see from all this is that the modern judgmental-isms over the LORD God of Israel’s commandments to Moses concerning enemy children are in fact based on the ethic that LORD gave to Israel in the first place. Both Islam and Christianity are inheritors of that ethic. If Israel had lost the battle with those nations and had their own children killed instead, there never would have been an ethic against killing children in the first place (or least waiting until they got born before killing them, anyway. It seems Molech is very impatient these days. )

I will add one more thing to this last point. The children could not have all been adopted. There were only so many infants and dependents a primitive family could take on back then without having its working hands being taken away from raising food and starvation resulting. So in going into an extermination war, the children of Israel where left with the logic of Lt. Calley. To have left the children alive after their parents were dead would have been to leave them open to being eaten alive by animals during the night. But as we have just seen above, this was not even something an Israelite of the time would even have thought of worrying about. It was their LORD God who did.

2.) The LORD’s order to the children of Israel to wipe out whole nations was restricted to just the nations the children of Israel were told to replace. And there was a set timing for this, as the LORD told Arabraham:

Gen 15:12-16

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

(KJV)

In Abraham’s day, the bad guys - the Amorites - were not that bad yet.( in fact the patriarchs had been shamed by the ethical standards of some of them). By Moses time, however, they were rotten to the core. They had take up Molech and other abominations.

Any nation that takes it upon itself to do horrendous evil before the face of Almighty God should expect to one day meet with defeat and destruction by its enemies as a judgment by Almighty God. This is true whether we are talking about Sihon’s people, or the Aztec Empire, or the Third Reich.

[ The Politically Correct crowd harps a lot about Cortez too. Yes, he was a miserable killer. But then after you read Gary Jenning’s Aztec you go “Hey, Cortez! Need some more bullets?” ].

3.) As we have seen before, Christ’s teaching seems to indicate that children who have died before “knowing good from evil” are put in “return to sender” status. And we have this testimony of the Most High to Jonah the prophet:

Jonah 4:10-11

10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

(KJV)

And we also have Christ’s word on the resurrection of the dead in general.

Matt 22:23-30

23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

27 And last of all the woman died also.

28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

(KJV)

As it appears to me, what this seems to say is that sex and age are both related to being in time. That would be logical. Time is a place of sequential duration that requires reproduction by sex, and aging in order for consciousness to continue. But once you leave time and enter eternity, sex and age no longer define who you are. I believe this verse disproves conclusively the old hard shell Scottish Calvinist Presbyterian idea of infant damnation. (Horrible doctrine! And one I believe led to the advent of Universalism.)
No, once a person enters eternity, they have no particular age and are non-sexual beings. They are spirits who have bodies instead of bodies who have spirits.

So rest assured, the LORD God may be a God of judgment, but He is not a God of destruction for destruction’s sake. That role He leaves for Satan.

In the Beauties of Holiness

As the Tour de Heaven continues, you will come to see that God is a beautiful Being. You begin to pick up on the love affair that went on between Moses and the LORD.

Exod 33:8-23

8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

12 Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.'

13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."

14 The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

17 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.

22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

(NIV)

Exod 34:5-10

5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

9 "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."

10 Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you.

(NIV)

This too was something David son of Jesse saw.

Ps 27:4

4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

(KJV)

And it was felt by those who met the incarnate Son in the flesh.

Luke 4:16-22

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias [ Isaiah ]. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

(KJV)

John 1:35-39

35 Again the next day after John [ the Baptizer ] stood, and two of his disciples;

36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

(KJV)

And to three disciples, it was seen.

Matt 17:1-8

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

(KJV)
With Moses this relationship became a worshipful familiarity after awhile.

Num 10:34-36

34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.

35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.

36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.

(KJV)

And the LORD became to Moses like the most innocent person in the world who needed to be shielded from the presence of wickedness. During the rebellion of the sons of Kor,

Num 16:15

15 ... Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

(KJV)

The apostle Peter also felt this, but it was against himself that he felt it.

Luke 5:1-9

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

(KJV)

For all the anger and wrath that the froward bring out of the LORD because of their froward hearts, those who have come to know Him as He would be known have found in Him a quiet and humble spirit.

Matt 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(KJV)

It was for this reason that the LORD picked Moses to be Israel’s mediator.

“Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” (Num 12:3).

But never forget that meekness does not mean weakness. Meekness is merely the disciplined restraint of strength.

HEY!

Hum? Oh. “Thy neighbor as thyself?” Yes, we mustn’t forget that either. I would agree, and more than you might think. But the polar opposite error to an isolated, hermetic mysticism is the kind of fleshly extroverted activism that leaves God out altogether because one is acting on one’s own thoughts and motives, which might be unconsciously suspect.

John 12:4-5

4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,

5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

(KJV)

Luke 10:41-42

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

(KJV)

Sometimes a self-righteous care for the poor is not so much a care for the poor as unconscious attempt to see that the alabaster box is not broken for Christ. Remember that the fallen Light Bearer will be just as happy to have no light shed on God as he will be to have an evil light shed on God.

There is also a very great danger in trying to love your neighbor without first having the love of God in your heart. The whole sorry escapade of genocidal communism has essentially been the folly of atheists trying to force other atheists to act like the early Christians. A fatal folly indeed, because some of the early Christians did not behave like early Christians:

Gal 5:14-15

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

(KJV)

No, if we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, the love of God must be its foundational basis, and not vice versa.

Think about it. Can you really save people by “forcing them to be free”? Do people really respond to that? And won’t you become imprisoned as their jailer if they won’t be “free.”

If anything, my years on the planet have taught me that Wordsworth had the right of it when he spoke of “the weight of too much liberty.” People are already so free that they have come free of the ground of their own being and do not realize that they are upheld by He who is the “upholding all things by the word of his power.” (Heb 1:3) They have eternity in their hearts and know that they are meant for some great thing but cannot find it, so they slay themselves and others in the frenzied search for it.

The food and drink and raiment must be there to be sure (Janes 2:15), but these are transient things. Unless we are animals, they are not what we live for. What we live for, in the end, is to have some signifigance, and to have that eternity in the heart filled.

John 4:9-15

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

(KJV)

We love our neighbors best when we love them in the love of God, and not in our own feeble love. We serve them best when we offer them, not just material substance, but spiritual substance as well. They need to have the eternity in their hearts filled, and to look into the apple of the eye of He who always knows the number of the hairs on their heads.

"O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress;
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

"O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbor
With all your crooked heart."

As I Walked Out One Evening,W. H. Auden (1907-1973)

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

“ ... for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (2 Cor 11:2, KJV)

Eph 5:25-27

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church [ the assembly of Christians connected to Christ by the indwelling of Holy Spirit of God ], and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

(KJV)

Rev 19:7-9

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

(KJV)

The engraved invitation is here:

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

(KJV)

If you need that statement broken down further for your understanding, see Twenty-Seven Metaphors to a Grasp of Happiness.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. So be it!

Part IV Corporate Prayer

2005-08-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve said some rather harsh things here and there about Christian assemblies, their leaders, and about some of the unconscious habits I’ve seen them forster in young (and not so young) believers. But from that you should not come away from this book with the idea that I believe Christians should be misty-eyed mystical loners who pray and act by themselves.

Quite the contrary. The criticisms that I’ve leveled here concern dysfunctions of the body of Christ, and are not meant to suggest that believers, of any age, can fully function with out being connected to a Christian assembly in some practical way. We all need each other.

Our Need of Each Other

Heb 10:24-25

24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

(KJV)

There are two principle reasons why every Christian needs to belong to an assembly of other Christians. 1.) Christ does not give any one individual believer everything he or she needs. He distributes what He has for them among other Christians that they are meant to fellowship with. 2.) No Christian ever gets so mature in the faith that he or she does not need the guidance of another, more mature Christian.

We are all members of the same composite spiritual body of which Christ is the Head.

1 Cor 12:4-31

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

14 For the body is not one member, but many.

15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?

30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

31 But covet earnestly the best gifts:...

(KJV)

As a member (organ) of a body, you are unlikely to thrive on your own without the other members (organs) of the body that you are part of. They help your spiritual life, and you help their spiritual life. To go on, on your own, is to deprive yourself of them, and they, of you.

In the ideal state, a Christian assembly should be a collegium of equals:

Matt 23:8

8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

(KJV)

We are each to know Christ in prayer, and read the Bible, and take direction from Him there. If we are all connected to the same Head, then all our individual dealings with Christ will consolidate into a functioning that looks like someone visible somewhere is directing it. Our individual dealings with Christ in prayer will then give testimony to a very real Head in heaven who gives direction to His body on earth. To the extent that this is possible, prayer in the corporate setting of a Christian assembly should be more concrete and do us less harm then it usually does.

But there is another reality, as I have pointed out before. We are all at various stages of growth (or lack of growth) in Christ. If we are newbies to the things of Christ, then we need the help of those who have gone further on with Him then we have.

1 Tim 3:1-7

1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer [ of someone else’s spiritual life ], he desires a noble task.

2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife [ a “one-wife” kind of man ], temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)

6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the Devil.

7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

(NIV)

And that leads up to the question of how we can tell if someone is mature enough in Christ to help us along. (It is a given that if someone is less mature in Christ then we ourselves, that we should be helping that person.) Paul has given Timothy some pointers above, but there is an even harsher reality to life in the body of Christ that we also have to consider. The apostle Paul’s last speech to the overseers of the Ephesian assembly makes this clear:

Acts 20:28-31

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

(KJV)

Where Paul could say ...

Acts 20:33-35

33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.

34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

(KJV)

... there were apparently others who could not, as Peter makes plain.

2 Pet 2:1-3

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

(KJV)

Even the apostle John ran into these problems.

3 Jn 1:9-10

9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

(KJV)

So when we first come into Christianity, we step into the middle of this mess and find Christian assemblies - some of them Christian in name only - that are in all kinds and degrees of obedience or disobedience to their Head in heaven. And so you begin to try and figure out who you should be listening to and who you should stay away from.

Luke 12:35-38

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

(KJV)

Luke 12:45-46

45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

(KJV)

If you think I’m exaggerating, please read a copy of Dave Burchett’s When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. Or better yet, read Paul’s espistles to the Corinthians. Things can get that bad.

But why is there a general mess in Christianity? Wasn’t the revelation of the Son of God suppose to bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven? Well, in an inner sense He already has. By becoming a human being, and taking the totality of human sin down into death and then being ressurected back to life, Christ has dealt with the barrier of human sin forever. This dealing with human sin opened up the way for human beings to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God and this in turn opened up a true new age in human affairs:

Acts 1:6-9

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

(KJV)

But, as with all the ages of men on earth, men retain their free will. From each age and each test of the hearts of men, God extracts was is most precious to Him - the deaths of His saints, who then dwell with Him. But the test of each age always ends in human failure, because free will always implies human wickedness as a consequence.

The Age of Innocence ended in Man being expelled from the direct consciousness of the presense of God (this is the signifigance of the Garden of Eden).

The Age of Conscience - men acting according to what was left over from the absensce of God (which is conscience) - ended in universal wickedness and violence and the judgment of the Flood.

The Age of Human Government - where men were given the right to deal with men who had defiled their conscience - ended in the totalitarian enterprise of the tower of Babel, which God judged with the skattering of man, and the confusion of his tongues.

The Age of the Patriarchs - where the God’s divine condescention caused Him to pretend to be the personal God of one man (Abraham) and the national God of the family who came from his loins (the children of Israel) - ended with that man’s family being enslaved in ancient Egypt.

The Age of the Law - where God rescued the children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt and gave them a represention of His character in the form of a written law (that could be compared to their own consciences) - and then bid them to be a testimony to Himself to their neighbors - came to an end at calvary in the judgement of the cross - which Christ, the Messiah of Israel, took upon hmself to bear in totality the penalty of human sin.

The commonwealth of Israel was a tripartite one, consisting of the priests, the prophets, and the rulers (first judges, then kings). So the fall of this age came in three stages. First, the priesthood failed under Eli (“the glory is departed”}. This led to the collegium of judges being replaced by monarchs. Then the kings failed with the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam and the establishment of TWO golden calve idols by Jeroboam the renegade. Finally the prophets failed when they were overwhelmed by the voices of false prohecy that filled Israel with idols. Christ has overcome all as prophet, high priest, and coming king.

The Age of Grace began at Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit of God to earth to take up His place within the spirits of men and women who receive Christ in their hearts by faith in His atoning blood that cleanes of all sin. We are in the midst of this age. And the apostle Peter wrote of it:

2 Pet 1:20-2:2

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Pet 2:1-2

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

(KJV)

The old, old problem of the human heart is still with us.

1 Sam 16:7

7 ... for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

(KJV)

2 Tim 2:19

19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

(KJV)

The Age of Grace shall end in the Rapture and in Armagedon.

And even the next and last age - the Kingdom Age of Christ’s millenial reign on earth - shall end in a judgment. After a perfect government, and a perfect restoration of the creation, Satan will be loosed one last time to try the hearts of men (Rev. 20:7-9), and he will find takers even then. This last age shall end with The Great White Throne judgment of all who have ever lived - and died - apart from God.

It is only at the advent of eternity that all tears shall be wiped from our eyes, and all that offends shall be removed.

2 Pet 3:10

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

(KJV)

Rev 21:1-8

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

(KJV)

Soooooo. While we are in the midst of this current age of grace, there can be a lot of disorder and misunderstanding and hurt.

And part of that is the misunderstanding and misuse of prayer in the corporate setting. Take one of the apostle John’s admonitions about prayer:

I Jn 5:16-17

16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall )give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

(KJV)

The apostle John has made a point of this. I believe it is in reference to what Paul wrote to the Corinthinian assembly when he corrected their irreverent practices during the “breaking of bread” rememberance of the Last Supper:

1 Cor 11:23-32

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily [ None of us are ‘worthy.’ Paul means ‘unworthily’ in the sense of being irreverent during the ceremony. I suspect the Corithian’s may have mixed their “love feasts” with the rememberance meetings and were doing such things as having “food fights” while the rememberance was going on.], shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [ the big one! ].

31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

(KJV)

So the apostle John tells us not to pray about sins that bring death as a final discipline by God on a believer (who is considered to have “fallen asleep” in Christ). That is reasonable. If death comes from God to start with, we should not be praying against it.

But do we make that distinction in most settings of corporate prayer? Decidedly not. It’s considered to be “impolite” to refuse to pray for somebody, no matter how outrageous their behavior may have been before they got sick.

So in the end, the corporate life of the Christian assembly, though very necessary for the individual members, often teaches some very bad habits where prayer and other Christian things are concerned. That is the nature of my harsher comments. I would not have any Christian give up assembling with other Christians just because bad habits are broadcast.

As for the general mess in Christianity, the apostle Paul left his young protege, Timothy, a word about what to do about it.

2 Tim 2:19-21

19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

21 If a man therefore purge himself from these [ the dishonorable ], he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

(KJV)

Paul also left the Ephesian overseers with a last peice of advice:

Acts 20:32

32 "Now I commit you to God [ in prayer ] and to the word of his grace [ the Bible ], which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

(NIV)

And Peter left behind this testament for the believer is to look to after his passing:

2 Pet 1:19-21

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star [ Christ, Rev 22:16] arise in your hearts:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

(KJV)

Both these apostles recommended to those they left behind on earth: 1.) the Living Word in prayer, and 2.) the Writtten Word in the Bible. Notice that neither of them said “Oh, follow your leaders. They’ll know what to do.”

Matt 23:8-12

8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

(KJV)

And that’s all I can leave you with, too. Pray concretely. Watch for answers. Read your Bible prayerfully. And watch out for those you associate with as best you can. The Lord knows them that are His.

The True Basis of Growth in Christ and Service for Him.

“Prayer has everything to do with molding the soul into the image of God, and has everything to do with enhancing and enlarging the measure of divine grace. It has everything to do with bringing the soul into complete communion with God. It has everything to do with enriching, broadening and maturing the soul’s experience of God.”

E.M. Bounds, The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer

(Baker Books).

Here I am turning back to my prevous discussion about how Christian assemblies sometimes misuse the new babies in Christ that have been given to them.

A Christian assembly should always remember that the temporal walk of a Christian is primarily predicated on growth. Growth is the precondition for all things that involve giving “reasonable service” as a “living sacrafice.”

Rom 12:1

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

(KJV)

The above verse is often used to blugeon new Christians into doing things they are not spiritually ready to do (and usually because someone who should know better has an unconscious agenda that has not come from God.). As I said before, that can end up stunting the growth of new Christians because it puts more weight on them then their current level of growth in Christ can support. It’s possible to give a new believer an subconscious spiritual “hernia” that can cripple him or her for a very long time.

Romans 12:1 is taken out of its context anyway. The next verse shows what really makes a living sacrafice possible:

Rom 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

(KJV)

It is the transformation caused by the renewal of the mind is what makes for a cheerful giver.

12 Cor 9:7

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

(KJV)

And God especially loves a cheerful giver of his or her life. I’ve become convinced that if a Christian is in the habit of thinking what he or she is doing for the Lord is a sacrafice, then what he or she is doing is probably not a living sacrafice, but rather dead works of some sort or another that Christ never really asked them to perform.

In the metaphors of sacraficial service that the apostle Paul gives - being an athlete (1 Cor 9:24-27), being a soldier (2 Tim 2:3-4), a being a slave (Romans 1:1) - it is the self-choseness of the sacrafice that Paul was pointing at rather than the external terms of the sacrafices themselves. No one does what an athlete does to his body unless they really want to be an athlete. Involuntary conscription was invented during the Napoleonic era. Prior to then, one was chosen by a superior to be a soldier, and it was considered an honor to be lived up to. And even slaves could either run away (Philemon), buy back their freedom ( 1 Cor 7:21), or be set free by their masters because of superior dedication.

Cheerful sacrafice is only possible with the transformation wrought by the renewing of the mind through growth.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Pet 3:18, KJV)

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Eph 4:15, KJV)

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

(1 Pet 2:2,KJV)

“I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” (1 Cor 3:2, KJV)

12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe

14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Heb 5:12-14, KJV)

If nothing else, these verses of scripture should tell us that there are things we shouldn’t expose young believers to, and expect of them, until they have the spiritual senses to receive them with gladness.

If you look at the lives of all the heavy-duty Christians we all admire, the one thing you will see that most characterizes them is heavy-duty prayer. I believe that the “meat” being talked about above is not just an accurate knowledge of the scriptures and a complete understanding of the doctrines therein, but rather I believe that it is the Word of God consumed with prayer. Please recall the one thing that Paul said really qualifies a Christian servant to labor for the Master:

1 Cor 13:1-8

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

[ In English, the word “charity” orginally meant simply “love.” The underlying Greek word is agape, which is not phileo (a friendly, affectionate, but reciprocal love born of feeling and affection), or eros (which is sexual love), but rather a love which is born of the the judgment and assent of the will, and is therefore not reciprocal. Agape is love that loves even if the object of that love does not love back. The informed will is engaged in it, and not just fleeting feelings that come and go. ]

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth: ... (KJV)

Agape is having a love that is engaged by the informed consent of the will to the degree that it can continue in the face of it not being reciprocated by its object. So how do we come by such a love that “never faileth?”

By the Holy Spirit of God. In the next two verses we have agape translated as “love” and “loveth:”

I Jn 4:8

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

(KJV)

Rom 5:5

... the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost [ Spirit ] which is given unto us. (KJV)

And how does that “shedding” happen?
1 Cor 2:11-12

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

(KJV)

... like agape love.

It is by the Holy Spirit of God intersecting with our own spirits that we come to have this strong, mighty love that does not require love back from it’s object. To be sure, it is more than reciprocated by God, but it’s the kind of love that enables us to serve others who will not reciprocate that love, and so it has all the qualities that Paul so eloquently lists.

Okay then, when does this intersection between our spirits and the Holy Spirit of God take place? Paul’s letter to the Ephesians makes it clear.

Eph 1:12-13

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

(KJV)

It begins the moment we believe the good news that Christ has dealt with all our sins on the cross and was resurrected to stand before us before God.

I Jn 2:1-2

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 And he is the propitiation [ the satifying of God] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

(KJV)

Once we understand that Christ has dealt with all our sins, (past, present, and future), it is then that we can deal with and be receptive to the idea of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God as well as our own spirits.

1 Cor 6:19-20

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

(KJV)

After that He is always with our spirits. As it is said, He is always resident, but desires to be president.

Eph 4:29-30

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

30 And grieve [ make sad ] not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

(KJV)

So if He is resident, but not always president, how then does He become more president and communicate to us? Very simply, when we pray.

Jude 1:20-21

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost [ Spirit ],

21 Keep yourselves in the love [ agape ] of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

(KJV)

In prayer the Holy Spirit of God increases our faith so that we can believe more and thereby gain spiritual eyes to see more. And we receive a transfusion, so to speak, of His mighty agape love.

Eph 6:18

18 Praying always with all prayer [begging for ourselves ] and supplication [begging for others ] in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

(KJV)

Prayer is the personal school of God where we learn that we struggle with God over what is wrought in and by our lives, and what is not. It is where we learn to ”hang around” with God and have His personality rub off on us bit by bit as we go through life.

As Christians, we are in the habit of “dating” our spiritual “birthday” from the time we received the good news and believed on Christ. That is well and true. But it is my opinion that the spiritual “age” of a Christian does not start to advance until he or she has started to really understand prayer and pray concretely, while also reading the Word of God. This was always Paul’s concern when he saw assemblies starting drift the wrong way:

Gal 4:19-20

19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

(KJV)

Now what does Paul mean by Christ being “formed” in them? He means what Christ told His disciples:

John 14:16-17

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

(KJV)

John 14:20

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

(KJV)

John 14:21

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

(KJV)

John 16:13-14

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

(KJV)

This is what is commonly called spiritual formation. It is the process whereby the indwelling Holy Spirit of God communicates to the immature believer what Christ is like, and this then goes on to “form” the immature believer’s new, spiritual self into the “image” of Christ’s Spirit. This process is always on-going, but there is a point of maturity where a believer becomes mature enough to be used of God in whatever capacity Christ sees fit at each stage of the believer’s growth. The indwelt believer becomes a “Christ-like” person. But it is prayer, and concrete prayer, that consentrates and accelerates this process.

Let me repeat George Muller’s testimony to this fact:

“God then began to show me that the word of God alone is our standard of judgment

in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by the Holy Spirit; and that in our

day, as well as in former times. He is the Teacher of His people. The office of the Holy

Spirit I had not experimentally understood before that time.

“It was my beginning to understand this latter point in particular, which had a great effect

on me; for the Lord enabled me to put it to the test of experience, by laying aside

commentaries, and almost every other book and simply reading the word of God

and studying it.

“The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself into my room, to give

myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I learned more in a few hours

than I had done during a period of several months previously.

“But the particular difference was that I received real strength for my soul in so doing. I

now began to try by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and

seen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were of real value.”

[The extracts are from a work in four volumes, The Lord’s Dealings with George Muller.

J. Nisbet & Co., London. http://www.ccel.org/m/murray/prayer/htm/XXXII.htm]

But the flip side of this is why we have so many people in our assemblies who have been Christians a very long time, and yet are still spiritual infants. It is ignorance about prayer, and the unconscious inhibitions against it, that are fostering these spiritual migets.

So, lets stop nipping the prayer life of young Christians in the bud by injecting them with unconscious, blasphemous fears brought on by using them for things they are not spiritally ready for. Lets resist the urge to use young believers for things they are not spiritually ready for simply because they are young, available, and can be lead by anybody into anything no matter how futile and unblessed by God.

The soundest thing an assembly of Christians can do for young believers is to teach them to pray concretely and take their spiritual development from the Head of the Body, Christ Himself, through the Word of God in prayer:

Matt 23:8-10

8 But be not ye called Rabbi [teacher] for one is your Master[teacher], even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

(KJV)

Eph 4:15-16

15 But speaking the truth in love, [ we ] may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

(KJV)

Drop the Comparisons!

Lets also stop making improper comparisons between mature and hardy Christians and new born Christians. We should not even be comparing even one Christian to another, let alone one level of growth to another, or one level of service to another. Paul makes this plain:

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. (1 Cor 12:18-25 ,KJV)

And lets not forget the time that Paul was once forced to compare himself to some others in order to defend his service.

17 That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. (2 Cor 11:17-18, KJV)

22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. [ This is not as antisemitic as it might be made to appear. This punishment was specified in the law of Moses (Deut. 25:1-3) for transgressions that were worthy of just less then the death penalty. The number of lashes was set at fourty to ensure the person was not permanently multilated. I gather from this that Paul visited five synagogues to present his revelation and found it not well received. Talk about persistance!]

25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:

33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

(2 Cor 11:22-33,KJV)

And yet Paul goes on to make light of all that.

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(2 Cor 4:17-18, KJV)

And how was he able to do that? Well lets go back to his list of “boasts” above and see how he continues it.

1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

(2 Cor 12:1-5, KJV)

Paul was able to call all his vicissitudes a “light affliction” because as an apostle he was granted direct revelations of the eternal realm. He had been granted fully developed spiritual eyes so that he could see eternity and put his afflictions in time into eternal perspective. And we can conclude from this that the eternal realm must be a termendous place to be, worth anything we endure down here in time. But note this. Paul was able to survive his extraordinary vicissitues because he was given extraordinary spiritual preparation and gifts.

Paul compare himself to somebody? He had seen eternity and had seen that it cannot be compared with anything in time, including himself at that moment.

Prayer is the place where we can imbibe, however fleetingly, of that eternal realm.

Doubtless, someone is going to point out that Paul wrote:

1 Cor 4:16-17

16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

(KJV)

1 Cor 11:1

1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

(KJV)

Phil 3:17

17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

(KJV)

Well, lets look very carefully at Paul and Timothy to get a grip on what kind of immitation is being asked for here.

If you follow Timothy’s career in the New Testament, you will find that he was a timid young man who was nutured by Paul as he accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys. Paul’s two letters to Timothy show that Timothy was intimidated by his relative youth and had to be strongly encouraged to take part in preaching and teaching activities. So while he accompanied Paul on his missionary journey’s he was more of a second stringer, understudy, and messenger boy then a bold advance man like Paul. In fact Paul’s two letters to him show him to be more of a brother in an established meeting than an adventurous missionary and troublemarker-type like Paul. We do not read of Timothy getting the “fourty stripes save one” five times like Paul earned himself. (But to be fair to Timothy, there is a legend that he was eventually marytured under the Roman Emporer Nero.)

So when Paul says to the Corinthian assembly that he is sending Timothy to them to remind them of what his “ways in Christ” were, he cannot be talking about duplicating his style of service and personality. What he does say is “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” I.e., the “following” and “immitating”that Paul wanted of them is not neccessarily his service so much as his relationship with Christ. Paul’s “ways in Christ” were borne of prayer, study of the Word and, because of his apostleship, direct revelations. Paul wanted the Corinthians to mimic and grow into the kind of relationship that he had with the risen Christ through prayer.

Heb 13:7

7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation [lifestyle, conduct] .

(KJV)

In regard to Christian leaders, we are to immitate their faith, not them. And we decide who’s faith we are going to immitate on the basis of the lifestyle and conduct they have put on display.

Matt 7:15-18

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

(KJV)

The Immitation of Christ - NOT!

There is a capital mistake I see again and again in Christian communities when a true man of God initiates or founds a community. Because the founder is a true man of God, he will have accomodated his life in certain ways to the demands of his cultivated relationship with God. That accomodation will express itself in certain external activities or lack of activities. These accomodations will be as individual as the personality of the founder and the demands of of his particular service.

But what the community tends to do later is to try to duplicate the founder’s internal relationship with God by copying the founders external life. That is an example of getting the cart before the horse. And it is very dangerous because one can go on doing that without ever acquiring a relationship with God oneself. "be not ye called Rabbi [teacher] for one is your Master[teacher], even Christ; and all ye are brethren."

So, lets not only do away with spiritual hernias and comparison, lets also do away with the wrong kind of immitation. They are both hazardous to the individual Christian and the assembly of Christians as a whole.

Part III Putting It All Together - Your First Prayer Note Book

2005-08-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Under the supervision of the Holy Spirit of God who teaches all things, you should by now have a firm grasp on the realilty of concrete prayer as opposed to “airy-fairy” prayer. In this chapter I will now layout how all this information fits together in a beginning prayer notebook.

The Notebook Itself

Use a ring binder with holed paper. The prayer pages should be detachable as needed for when they are moved from one tab to another.

The cover itself should be as ordinary looking as possible in order to give you as much privacy as possible. You are not praying “to be seen of men,” so you should make sure men will not see you prayers.

Remember that your prayers are going to come from the Father in the name of the Son through the Holy Spirit Who indwells you. God will know whether you are pursuing this path of prayer because you really want to pray His prayers, or whether you are just trying to attract attention to yourself. If you use a notebook with a noticeably garish cover and put a title on it like DAY BOOK OF THE MYSTERIUM TREMENDUM, you are trying attract attention to youself, and God may not deal with you in anyway other than to call your attention to what you are doing.

Use a plain old, nondescript, commonly available notebook cover. Indeed, put a title on it like “Optimization of Statistical Functions with Simulated Annealing.” That will keep the nosy parkers out.

The Tabs

“Daily.” - What you need to pray every time you pray.

“Round x.” - Separators for how ever many prayers you have which are not as urgent as the dailies. My pray notebook has one to seven “Rounds” in it.

“Answers” - This is where you will place your completely answered prayers. A book of memorial. You’ll want to look at them on days when the Devil is telling you there’s no such thing as answered prayer.

The Prayer Pages

In the notebook, each prayer consists of one page. And there can be different kinds of pages:

R - page. A specific request for something. The request is at the top of the page. As you receive “morphs” to it ( as I explained earlier), it will move down the page. You will write the date you prayed the prayer at the bottom of the page and work your way up as you continue to pray, stamping A’s next to the last date recorded as you get answers.

Sometimes R-pages are for specific things that you receive an answer to that you will then remove from from the Daily or a Round and place in Answers. Others will be continuing requests, like for example “strength to continue on,” that you will always pray for and receive a number of answers. When a continuing R-page fills up, simply remove it from the Daily or Round and and place it in the Answers and make a new R-page for the request.

S-page. Supplications. Prayers for other people. Sometimes it is a prayer for one person and/or a prayer for one thing for that person. It has the same format as the R-page. The prayer goes on at the top and “morphs” its way down the page to meet the dates it was prayed for moving up the page.

But sometimes it’s a list of people running down the left of the page and a list of the dates they were prayed for running down the right side of the page. This is where there is a generic supplication for those you know, such as “cause them to be conformed to the imagine of thy Son the Lord Jesus” As you learn of things that tell you the suplication is being answered for one of the people in the list, that’s when you will marked the latest date with an “A.” You can add more specifics next to to that “A” if you want do.

If the Lord puts people on your heart to pray for, He will generally provide a means for you to receive little synchronistic reports on how they are doing. But if anybody asks you to pray for them or someone they know, make sure you extract a promise from them to inform you of what has happened as a result. Remember that God wants you to thank Him concretely for answered prayer.

F-page. The general prayer at the top is, “Lord, for these that I name, I forgive them, please forgive and give grace to them.” After that prayer is the list of all the persons or events that have filled your heart with evil because of the evil they have done. You will generally add a name at a time to the top and then moving down, as the dates of the praying moves up the page.

When the list of subjects and the dates of prayer meet, move the F-page to the Answered section and begin a new F-page.

There will be parts of you that resist the idea of answers being made to these F-page prayers, but rest assured, even these perverted, counter-intuitive prayers are answered. You will know they have been answered when you are finally able to look at the name of the person on the page, and not sin in your heart and mind by hating them to death. That is when you can stop praying for them on an F-page and move on.

Q-page. This is where you can ask a question of God. It will be up to God to decide if your question should be answered. Some questions you ask will be worthwhile because the answers to them will cause practical things to be done that honor God. Other questions will not be answered if their sole purpose is for you to simply know the answer to them while no one else does. My perception is that God is not into passing on knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

“Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” (1 Cor 8:1)

God is into passing on knowledge that causes worshipful activities to take place. As George Muller has testified, Q-pages are the premium way to conduct a Bible study.

T-pages. As discussed before, here is where you will list all the benefits God has given you so that you can remember thank Him for them. And don’t forget to thank Him for every “A” you mark down in your prayer book.

The Initial Metaprayers and Prayers

These are the initial metaprayers and prayers that you can use to start off with on this journey.

Your proper addressee for these prayers is:

"My Father Who is in Heaven,

in the name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,

through Thy Holy Spirit within me,"

The prayer pages are:

R: “Show me what to pray for and what to stop praying for.”

R: “Sharpen my perception of You in my life. Cause me to truly see answered prayer at work.”

R: “Cause me to continue to pray.”

Q: “Is anything hindering my prayers? Please show me what it may be that I may confess to it.”

R: “Give me a strong and potent desire to read Thy word.”

F: (Construct them as you need them.)

T: (Don’t forget your thank pages!)

What is an Answer Like?

Initially, as you can see, you will have a very small set of prayers to start out with. So you will be able to say them more than once a day. The only “A” ‘s you will be marking down initiallly will be to the “Cause me to continue to pray” one. Everytime you pray your notebook, that will be the one that is always answered. And this is not trival, I assure you. While you are in this inital business of showing God that you are serious about receiving answers from Him, there will be a lot that will try to work against this, both within and without. Treasure those “A” ‘s to this one prayer alone! And thank God for them.

Eventually you will get an Answer.

What is it like? I can only tell you what it is like for me. For me it is like losing my car keys.

I’ve lost my car keys. They are in the house somewhere. I know I’ve put them somewhere. But I’ve searched everywhere I know to find them. And so I give up looking for them and start doing something else more useful. And then, whether it’s a few seconds later, or a few minutes later, or a few hours later, a piece of brain cloud suddenly moves away in my mind, and THERE! I SEE THEM! I see where I’ve put my keys.

For me, that’s exactly what an answer to prayer is like. I’ve been praying awhile and then suddenly a peice of brain cloud moves away in my mind and I see exactly what is I should pray for. Sometimes this happens when I’ve returned to my prayer notebook and am in the middle of praying. Sometimes it happens when I’m not praying and it’s a bolt from the blue. (This is one good reason why you should always keep a notepad on you if you have a life of prayer.) Sometimes its a morph that tells me I need to change a prayer. Sometimes it’s a new prayer page altogether. And sometimes it’s a revelation of something I need to physically do (lets not leave that out!).

But there it is, the answer to a prayer. A!!!!!!!!

Distinguishing Voices

Having put this simply to you this way, I would be remiss in not telling you that it is not that simple. When you first begin to pray, there will be voices other than Christ’s who will be happy to come prancing by the back door of your mind (or even banging on the front door) and leave you a message that is not from Christ. This is just in the nature of things from living in a fallen creation. “the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” (Matt. 13:19)

If you are new to Christianity, as well as new to prayer, there is one tricky voice I want you to watch out for. It’s the voice of conscience.

Now why would I say a shocking thing like that? Isn’t conscience the voice we should all listen to at all cost? Well, it depends.

The genius of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is that is showed the audience of its day that our consciences are often culturally conditioned. Huckleberry Finn was a wild boy of the Mississippi mudflats whom some Sunday School types were trying to “civilize.” But they were Sunday School types of the Southern plantation society - a society of slave owners. They had semi-civlized Huck into thinking that helping an enslaved African-American to seek freedom was a “sin.” So the story starts out with Huck getting himself used to the idea that he’s going to go to hell for helping Jim the slave run away. That’s the genius of Huckleberry Finn. It’s a demostration of the weakness and fallibility of human conscience.

The scriptures say that the conscience is like a copy of the Ten Commandments, and the Law of God as a whole, in the human heart.

Rom 2:14-16

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

(KJV)

The Ten Commandments, and the Law given to Moses, was not something that was not already in the human conscience to start with. But it was given to make what was implcit in the conscience explicit to the sight, for all men to see. The reason for making the conscience explicit in the law was that, as the scriptures say, a person (or a society) can start out with a good conscience (Act 23:1), but end up with an evil (Hebrews 10:22), or a seared (1 Tim. 4:2) or defiled conscience (Titus 1:15). The “moral compass” can, so to speak, be demagnitized from pointing true north. The consequence will be that when it does speak, it may speak incorrectly. This was Huckleberry Finn’s problem. His conscience was intact in deeper things, where that of the society he grew up in was not.

But the opposite problem is the weak conscience (1st Corinthians 8:7). This is the conscience of the neophyte Christian, starting to experience Christ’s indwelling by the Holy Spirit of God, but still having a conscience conditioned by the society he or she has grown up in.

In somethings, the good in the neophyte’s conscience will match the will of thrice Holy God. No problem there. But in other things, the neophyte will have no conscience about some things that are against the will of thrice holy God. And as with the conquest of Canaan by the children of Israel, there will be priorities in what must conquered first.

Some things are obvious. “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” (Eph 4:28). And the neophyte will have already been given the moral strength of soul to change this behavior. But there are other things that are more latent and harder to get at. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Cor 13:11) . Growth in Christ will take care of that.

But there are also things that are not wrong at all, but only seem wrong - like freeing slaves.

It is this last class of things - things are can only be dislodged by growth, and things that only seem wrong but are not - that the neophyte has to be on his or her guard for when his or her weak conscience begins to speak. A weak conscience will at first scream at a neophyte over every little thing. In the literature of spiritual formation, this condition is called scrupulosity. The newbie Christian begins to perceive a thousand and one sins they seem to have committed.

But there a diabolical element to this as well as just the human element of conscience. Before a newbie became a Christian, Satan did everything in his power to convince him or her that he or she had not committed any sins at all and was prefectly safe and free to be brought into the presense of thrice holy God, deadly as that would have been.

But now that the newbie nas entered into Christian thngs, Satan tries to convince him or her that he or she has committed every sin there is under the sun in order to prevent him or her from having sweet fellowship with Christ in prayer.

In many cases it will be the diaobolical voice of Judas that immitates the voice of conscience, and thus betrays its origin:

John 12:1-8

1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.

3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,

5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.

8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

(KJV)

The thing to keep in mind when the voice of Judas mimicks the voice of conscience is this one thing of all things:

“... Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures ...”(1 Cor 15:3, KJV)

and

Rom 8:1-4

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,

4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

(NIV)

Against this, the voice of conscience, weak or otherwise, or that of any other creature, must cease.

My own realization of this is why I was given a morph to one of the foundational prayers above. This is its new version:

Q: “Is anything hindering my prayers? Please show me what it may be,

by grace and not by law, that I may confess to it.”

The voice of conscience is, in the end, the voice of the law. But Christ has died for you to every consequence the law has against you. He has freed you from it so that you may serve Him by His grace that is sufficient for you, and not by any law -- your’s or another’s. As you serve Christ and are conformed into His image, your weak and overly active conscience will be brought into line with His personality, and it will begin to function properly and not hyperactively.

The Alien Voice

So what voice, then, does one listen for -- before, during and after prayer? In my experience, it is what I think of as the Alien Voice that is the most true, most of the time.

The Alien Voice is the one that comes out of left field in regard to all the things that are going on in your life. The voice of conscience, by contrast, usually occupies you a great deal with what you are already occupied with, and its purpose seems to be to keep you always occupied with it to the exclusion of all else.

The Alien Voice, on the other hand, is the one that gets you thinking about something else for a change. Something you hadn’t thought about before. Some new way of looking at what you’ve been looking at. And certainly something that is a lot more worthwhile than what you have been thinking about so far.

The other difference is that the voice of conscience is usually the first to speak, and to speak up quickly and loudly. It is in fact a reflex. Just as you have a reflex action that causes you to scream and yell whenever you stub your foot, so your conscience will scream and yell as soon as you go against it, whether it is right about what you have done or not. It is the first to pipe up when you pray.

The Alien Voice on the other hand, takes its time, and waits to speak. Sometimes it waits for hours or for days or for weeks - but it does wait. And then it speaks. Most times when you least expect it to speak. And for this reason, also, it is well for you to keep a notepad on your person, both through out the day, and near your bed when you sleep. And when it does speak, it speaks softly. So you must listen carefully.

The Alien Voice speaks and is often He who is your Shepard, ready to lead you out of the wilderness of your sin, frenzy, and perplexity, and into the sheepcoat of His love, rest and care for you. There is no better master than He.

Matt 13:52

52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

(KJV)

John 10:14

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

(KJV)

It Can Be A “Wanting To” Or Not

I’ve talked about praying for what you care about, and of having your likes and dislikes changed. Another way that prayer is answered is by having your caring inflamed or quenched. Many new believers first objectively experience the joy of salvation in Christ when they find that their desires for lesser things than Christ starts to drop off while their appreciation for the things of Christ picks up.

Those who were not chemically addicted to alcohol, but still liked getting sloshed on Friday night suddenly find that their desire for that has left them, and a new appreciation for the beauty of a quiet Saturday morning of peace and soberiety has replaced it.

Those whose only taste in music was in the sped-up speed-driven, frenzy-making kind, suddenly find that they are beginning to appreciate slower, deeper forms of music that detach them from this present evil age, and attach them to the other to come, “wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

Those whose taste in movies once consisted of “rebellion, destruction of property, and people taking their clothes off,” come to find that they are now interested in what happens to human souls.

In the end, holiness does not sterilize people. Rather, it transfers their fertility to deeper, more fullfilling things, which unfortunately may be more subtle then gross sensuality can perceive. Holy people used to drive me nuts when I was a kid because it seemed to me then like they lived on nothing but air. That turned out to be an intuition on my part, because the Greek word for “spirit” is “pneuma” - “breath.” “Air.” Holy people are the true Breathairians.

I’m reminded of what St. John of the Cross has said. He said that the further you go along in the life of prayer, the more simplified the things that feed you spiritually become. They become like the manna from heaven that the children of Israel lived on as they made their desert journey to the Promised Land. Sweet, satifying, but simple. The apex of this is when the written word of God becomes for us “the savor all things” because the Living Word of God is feeding us from it.

Sometimes an answer to prayer can be the receiving of a whole new world of things to care about and desire.

What a Non-Answer to Prayer is Like

Do I ever have prayers that are not answered? Yes, I do. When that happens, it feels like when I keep forgetting something because somebody keeps interupting my train of thought. The prayer is written down. I’m ready and willing to pray it. But between one thing and another, it doesn’t get prayed, and then the energy to pray it is gone, and then the wanting to pray it is gone. It’s even possible for the wanting and caring to go out of it before I come to the prayer a second time. What gives?

Well, someone’s free will may be involved in it. Remember, prayers are not answered in isolation, even if the one praying is in isolation. There are chains of cause and effect that take place in the spiritual realm before they are manifested in the physical realm when people start moving their bodies around. If something in the answer to the prayer is contingent on someone’s free will, then the whole prayer is contingent on that person’s free will. And God will not override a person’s free will. Prayer is not magick after all.

There was a situation once where somebody asked me to pray for a third person who was having a spiritual problem. I agreed to do that. But then after a month later, I was annoyed with myself to discover I had still not gotten around to praying for that person more than the little bit I had. Then later on I received a communication from the person who originally made the request, and she told me that she too had stopped praying for that person because she realized the problem was with the third party’s self-will. That is how it goes in prayer sometimes. God knows what is going on, even if you don’t. And He will sometimes douse a prayer you were hot on originally.

There is also the possibility is that your impulse to write a prayer down was wrong in the first place. The spiritual being who put it on the back door of your mind may not have been God after all. That can happen. But since you’ve also prayed for God to tell you when to stop praying for something, He will answer that prayer by removing your desire and interest in praying that bogus prayer.

And sometimes it is just that the answer is “not right now.” Another good reason to save your old prayers.

A Caution to the Fledgling

When you start praying concretely in this way, you have to remember that you are a fledgling learning to fly and not yet the eagle that can soar through the heavens. You have to get used to seeing little prayers answered (that you can easily tell were answered) before you can really believe your big prayers are being answered (which will be longer term and will be based on “evidence not seen.”) That is the real secret behind having faith in prayer. You have to ride a bike with training wheels before you can ride a Harley. And Christ will take you through even this.

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

(Matt 25:21,KJV)

Fledgling Prayers

Your fledgling’s prayers will usually be about things you can easily check on for yourself. That’s because they will mainly concern you! I’m talking about the “help me to” ‘s that eventually get turned into “cause me to” ‘s. If you have tried to pray before, but never succeded in keeping at it, you will start to be amazed at how many times you keep marking “A!”’s on your “cause me to pray” prayer. They stack up after a while, and then you realize that enjoyment of prayer has somehow snuck up on you.

You may never have thought of yourself as being the kind of person who prays a lot, but eventually you’ll go “Enjoyment of prayer? Who’da thought?” And that will be because at a deeper level, Christ - by the Holy Spirit of God within you - will have paid you His quiet visits in your heart. “The desire of all nations” (Hag 2:7) will have secretly become your desire.

Prayer Tactics As Aids to Sanctification

After you get used to praying against yourself (your old self, that is), you may start to get smarter (or it’s Christ who is making you smarter) about prayer. You may begin to discover that it is prayer that is the lever that can move the world (or least your world, anyway).

As I noted earlier, you will get smart about praying at the roots of things instead of their fruits. From here on out, whenever you say “I can’t because ...” -- you will catch yourself and realize that you can pray about the “because” and all the “becauses” that are under them until you get to the root of the thing and turn it into a fruit.

I’ll give you a personal example. As Christ started moving me through my process of santification (which is still on-going and has many as many setbacks as successes), I kept getting hung up on the boredom issue. I knew that a lot of the entertainments I used to satisfy my craving for excitement were not very worthwhile things (to say the least!), and that they were taking up too much of my time.

Then it drawned on me to ask God about that craving. Here’s an early prayer from 4/10/96 to 5/6/96:

R: “Lead me to find true enjoyments. Lead me to find Christian occupations and weapons against boredom. “

There were six prayers. And five answers!

Here’s one from 11/25/95 to 4/8/96:

R: “Lead me to find true play (later morphed to “enjoyment”).”

46 repetitions. 27 answers! I don’t care what anybody says. If you’ve got something that works half time the time, you’ve got something!

Here is a key morph that took place from 5/25/96 to 10/7/97:

R: “Grant me something from Thy great storehouse of good, O God. Grant me some of the happiness Thou hast in Thyself, O God. Grant me even Thyself, O God. Thou art the Master of Happiness.”

47 repetitions. 33 answers!

I haven’t looked at this old prayer book in a while, and I’m sitting here, on April 22nd, 2005, at 1:34 am writing this, and I’ve suddenly realized that THIS prayer is what caused me to write Twenty Seven Metaphors to a Grasp of Happiness from around December 2002 to June 2003!
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” So be it!

And the lesson here is -- never throw away an old prayer! You’ll never realize just how far the Lord went past what you prayed for!

Some Other Prayer Tactics

Some of you reading this may be young people (or even not-so-young people) who have become addicted to giving your heart to certain celebrities like super models or rock stars or movie stars. You may even be addicted to their music if they make any. This is either hero worship (if they are the same sex as you), or sexual obsession (if they are of the opposite sex).

Now believe it or not, I am not going to deplore this. I am not going to deplore this because it is a kind of love. And God is love, and understands more about love then you and I will ever know. The only problem with having these kinds of loves is that there may be more worthy objects of love out there for you, who are more worth your love than you realize, and would do you better to love than these media-created shells that just reflect aspects of yourself back at you. You do not know who these more worthy objects of love are because they are not media icons and the media is therefore preventing you from finding them because it is serving up these shells for you instead.

But your heart is captured by them right now, right? Here is how you get free: Pray to God that He will witness, by His Holy Spirit, to your celebrity’s spirit, about His only-begotten Son, Christ our Lord, that he or she might have eternal life.

If you are sucessful in your suit, then you will have reaped all joy in the object of your affections from The Object of your affections. This is unspeakable happiness.

But because of this possiblity, something else may happen instead. Satan may find that one of his best tools for sapping the affections of millions from their true Source is now coming under the influence of his Enemy. I’m pretty sure that the evil one will not risk something like that if he can prevent it, especially since his time is now so short. So the evil one will likely cut the link he’s forged between your heart and this celebrity. You will then begin to see your celebrity as the empty husk he or she really is, and you will them be free to send you heart out to a more worthly object. Now this is spiritual warfare worthly of the name!

Here is another prayer I have received that’s directed at sanctification. It is based on a quote from A.W. Tozer, which I cannot now find.

R: “Re-string the harp that is within my heart; that I may enjoy the pleasures that Thou givest, O God. Help me to find these pleasure in the place where Thou providest them. Change me over to the tastes and delights that They Holy Spirit with in me has. Let me please Him. Fill me with these pleasures of Thine so that there is no room for any other.”

The thing about this prayer is that it took awhile before it gained traction. It took about 42 repetitions before I started to get some answers to it from time to time.

Here is another. It is based on two verses in the Bible, which are crucial things to understand if you are going to go on with the Lord.

R: “Lord God, help me to avoid being the kind of servant who thinks Thou art a hard one who reaps where he does not sow. Remind me that Thou art altogether NOT one such as myself. Give me the courage to invest the talents Thou hast given me. Give me the courage to be productive. Cause me to truely see Thee through the eyes of Thy Holy Spirit within me.”

There were around 60 repetitions before I got some on and off again answers that satisfied me. But I did get one answer six repetitions into it that encouraged me.

Stretching Your Wings

Eventually, you’ll get used to marking those “A” ‘s down. It will be good to continue to thank God for them, but there will come a time when you realize you won’t need them as much to support your faith in prayer. Faith in prayer will become the air you breath, as will prayer itself to some degree.

It is then you will begin to be able to pray some pretty Quixotic, “tilting at windmills” type prayers. Prayers that would before have been “airy-fairy” prayers can now be taken on with some confidence of seeing some kind of an answer at some point - even if only by way of a synchronistic “wink” from Christ. I’ve already mentioned my prayer for good government earlier. That’s one example. But I have another one, which has another lesson in it. After a number of morphs, this is what the prayer became:

R: I beg that false ideas about Thee

in the minds of men everywhere

be replaced with true ideas about Thee

in the minds of men everywhere,

that they may know Thee,

True God,

and Jesus Christ,

whom Thou hast sent,

that they might have eternal life,

and that Thou mayest have more worshippers.

I beg for there to be servants of Thine

to accomplish this purpose

And that Thy servants already employed in this purpose

maybe upheld in what they do in Thy will

And that Thy assemblies everwhere be prepared and made ready

to receives these new lambs unto Thee, O God.

So be it!

It wasn’t until sometime after this prayer started morphing its way into existence that I realized the importance of it. With the current revival of Gnosticism in the popularity of such books as The Da Vinci Code and their ilk, I’m seeing that there is a mighty wave of misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies about Christ’s person being spread amongst men. Today’s Christian, as at no other time in history, truly stands against a thousand liars.

This little prayer really does tilt at a windmill - or a least a windbag. But the interesting thing is that I’ve now found myself sucked into being part of the process of it being answered. I’m in the blogosphere putting out works like Twenty Seven Metaphors to a Grasp of Happiness, and now Concrete Christian Prayer. A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’d like to say “Be careful what you pray for, you may end up being part of how it is answered.” But I can’t say that about concrete prayer. Christ picks the prayers. And you just pray them. And go along for the ride, come what may.

When You Should NOT Be Marking Down Answers

There are some prayers that you will receive that you should NOT be marking down answers to because if you do, you will defeat the whole purpose of the prayer. These will usually be border-line airy-fairy character-type prayers for which you will not only have to rely on “evidence not seen,” but you should really really hope you do NOT see any evidence of it at all. I’ll embarress myself now by showing you such a prayer of mine, just so that you can see what I am talking about. (Some of it is built on a quote I heard from a mystic I read, but I cannot now recall who it was.):

R: “Cause me to stay clear of pride, spiritual and physical. All I have comes from Thee, O God, and those Thou hast used. Cause me to embrace humility and lowliness with all my heart and love Thee for it. Cause me to take humiliation as the thing necessary to humility. Let other lips praise me, and not my own. [recently added morph: ] Yea, let other lips praise not me but Thee, O God.”

You see?

Praying Machine

After you have been at this awhile, you will have accumulated a goodly number of prayers.

A brand new prayer should probably go into your “Daily” to start with so that you can get some frequency on it to -- well I guess I can say “build up a head of steam,” though that would make things sound a little mechanical. If the new prayer is in the nature of a continuing request, and not something for which a single answer will terminate the request, you will likely move it to one of your “Rounds” where it will get less frequency in comparision to how frequently you pray your other prayers

As I have said, I now have around one hundred or so pray pages, distributed amongst my “Daily” and from “Round 1” to “Round 7.” You will now likely ask me, “Doesn’t that take up a lot of your time?” And I will reply “ It sure does.” For awhile there was a period of time where it took me about an hour and forty-five minutes to get though my prayer notebook.

If that seems extreme to you, you should try to remember that main thing about praying is less the praying itself than in having come from prayer.

Have you ever worked in a work place that had, either an exceptionially nasty person or an exceptionally nice person working in it? If you have, then I’m sure you’ll have recognized the following phenomenon: After working in such work place for a while, you begin to be able to tell who has just been in close proximity with that exceptional person. People will have come away from being with that exceptional person being either nasty themselves (if the exceptional person is exceptionally nasty) or nice themselves (if the exceptional person is exceptionally nice).

That is analogous to what happens in prayer. In prayer you go to spend time talking to an unseen, but very present Person, Who is at the apex of exceptionality. It is a crime to short change yourself the amount of time you spend with that Person, because when you leave His presence, you breathe a different air for a little while, and live a different life for a little while. The more you short change your time with that Person, the more you are short changing yourself of that air and that life. If you short change it enough, He’ll get the message and stop coming by. And tears will result. And this is what the difference is between real prayer and fake prayer: That you can tell the difference.

So, if you get up to your eyeballs in prayers, good for you! And add this next one to them:

R: “Cause me to have the strength to complete my prayers.”

Remember that you can pray about your praying! You can pray about anything that effects your prayer life, or anything else. Pray at the roots to get at the fruits.

Answer Patterns

As I look over my prayers, I do see patterns to the answers.

Sometimes there is a series of repetitions (short or long) and then a answer. A very simple pattern.

Sometimes there are a series of half-answers I see before the final answer is given. A little bit of a tease pattern.

Sometimes there is a buildup of a number of reptitions on a number of pages, and then suddenly something happens that is an obvious answer to multiple pages. God apparently likes to be efficient. And those are glorious prayer sessions. Marking down all those A’s, page by page is quite thrilling.

But then there are instances of some repetitions which go on for awhile, and then out of the blue, the interest is lost or the prayer just doesn’t seem as hot as it used to. God has said “no” or “no yet” in a nice way.

Sometimes the answers involve changes to my inner world, such as getting a word from the scriptures, getting a word from a non-scripture, getting a word from a wise person, or even getting a word from a media item (movies, DVD’s,internet etc.) The sychronicity of getting a word at the exact same time I need a word is what convinces me that it is a word. That, and the fact that the word does not contradict what I know is in the Bible.

Sometimes the answers involve my outer world. There are people God wants me to meet so that either I can add something to their lives, or they can add something to mine, or both. The term “six degrees of separation” comes to mind. That phrase asserts that every person in the world is only six aquaintences away from every other person in the world. The old tune about the abdication of Edward the VIII a pretty good example of this doctine: “I danced with a man who danced with a woman, who danced with the Prince of Wales...”

This is of course another example of the concept of synchronicity. Some of it is of God, and some of it is of the Devil, and some of it is neutral. The apostle Paul meeting Lydia the seller of purple in Thyatira was the work of God. Bonnie finally meeting Clyde was the Devil’s work. Your meeting the former orthodondist of the personal secretary of your favorite movie celebrity is completely neutral (and meaningless).

More than likely, your praying will see you having more synchronicities of God’s kind then of the Devil’s. .

Supplications Can Be Tricky

Here is where you are going to have your greatest challenges to believing in answered prayer.

I have found that answered prayer for both my internal life and for my physical needs is fairly common. I have found that general outward prayers (of the “good government” kind) have been answered by little winks of synchroniscity, from time to time, that assure me that something is happening instead of nothing. I have even found it to be the case that praying for a group of people yields those synchronistic winks as well.

But what has challenged me the most has always been specific individuals. There is a quirkyness to individuals that can be both joyous and dismaying. And sometimes at the same time. There is the newcomer we’ve been discipling for months who suddenly abandons Christianity for a California religion. There is the hard boiled atheist who’s been hammering on us for months, and who now wants us to pray for him or her, even though he or she is still adamant about not believing in God. There is the teacher we’ve been idolizing for so long who suddenly takes a fifty foot pratfall. There just seems to be a sort of spiritual Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle when it comes to supplications for individuals as individuals.

The thing that we have to keep in mind in regard to individuals that we pray for is that Christ Himself has these problems with individuals all the time. It is the same problem that He had with us when we first came to him:

Ps 32:8-9

8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

(KJV)

When we first came to Christ, we were bucking broncos He had to break. And break us, He did. But there are still times when something can spook us and cause us to buck Him off our backs and head for the low chaparral.

If these are things that He deals with, then they will be things that we will deal with. We’ll just have to get used to them and look for our faith to those things were are more stable.

Heb 13:8

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

(KJV)

Your Mileage May Vary

I have tried to keep this book, and this particular chapter, as flexiable and general as possible. I have tried to avoid giving you a set of prayers and saying “here, pray that,” though in fact it looks like I have done just that.

What I have been trying to do is not so much leave you with a “cookbook” of prayers, as show you that you can have a dynamic (though unseen) relationship with the Father, in the name of the Son, through Holy Spirit, and that this dynamic relationship is expressed and carried on in a dynamic ever changing, interlocking set of prayers. But I cannnot show you this without showing you some prayers and saying “here are some prayers I was given and this is now they worked to together, and here is some of how things worked out in practice.”

So let me clarify one thing. Once you take this embryo of a relationship with God into your own hands, its going to become your own responsibility. I will be any Christian’s brother in faith towards Christ. But I will be no man’s teacher, father, master, or guru, as long as he has Christ within him by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. I have no intention of founding a school of prayer. The the only thing any Christian should expect from what I have written here is that their relationship with Christ will be different from my relationship with Christ:

John 21:20-22

20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")

21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"

22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."

(NIV)

All I have done here is give you a starting point to move forward from. In fact, given my limitations, I expect greater things from you all than I do of myself. Go to it!

Mysticism and the Occult

2005-08-02T01:24:00.000-07:00

I had a challenging time trying to figure out what the difference was between mysticism and the occult. Even book publishers have a difficult time distinguishing the two. I’ve seen a lot of book covers on books about mysticism that - even if the books are about something as prosaic as praying - still look like something out of The Twilight Zone. Type fonts and letterings are both garish and abnormal. Dark backgrounds. Dark foregrounds. Weird pictures of weird people doing weird things.

But that’s all probably due to the mental associations I’ve spoken of already. And to the weirdos working in the art departments of most publishing companies.

Anyway, this brings me to Evelyn Underhill’s magnum opus, Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. When I first saw that book, its cover had a picture of a garish statue of Saint Theresa of Avila ( another argonaut) having one of her ecstatic trances. That put me off reading the book for a good long while.

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) was one those gifted amateurs who become authoritative without seeming to have ever picked up specific credentials for what they become authoritative about. She was the one, in the 20th century, who “wrote the book on” the topic of mysticism. She had read an astonishing number of books on mysticism, that spanned various time periods and various religions. And then she sat down and wrote this massive work that was her consolidated understanding of what she had read.

I will tell you that from my perspective, Underhill’s Mysticism has a peculiar flavor to it. It dates from when Underhill was a James 1:17 kind of believer, but not yet a John 3:16 kind of believer. This book has universalistic tendencies, and Underhill often refers to God as “Reality.”

But there is a strength in that. As part of her wanderings as a James 1:17 type believer trying to feed her spiritual hunger, Underhill had for a time been a member of the Golden Dawn Society. This was a society dedicated to the study occult subjects, and Aleister Crowley himself had once been a member at one time. When Underhill found that her spiritual hunger did not lay in the direction of occultism, she dropped out of the society. But this brush with occult teaching gave her the criticial insight to distinguish exactly what the difference was between mysticism and occultism.

The difference turns out to be between thinking and feeling. Let me give you an analogy.

Lets say that Albert Einstein had a pet dog. To that dog, Einstein’s thoughts could never be its thoughts, nor Einstein’s ways its ways. (Isaiah 55:8) It could never in a million years comprehend what Einstein meant by E=MC squared. But if that dog truly became Einstein’s pet, it would one day learn to bark excitedly and wave its tail rapidly back and forth whenever Einstein yelled “Eureka!” in his study. And it would also learn to run into his study, whimper, and lick his dangling fingers whenever Einstein sat down, dejected.

The mysticism (inner experience) that honors God and seeks Him out is the kind where a human being is transformed into being a sort of “pet” of God, who loves what God loves, and hates what God hates, and yearns most earnestly for what God earnestly yearns for:

Luke 10:27

27 ... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

(KJV)

Christianity is uniquely geared towards facilitating that kind of mysticism. The internal mechanism for allowing it to happen has been made available by God.

I Jn 4:7-10

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation [ satisfying of God ] for our sins.

(KJV)

1 Pet 1:22-23

22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

(KJV)

The eternal Son has become incarnate to be the propitiation (satifying of God) for our sins. This allows the Holy Spirit of God to indwell us. The Holy Spirit of God then prompts us to pray unto the Father in the name of the Son. And that begins to conform us to the image of the Son so that we are made sons of God by adoption.

Occultism, on the other hand, is about the thinking part. It’s the attempt to know what God knows, instead of feeling what God feels. Einstein’s dog is not so much interested in loving Einstein as in knowing what E=MC squared means so that it can do without Einstein and remain, in the end, just a dog. We are fortunate that the disobedient angelic spirits do not bother much with dogs.

Prayer is begging God that He will change our hearts so we will fall into line with what His will is on earth as it is in heaven. It is an act of faith in God’s goodness.

Magick, on the other hand, is ordering or begging intermediaries between us and God to execute our will, regardless of whether or not it is God’s will, and regardless of whether we are initelligent enough to know whether something is going to be good for us and others, or not. It is a faith in our own intelligence which is also an disbelief in the goodness of God.

In this lies the essential difference between mysticism that is of God, and mysticism that is of the Devil. There are mysticisms, including those that purport to be Christian mysticisms, which tend to blur this distinction.

Before I leave this topic, let me clarify three things about what I’ve just said.

First, when I said that the true inner experience of God is though emotions rather than the intellect, I do not by that mean that intellect is something to be discarded in order to experience God.

In fact, let me back that up further and say that experiential knowledge of God is not something that can be seized by executing certain techniques. It is always something God may give us if it pleases Him to do so. God more often uses our emotions rather than our intellects because our intellects are finite and limited in comparision to His. When God deals with us internally, He may find that our emotions always outstrip our intellects when it comes to receiving something He has for us. So He tends to use communication with our emotions more often than not.

So deliberately discarding your intellect and deliberately running on your emotions will not necessarily get you anywhere. (In fact, that may harm you instead). Your intellect still has its place in educating and directing your emotions. And while intellect may not be able to comprehend some of these emotions, it is still their guardian and fellow-worker. Emotions, in the end, are a communication tool and not the communication tool.

Secondly, a tiny little bit of direct emotional communication goes a long way. So far as I know, Amy Carmichael received only that one auditory vision I spoke of earlier. It was enough to overturn her existing scale of values and make her a missionary for life. If that’s all she ever got in that way, it was certainly enough for the rest of her life. So one’s life doesn’t necessarily have to be one constant stream of emotion. Like every other passion in life, there will be dry spots here and there, and you should not be laid low if you experience them from time to time.

Lastly, these direct personal communications to your soul are exactly that - direct personal communications. They are rarely meant for the Christian assembly as a whole, and most definitely do not supercede one iota of truth already found in the Word of God. If you receive such a personal communication, please remember this, and please don’t forget that there is always the possibility of a deceptive, demonic element in anything that gets placed on the back door of your mind. If you forget this, you are virtually asking a devil to make a fool out of you.

Mysticism

2005-08-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Now we get to the nasty word that can, and possibly will, be applied by others to all that I have been discussing both in this chapter and for most this book. If ever there has been a “shibboleth” that has caused one Christian to turn upon another, it is this word.

[Judg 12:5-6

5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

(KJV)]

George Muller has written the following:

“God then began to show me that the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by the Holy Spirit; and that in our day, as well as in former times. He is the Teacher of His people. The office of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood before that time.

“It was my beginning to understand this latter point in particular, which had a great effect on me; for the Lord enabled me to put it to the test of experience, by laying aside

commentaries, and almost every other book and simply reading the word of God

and studying it.

“The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself into my room, to give myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I learned more in a few hours

than I had done during a period of several months previously.

“But the particular difference was that I received real strength for my soul in so doing. I now began to try by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and seen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were of real value.”

[The Lord’s Dealings with George Muller. J. Nisbet & Co., London.

Muller could write of receiving real strength for his soul. And I can write of “the front door” and “the back door” and of a “Chicagoland,” and of Christ looking back at us when we look into the pages of scripture, and of our being transformed by that look.

And for that, both Muller and myself will be labelled “mystics,” and what we have said will be labelled “mysticism.”

But we will have been labelled that by those who believe they are alone inside their own heads and barely even believe that they are a spirit indwelling a body which has the Holy Spirit of God co-resident. But yet they will use the same Biblical language as Muller and myself. This is the difference between “shibboleth” and “sibboleth” as far as the things of God are concerned.

So what’s wrong with this word “mysticism?”

Well, for one thing it looks like a wicked word. It looks like it has associations with the word “mystery,” which in turn brings up ideas like “darkness” and “hidden things” and “secrets” and such like things. In literature, “mysteries” are the “who dunnit?” books about solving murders.

These are not associations that upright, wholesome, honest, and above boards Christian people care for.

Rom 13:12

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

(KJV)

1 Cor 4:5

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

(KJV)

2 Cor 6:14

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

(KJV)

I Jn 1:6

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

(KJV)

2 Cor 4:2

2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

(KJV)

And then there are the things that have been attributed to mysticism in the popular mind: astrology, alchemy, mythology, spiritualism, telepathy, telekinesis,clairvoyance, divination, and Extra Sensory Perception. And because of these attributions, mysticism has attracted to it people who have been downright unwholesome, dishonest, and decidedly below boards.

Also, the term “mysticism” has been applied to other religions. There is “Christian Mysticism,” ‘Buddhist Mysticism,” “lslamic mysticism,” “Hindu mysticism”, etc. etc. This has been taken by some to mean that “mysticisim” is a denial of the uniqueness of Christianity.

There is is even a webite with the label “Christian Mysticism” which uses the false Secret Gospel of Thomas (a Gnostic work) to promote the idea that Our Lord was ... Well, I will not write it. Suffiice it to say that the idea is as abominable as the website.

So these are the dark associations that the the word “mysticism” raises in many Christian minds, and the associations that many wicked people would like to keep current.

And these are also the mental associations that modern science and philosophy would encourage, even though modern science and philosophy has long left behind the idea of something being moral or immoral.

In science, if you say that there is a something, but cannot produce instrument readings showing the thing to exist, or cannot theorize it’s existence in any way congruent with existing scientific knowledge, then you will be called a “mystic,” and what you say will be called “mysticism.”

In philosophy, if you say that something can be known to the mind but the knowledge of it cannot be had by putting it into rigorously consistent symbols that can be grasped by another mind (i.e. via mathematics or language), then you will be called a “mystic,” and what you say will be called “mysticism.”

Now, this label of “mysticism” is not meant to be a moral judgement by science or philosophy. It is meant to be a classification. Just has the legal profession concerns itself solely with what is legal and illegal - and not with what is moral or immoral - science and philosophy concern themselves only with what is science and philsophy. Mysticism is not considered science or philosophy because of the intangibles it deals with.

For example, science and philosophy will both affirm that there is such a thing as the color blue. Science will affirm it with instrumentation. Philosophy will affirm it as a verbal symbol that means one thing and not another. But if I ask the question “Is the color blue I see in my mind when I recall a blue object I’ve seen the same color blue that someone else sees in their mind when they do the same?”

Is this a valid question? Yes. Is it a scientific question? Not presently. The instrumentation isn’t there. Is it a philosophical question? It used to be, but now it has been relegated to being a question about the use of language. So the question is considered a mystical question.

But the Christian layman continues to think that science and philosphy do make moral judgements about things - and especially things like mysticism. And the scientist and the philospher is not loath to encourage that misconception if it serves their turn. Science and philosophy have long fought a very hard battle to keep mysticism out of science and philosophy. And the mass beliefs of non-scientists and non-philosophers have long been the source of mysticisms that try to creep back into science and philosophy.

So when science and philosophy cast their baleful eyes on statments made by George Muller and myself and pronounces us to be “mystics” - and what we say to be “mysticism.” - there are upright, wholesome, honest, and above boards Christians sitting in the stands above who will yell down “Atta boy, science and philosophy! Now go and kick’em while they’re down!”

But then after the said kicking is administered, these very nice upright, wholesome, honest, and above boards Christians will take out their Bibles, quote from them, and then be stunned when the scientists and philosophers turn on them and label them mystics and say that what they are quoting is mysticism.

The Bible speaks of a God who cannot be entirely captured by any human system of symbols, and cannot be detected on any instrument of human observation. And so now these wholesome Christians also get to feel the sting of what feels like a moral judgement.

Clearly, the problem is with the use of the word mysticism. The problem is not with the word itself, but with how it is used. Lets break it down for our understanding.

First of all, are all of the mental associations with the word myticism to be completely shunned by Christian people? I think not. Darkness does not always have evil connotations in the scriptures:

Gen 15:12-16

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

(KJV)

Deut 5:22

22 These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

(KJV)

2 Sam 22:7-12

7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

(KJV)

Nor does “hiddeness”:

1 Cor 2:7

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

(KJV)

1 Pet 3:4

4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

(KJV)

Rev 2:17

17 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.

(KJV)

Nor does “secret”

Deut 29:29

29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

(KJV)

Judg 13:18

18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

(KJV)

Ps 25:14

14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

(KJV)

And even the apostle Paul uses the word “mystery” to expound Christian truth:

Rom 11:25

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

(KJV)

Rom 16:25-27

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

(KJV)

1 Cor 15:51-52

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

(KJV)

Eph 1:9

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

(KJV)

So lets start getting at the root of the matter. Where does the word mysticism come from?

It comes from the word mystic. Mysticism is what a mystic says. It’s what comes out of a mystic’s mouth.

And what is the root and orginal meaning of the word mystic?

The word mystic comes from the Greek word mystickos. Mystickos means "belonging to secret rites." It in turn comes from the Greek mystes, which means "one initiated."

“Not what,” you may ask, “does that refer to?” And I will answer.

It refers to the private Greek mystery religions that grew up along side the public worship of the Greek idol gods.

In any age, human beings who give themselves to the worship and service of vain idols find that despite whatever external benefits they think they receive in life, or evils they think they avoid in life, their thoughts still turn to what happens after life when the Unseen receives them into its eternal realm. There is always the quesiton of what happens to the “I-guy” after all has been said and done on earth.

In the pagan mind, the answer to this question was found, not in the public worship of their communities’ idols, but in private, secret devotions that were personalized between a worshiper and his idol through secret initiations, ceremonies, rituals, and myths. These secret religious observances where to the soul of a pagan man, what the public religious services were to the body of a pagan man - a personal space that was as unique to him as his “I-guy” was. So that meant these rites had to be and remain secret, and not something to be revealed and shared with “just anyone.”

But since they were secret and had to stay secret, how then did they get communicated from one generation to the next? The solution was the idea of “initiation.”

The secrets would stay with a select few, who would “initiate” a young newcomer, who would then grown old in the mysteries and later initiate another young newcomer. Thus were “the mysteries” passed down. And thus was a mystes a “one initiated.”

Since the whole business was about the survival of the “I-guy,” the idol god a pagan chose to built a mystery rite around was usually one that had an existing death-and-resurrection myth. Take for example, the Eleusinian Mysteries. Here is a Wikipeda article on them that gives flavor of what they were like:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries#The_Mysteries

Eleusis was a small town located about 30 km NW of Athens. It was an agricultural town, producing wheat and barley.

The Mysteries were based on a legend revolving around Demeter. Her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades, the god of death and the underworld. Demeter was the goddess of life, agriculture and fertility. She neglected her duties while searching for her daughter; the earth froze and the people starved— the first winter. ... Finally Demeter was reunited with her daughter and the earth came back to life— the first spring. ... Persephone was unfortunately unable to stay permanently in the land of the living, because she had eaten a few seeds of a pomegranate that Hades had given her. Those that eat the food of the dead may not return. A compromise was worked out and Persephone stayed with Hades for one third of the year (winter, as the Greeks only recognized three seasons, skipping autumn) and with her mother the remaining eight months.

The Eleusinian Mysteries celebrated Persephone's return, for it was also the return of plants and of life to the earth. She had eaten seeds (symbols of lives) while in the underworld (underground, like seeds in the winter) and her rebirth is therefore symbolic of the rebirth of all plant life during the spring and, by extension, all life on earth.

So a participant in the religion of the Eleusinian Mysteries was one who hoped to link his personal “I-guy” to the drama of death and resurrection as played out by Persephone, and thereby possibly gain the survival of his “I-guy” after death.

In a way, this is the same idea as beating on a “strength” for physical benefits, but now it has been transformed into receiving the “spiritual” benefit of surviving the death of the body.

Because mystery religions provided this “payoff,” there have been attempts in the past to portray Christianity as a Jewish sect that got turned into a mystery religion. But this superficial comparision does not take into account the following from Ps 50:16-21:

Ps 50:16-21

16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

(KJV)

If there is one clause in the whole book of the Bible that summarizes idolatry in a nutshell it is this: thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself. The essential ingredient in every form of idolatry is the attempt by the creature to remake his creator into a being like himself. “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Rom 1:24-25, KJV).

The idolater wants a god who is like himself so that he can have a god who will fellowship with that self. Israel’s unseen He-Who-Is is not a Being who can be so moulded. And His manifestion in human form as the Son of God from heaven is likewise not a Being who can be so moulded even though He is a man. The cross He bore is the proof of that. His cross was our remaking back into His own image, not the other way around. This is divine severity, divine condescension, and divine mercy.

In the Greek mystery religions, there as a large amount of “kidding” of the self. The requirement of a moral life (where that was even a consideration) as mostly for “show.” And there were few exclusive initiations. If you initiated yourself into one mystery, you could still initiate yourself into another. This had something of the flavor of “covering all your bets,” as the 2nd century’s The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius makes fun of a character who is so “devout” that he had himself initiated into just about every mystery cult there was. At some point these mystery religions became pretty much like joining a Moose Lodge or an Elk’s Club.

But notice what has happened. A word, mysticism, has been coined that refers to the “inner” or “spiritual” experiences of a religion as opposed to the “outer” or “material” expression of it. This is how a Christian’s inner experience of the Holy Spirit of God can come to be labelled “mysticism,” even thought the origins of the word have nothing to do with Christianity.

In fact, this is what is meant by “Christian Mysticism” as opposed to another religion’s mysticism. It refers to the inner experiences of Christianity that some Christians have, rather that to the outward expression of it. The word mysticism does not necessarily deny the uniqueness of Christianity. But there have always been writers on Christian Mysticism who have tried to make it seem so.

There is also another thing to notice. The terminology used to describe a mystery religion sheds light on why the apostle Paul used the word mystery to describe the revelation of the Christian age.

As the book of Acts makes clear, in Paul’s time, nearly every city in the Hellenic world had a synagogue where Moses was taught:

Acts 15:21

21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

(KJV)

This teaching had distinct external elements to it: the invisible God, sexual morality, and dietary directives. There was also the separation of uncircumcised gentiles from the worship meetings (though females gentile converts were completely accepted, and the males unwilling to be circumsized could often stay in the background as “God fearers.”) .

When Paul began his missionary journeys into the Greek world, he had to find a way of explaining why some things were now different from the way they had always been in the synogogues. In Christian assemblies, Jews and no-Jews mixed together in the worship meetings. And there was now the Messiah, revealed as the eternal Son of God yet incarnate as a man and now seated on His father’s throne in the heavenlies. Sexual morality remained (though you wouldn’t know it from the Corinthians) And food issues got dicey from time to time because there were those who’s conscience would not let them feel that the dietary laws of Moses were “a shadow of things to come”, of which Christ was the realilty.

While Paul was preaching the revelations he had been given directly by Christ from His heavenly throne, Paul had to explain why the revelations had some differences from what had always been heard in the synagogues.

Paul was aware that his target audience was well familiar with the Greek mystery religions, and so he couched his messages in the familiar terminology of the mystery religions. He could speak of “mysteries” - things implicit in the Hebrew scriptures, but now revealed - things now made manifest by Christ’s walk amongst men, and the revelations given to Paul.

He could talk to his listeners as if they were “initiates” into those “mysteries.” But since he was openly preaching and writing out these doctrines, this gospel he was preaching was not really a mystery religion. He could couch the Christian revelation as a whole in terms of being a mystery because the essence of it - communcation wth the Father, in the name of the Son, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit - was as intensely internal and personal a thing as any mystery religion had ever been known to be. This made for some very flexible language ...

.... in proclaiming the Christian revelation as a whole ...

Rom 16:25-27

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

(KJV)

1 Cor 2:7-11

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

(KJV)

Eph 1:3-10

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

(KJV)

... and for explaining things that were specifically revealed to Paul ...

1 Cor 15:51-55

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

(KJV)

Eph 3:1-6

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

(KJV)

Eph 5:31-33

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

(KJV)

Col 1:25-27

25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

(KJV)

So this is again how the term mysticism came to be associated with the internal, spiritual events of a Christian’s faith. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

But there was an actual historical moment when Christians did start to explicitly use the word “mystic,” “mystical,” and “mysticism” to describe their internal experiences of Christ through the Holy Spirit of God that was within them.

What seems to have happened is this.

Like those of us in the modern age who know Christ through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, and have seen Him look back at us in the pages of the scriptures when we have given Him the time that honors Him, there were also Christians in the time of The Desert Fathers who had experienced the same things. “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32, KJV) Like David of old, they found Him to be the apple of their eyes, and yearned for more.

But like most of us, they had the responsibilities and duties that come of living in this busy world. As young people, they had a duty to the parents who gave them birth to marry and have offspring so that their parents could be cared for when they were old and unable to care for themselves in a pre-social security world. And then having married a spouse, there were the duties toward that spouse as well as to the spouse’s family. Then came all the reciprocal duties to the extended in-laws, and the duties to one’s own children and all the children of one’ extended family. And then came the reciprocal duties to all one’s neighbors and their children (for it does take a village to raise a child - unless one wants to be driven to distraction).

So from the extention of oneself into one horizontal relationship, a myriad of others spring into being, and the time for one’s single, fervent, fierce, and vertical relationship to God is reduced as each horizontal relationship springs into being, and as material needs expand and drive one forward into near-ceaseless labor.

In Christianity, the intial impulse to celibacy came from just this consideration.

1 Cor 7:32-33

32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:

33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

(KJV)

Later this would harden into matter-hating, gnostic, “forbidding to marry” type heresies (1 Tim. 4:3), but initiallly it was about getting the precious “apple of the eye” time with God.

But then something happened. The honest impulse to seek time to be alone with the Lord started to get “professionalized” into a whole discipline for doing so. The monasticism stuff started happening.

This flew in the face of revelation. There is an aside in one of Paul’s espistles where he writes against the idea of “leaving the world.”:

1 Cor 5:9-11

9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--

10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

(NIV)

The proper and true relationship of a Christian to The World is to be “in it, but not of it.”

Matt 5:13-16

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

(KJV)

But no, these argonauts of the spirit went ahead and removed themselves to where it was just God and them, and the desolate wilderness. They had to go see what God would make of them, and what they could make of God. They were undistracted and completely free to consentrate and look with unveiled face onto Him who looks back.

There is was a Catholic monk called St. John of the Cross. His writings were suppressed after the coucil of Trent because they were deemed “too Protestant” when the Protestant Reformation got underway. John of the Cross was famous for saying that there was such a thing as “spiritual” gluttony - or gluttony in regard to spiritual things. These argonauts of the spiritual realm were to find that out.

Yes, some of them were marvelously transformed. And people would come out to the desolate places just to see them and learn from them what they had learned from God. And that would be enough to get them yanked them back out of their caves and back into useful service in the world. The law of unintended consequences at work. And a demostration that a limited time of being alone with the Lord can reap some good if it does not go overboard. The apostle Paul spent some time alone after his conversion in order to assimilate what had happen to him, and he came back from that a fierce knife of a man for the Lord.

But there were others who made shipwreck of their faith. In my essay on the nature of occult phenomena (http://twentysevenmetaphors-graspofhappiness.blogspot.com/2005/01/appendix-necromanyrecarnation-and-last.html), I’ve said that the way one becomes aware of the spiritual world is by becoming as unaware of the physical world as possible.

Some of those poor isolated nimrods became very aware of the spiritual world. So much so that some of them developed what Watchman Nee has so decorously refered to as “the latent powers of the soul.” The importunacy of their souls went over into the extreme of occult phenomena. They experienced visions, voices, and nonsense. They became the playthings of lying spirits. And they went on to play a part in adding unscriptural traditions and attitudes to the Christian revelation. This all played a part in the drift of Christianity that eventually led to the Reformation.

But their main contribution was to take the private spiritual experiences a Christian has with His Lord, and cause them to be labelled mysticism. These freelance monks started calling themselves mystics - “initiated ones” - just because they had professionalized what had been freely available to any Christian who cared to seriously pray and read his or her Bible.

Then they started to write about the things they had experienced and their writings went on to be called “mystical philosophy” or “mysticism.” And of course all the ones who went haywire got to attach all their weirdness to this term too.

The words “mystic” and “mysticism” did not immediately get as much traction in Western Christendome as it did in Eastern Christendome. The reason for that is that the Christians in the West were rightly suspicious of a word that originated with the pagan Greek mystery religions. They’d already caught a whiff of the dirty word it would be made into.

What Christians in the West had been calling their private times with the Lord was something they called “contemplation.” A much more wholesome looking word, which comes from the latin for “with a temple.” One lets one’s mind become a temple of the Holy Spirit by prayer and reading the scriptures.

But then came the further professionalization of Christianity. It came to be divided between “lay people” and “the religious.” And so being a “mystic” and spouting “mysticism” became the province of a select group of “religious.” In fact, if you were a “lay” person, and later started to get inclinations to seriously pray and read the Bible, the authories would come along and dub your a “reglious” and toss you into the nearest monastery or convent they could find so you wouldn’t infect ordinary people.

Once there, if you continued to be serious about praying and reading the Bible, and started having spiritual experencies because of it, presto! You were a mystic! And what came out of you mouth would be called mysticism, good, bad, or indifferent.

Because of the undercurrent of bad doctrine in Christendom back then, a lot of what came out of a mystic’s mouth was both very good and very bad. As I mentioned, St John of the Cross turned out to be so Protestant that what he wrote was later supressed by the Catholic church when the Reformation got started.

Madame Guyon suffered a like fate. She had always thought of herself as a dutiful daughter of the Catholic church. But then she wrote something called “A Short and Easy Method of Prayer,” and it turned out to be a document advocating that believers to cut out the “intermediaries” and go directly to the Father in the name of the Son. That kind of thing got her clapped into prison. After her death her writings became very popular among Protestants.

But then there was also Richard Rolle of “The Fire of Love,” (c. 1343) which has the following passage in it.

Another [woman] rebuked me because I spoke of her great bosom as if it pleased me. She said, "What business is it of yours whether it is big or little?" She too was right. The third [woman] jokingly took me up when I appeared to be going to touch her somewhat rudely, and perhaps had already done so, by saying, "calm down, brother!" It was as if she had said, "It doesn't go with your office of hermit to be fooling with women."

The anounymous author of “The Cloud of Unknowing” would later rebuke Rolle for his very physically based attitude to mysticism. (Rolle made a big deal out of feeling a sensation of “fire” in his chest.)

But the real damage was done during the Protest Reformation.

When the Reformation got started, the great men of the newly rediscovered word of God (sola scriptura!, scripture alone!) came forward to challenge the doctrinal drift that Catholic doctrine had undergone during its long centuries. One of the ways the Catholic church reacted was to bring out their mystics and say “look here, their visions support our positions.” And the nascent Protestant churches then reacted by leveling their new secret weapon: Newtonian science. In very short order Protestants came to see “mysticism” as “something those nutty Catholics do.”

So now we’ve come to this heritage in the Protestant churches were there is a strong tradition of unicycling (Scripture alone!), where anything that smacks of “mysticism” is considered suspect, both for its historical support of bad doctrine (even though it also supported good doctrine), and because it is “unscientific” and is considered to have a taint of the occult on it.

But in Protestantism’s long history, there have continued to be people who have seriously prayed and read the scritptures, and had synchronistic communications from God happen to them from to time, which let them know that God was really with them in their daily lives and not just in Bible stories.

Take, for example, John Nelson Darby. None one will accuse JND of mysticism, or of being a mystic. But yet there was a time when someone tried to talk him out of the doctrine of the divine inspiration of every word in the Bible. (http://www.johndarby.org/beginning/)

This person said to Mr. Darby “But do you really think that no part of the New Testament may have been temporary in its object? For instance, what should we have lost, if St. Paul had never written the verse, 'The cloak which I left at Troas bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments'?”

And Mr. Darby replied right back, “I should certainly have lost something; for that is exactly the verse which alone saved me from selling my little library. No! every word, depend upon it, is from the Spirit, and is for eternal service.”

There you go. JND had been trying to decide if he should sell his little library, and he had taken his Bible reading of that day as God’s opinion on the matter. Even Mr. Darby was alert to synchronicities.

Why have I been going on this long about a single weird word?

Well, I am not really trying to defend it. I shun being called a “mystic” because there are some circles in which that would be considered “cool” because of some of the word’s associations in the popular mind with occult phenomena.

I’ve gone on this long about the word because if you, as a reader of this book, set yourself to pray concretely and make yourself sit and listen to the Bible, there are going to be well meaning people, well meaning Christian people, scientists, philosophers, and Protestants who are going to call you a mystic and what you are doing mysticism. I want you to be prepared in your own mind for when that happens. The word essentially means that you are someone who has communications with God, both sending and receiving. But there are a whole host of other associations the word has that you may not like. Don’t get upset about what other people call it. You have no control over that.

The Cure of All Things

2005-08-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Now that I’ve spoken of some of the pitfalls of santification, I again want to bring you back to the essential cure of them all: To ever continue to be at the back door, where you heart is, while continuing in concrete prayer to God and in patient sitting and listening to the Word of God. This is the sovereign cure of most of the ills of santification because it comes from the Sovereign Himself.

1 Tim 4:4-5

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

The Anatomy of a Fifty Foot Fall

2005-08-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

There is another problem that I have with “deeper life” books and with the “holiness” teachings that tend to surround them. The problem is that some of them give the impression that there is a point of “arrival” where santification is concerned.

My view is that it is just the opposite. I believe that no matter how well along you think you are in being conformed to Christ’s image, there is always a brother, or a sister, or nasty suprise that can show you that you still have a long way to go. Paul’s rebuke of Peter in Galatians 2 shows this to be exactly the case.

Does scripture say “ye are complete in Him”? (Col 2:10). Yes. But it means that the completeness is in Him and we have that completeness by being in Him. We do not have it of ourselves. The World, the Flesh, and the Devil are ever-present to tempt us away from abiding in Him. And that makes it possible to have a Fifty Foot Fall.

The best way I can explain a Fifty Foot Fall is to show you a version of it that exists in the Hebrews scriptures.

2 Chr 26:1-23

1 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.

2 He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

3 Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

4 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.

5 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.

6 And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.

7 And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims.

8 And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.

9 Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.

10 Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

11 Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.

12 The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.

13 And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

14 And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones.

15 And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

16 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

17 And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:

18 And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.

19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.

20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.

21 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.

23 So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

(KJV)

A wonderful king this King Uzziah. He was wonderfully obedient to God all the days of his reign, going from strength to strength in his obedience to God. But eventually that very strength tempted him into operating contrary to the LORD, his God. And you’ll notice that it was the written word of God that he transgressed. Only the Aaronic priesthood was commanded to burn incense before the Self-Existent One. No one else, no matter how better they might be, was authorized to do so.

Here is what I believe happens when it happens in Christianity. I believe it a case where a Christian servant of many long years of experience has had so much experience of obeying and executing Christ’s will that he or she eventually comes to believe that there is no difference between his or her will and that of Christ’s. It is when that fatal misapprehension finally occurs in an old servant of Christ that the Devil finally sees his opportunity and moves to tempt the old servant away from Christ. The Fifty Foot Fall ensues.

All the great servants of Christ are given one last opportunity to destroy their ministry before they leave it to other men to carry on. This I believe.

God’s Grace versus Lasciviousness

2005-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

That there are people who are external to Christianity but who nonetheless want to think of themselves (and be thought of by others) as being Chrstians has been true since the beginning of Christianity. There was Simon the sorcerer who thought he could buy the Holy Spirit of God from the apostle Peter for a sum of money (Acts 8). The writer of Hebrews wrote about profane persons (like Esau) being among the believers (Hebrews 12:16), and Paul enjoined the readers of his letter to the Corithians to:

2 Cor 13:5

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?

(NIV)

There is also that misunderstanding of Christianity which presumes that since “Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3) one is therefore free to go about sinning all one wants to. This was the slander that was often leveled at Paul’s gospel:

Rom 3:8

8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? ... .

(KJV)

This kind of thing culuminated into an actual doctrine that was later preached in Christian assemblies:

Jude 1:4

4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness ...(KJV)

[Lasciviousness simply means not being able to control one’s appetites. It does not neccessarily refer to sex, but often does simply because sex is the appetite most people cannot control.]

Rev 2:20,24

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols ...

24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

(KJV)

The idea was that one could learn all there was to know about the grace of God by plunging into the depths of Satan in order to be forgiven. (!) ( Note well that this idea is the polar opposite of the idea of sinless perfection. Satan is often the lord of the extremes.)

Of this I idea, I will simply say the following.

Image, if you will, running a business that has been financed by a wealthy relative. Yes, it is the wealthy relative’s money and not your own that you are running the business with. And yes, you will take losses from time to time that your wealthy relative will eat. But the purpose of the business is not for you to deliberately pile up loss after loss just because your wealthy relative is providing the money to keep it afloat. The purpose of the business is to keep it in business despite the losses. This is the relationship that santification has to sin. Santification is the business of staying near Christ and being conformed by Him to His image. Sins are the losses that get incurred by the business while it is being conducted in this world.

1 Cor 6:13-15

13 ... Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

(KJV)

Forgiveness of sins is not so that we can indulge them to the full without consequence, but rather so that our consciences can be cleansed enough for us to have fellowship with Christ at the heart’s door without shame, despite our sins. It is so that God can be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom 3:26) The business of God is the worship of Himself by His creatures who can worship. This is why C.S. Lewis refered to joy as “the serious business of heaven.”

The Deeper Life That Isn’t

2005-08-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

The problem “deeper life” books have had all along is that they have been written by people who have experienced the collasp into the true mastery by Christ, but they have been read by people who have not experienced this and who have gone on to take up deeper life teachings with the front door of their minds only.

In a Clock-work Orange, “deeper life” teachings can be assimulated into yet another set of Chrisitian routines to be gone through while he or she continues to deceive him or herself into thinking their continued self-control of their life apart from Christ is what the deeper life is.

In a struggler, an encounter with Deepr Life teaching can either be a blessing or a disaster. It can be a blessing if the struggler sees it as a bend in the road going over the landbridge from Romans 7 (control of the self by the self) to Romans 8 (control of the self by Christ) that gives them a view of Romans 8 while they are still on the bumpy road of Romans 7. But the encounter can also be a diaster if they are still struggling in Romans 7 territory and then take up Deeper Life teachings with the front door of their minds. The pressure of being in Romans 7 territory (control of the self by the self) will increase dramatically. But instead of it being the steady pressure meant to cause a collasp into Romans 8 territory, it may instead result in a “spiritual hernia” that causes cynicism and ship wreck of the faith.

It has to be remembered that Romans 8 territory is something Christ leads you into from the heart (the back door) that you cannot march into of your own accord (by the front door). That is because the key difference between Romans 7 and Romans 8 is who is doing things - you or Christ? The only thing you can “do” about getting from Romans 7 to Romans 8 is to continue praying concretely and receiving visits from Christ at the back door, where your heart is. (But even after that you begin to realize that that was not your work but Christ’s, who had plucked on your heart strings all those times when you felt compelled to pray and be with Him.)

Another problem with “deeper life” books is that they give the false impression that there are two kinds of Christianity: One for people who are confortable with a very superficial kind of Christianity, and another for those who are not. This has consequences for those who have decieved themselves into thinking they are Christians because they have taken up Christian accouterments with the front door of their minds only.

The Deathly Deadly Clockwork Oranges

2005-08-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sad to say, the idea that weakness is strength is counter-intuitive. So there are many men and women who enter into Christianity, who are strong and go on to become wrong.

They go forward at the “alter call,” and they “accept Christ,” and “Christianity” and get baptized, and attend the all meetings, and read the Bible, and learn every doctrine there is know, and conform their behavior to that of the other Christians around them -- but they do it all at the front door of their minds.

I have read enough biographies to know that there are people who naturally like to live a disciplined, straight-laced, and self-controlled life. They enjoy such a control over the front door of their minds that it amost never occurs to them that they even have a back door to their minds. Yes, they can feel things bumping at the back door, but their front door part is so naturally strong they can unrelectlively suppress those thumps when they come. Many times they find their life’s work in professions such as being a military person, a police officer, an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, clergy, or any other profession requiring extreme self-discipline. Discipline, let alone self-discipline, does not cause them to break a sweat.

Novelist Anthony Burgess wrote a novel called A Clockwork Orange. In that novel, Burgess wrote about the life of a criminal anti-hero. This criminal was given a radical behavior modification therapy that caused him to become ill whenever he even thought about committing a crime.

Burgess was asking a question by putting this character of his into this situation. The question was: Is this criminal still a criminal even though his external behavior has been brought under control? And the answer is yes, he is still a criminal. Even though he his actual behavior had been brought under control, he still has the underlying impulses to committ crimes. When technology is used to control a man’s behavior instead of changing the man himself, the end result is a mechanically controlled organic being. A Clockwork Orange.

I bring this up because it appears to me that these strong minded ones who take up Christianity with the front of door of their minds seem to be a lot like Clockwork Oranges. They can unreflectively control their behavor so well that they might never tumble to the fact of their need to control their behavior, which speaks infinte volumes about their need for visits from Christ at the back door where their heart is.

They can take up all the disciplines of Chrstianity, including that of prayer, in a superficial but outwardly impressive way that leaves their basic Adamic nature untouched. They are prefectly happy if prayer seems like stuffing a suggestion box that no one ever opens, because to them prayer is just another scheduled, disciplined event like every other thing they do in their lives, Christianity-related, or not. They feel so at home with their self-controlled lives that they may never feel a need for succor from Christ at the back door, at their hearts.

It is a given that Christ will rarely have mastery over their lives. They do not have enough of a consciousness of bad behavior to push them into that kind of desparate collasp into Christ’s arms.

And that all makes them very dangerous people, both to themselves and to the Christians that fellowship with them.

They are a danger to themselves, because it is possible that for all their outward taking up of Christianity, they might well have never met Christ or He, them. With that much self-control and unreflectivity going on in their lives, it’s possible for Christ to be completely “out of the loop” as far as they are concerned.

They are also a danger to their fellow Christians because their outwardly disciplined behavior, apparent conformity to Christian things, and ability to spout back everything they’ve learned - with the front door of their minds - tends to make Christianity assemblies look to them for leadership (of all things!) This is dangerous because:

1.) Even putting aside Christianity, the fact that they are not very in touch with their back door - their heart - means that they are going to be people of limited compassion and feeling.

2.) The fact that they are receiving few visits from Christ at the back door (if any!) means that they are not able to comprehend the truths that only come from those visits. Overtime, these kinds of people tend to be reservoirs of very faulty ideas about Christianity. They are often prey to the Galatian error of thinking that Christianity is about keeping a bunch rules, rather than having a relationship with the risen Christ. And they often have their own little set of special rules that demostrate to themselves that they are a higher grade type of Christian person - if not nearly sinless persons. They are often prey to “sinless perfection” doctrines because their extreme self-control causes them not to see what Christ can see in them.

3.) Their outwardly moral behavior can cause Christians who are struggling (and thereby making true progress) feel as though they are doing something wrong, or somehow less of a Christian. A diasterous situation can then be made worse if a struggling Christian mistakes this pseudo-paragon for a guide to his or her own perplexity. The struggler who thus enquires of such a pseudo-paragon may find him or herself not only put on the wrong path by the pseudo-paragon’s bad ideas, but also disrespected in a very hurtful and off-putting way by the distinct odor of vain human comparision that can emanate from such a person..

This is the danger of the deadly and deathly Clock-work Oranges.

It there a remedy for such a person? Well if they can recognize this problem in their lives, the solution is for them to stop treating prayer as if it were a suggestion box that is never opened, and start praying concretely and with a passion for receiving answers. Importunance and persistence here is especially necessary because the person has for so long been cold to Christ and independent of Him. And correspondingly, the Bible reading of such a person must stop being confined to a set block of time. This person must learn to “sit and listen” for as long as it takes.

If this is persued, the person will eventually become more aware of the back door that is his or her heart. That alone will start to reveal to the person how much his or her being has been separated from Christ most of the time. And he or her will really see the need for those vital visits from Christ. And by His own grace, Christ will visit and be welcomed with tears.

But this advice may be in vain for a person like this because they may take up this advice with the front door of their minds as yet another discipline to be added to their arsenal of Christian rountines to be gone through!

The Strength that is Weakness

2005-08-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Another serious dysfunction in the pattern of santification is strength. Earlier I said “Now fortunately, most Christians do not have much natural mental discipline in the front-door part of their minds...” Now we come to those who do have a lot of natural mental discipline, and the great damage they can cause themselves and other Christians.

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 12:9 that in a direct revelation, Christ told him “My grace [unmerited favor ] is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. ... “ Notice that. Weakness. Not strength. We receive unmerited favor from Christ when we are weak, not when we are strong. Why is that? It is so that we will know what Christ’s strengths are when we are weak. It is His way of showing Himself to us for worship and praise when we are really down, and out for the count. We do not think about Him and worship Him and love Him when we are strong. We’re too busy noticing how strong we are when we are strong.

So our real strength, the strength that brings Christ before our gaze, is not strength, but quivering human weakness.

This was a lesson that the apostle Paul had to have literally beaten into him (over time). On Mars Hill at Athens, the Greeks of Paul’s day held a sort of Greek culture version of The Gong Show. Anyone who came to Athens with a new doctrine was required by law to show up at Mars Hill and declaim their doctrine before a panel of critics. Paul went into this thing using a speech prepared in the classical Greek manner. It began:

Acts 17:22-23

22 ...Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

(KJV)

And the result was that he got gonged:

Acts 17:32-34

32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

33 So Paul departed from among them.

34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

(KJV)

But then Paul left this scene to go to Corinth, dejected and a lot less full of himself:

1 Cor 2:1-5

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

(KJV)

And the result was:

Acts 18:8-11

8 ... Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

(KJV)

But later on, he was brought before King Agrippa and Queen Bernice, celebrities in their day, and he slipped back into his Hellenic Speakers Bureau mode:

Acts 26:1

1 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:

(KJV)

With the end result that:

Acts 26:28

28 ... Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

(KJV)

... which the Greek of the original language makes plain was a sarcastic remark.

Most definitely, one of the hardest things about Christianity is being willing to be weak enough so that Christ will manifest His strength in us.

Luke 21:12-15

12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

(KJV)

No, It’s More Then Likely You Can

2005-08-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Another defect of santification I’ve read of is when people take certain verses out of the Bible and then draw a wrong conclusion from it.

The verses are of this kind:

John 5:14

14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

(KJV)

John 8:11

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

(KJV)

The incorrect conclusion that is often draw from these verses is: “God does not command human beings to do what is impossible for them to do. Therefore it is possible to sin no more, and we should set that as our goal.”

My first problem with that conclusion is that it is based on a false premise. It is based on the premise that God does not command human beings to do something which is impossible for them to do. The fact is that God may indeed make an impossible command of a human being if the command has implications regarding His own integrity. Notice this verse:

Matt 5:19

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

(KJV)

Christ’s own integrity is involved whenever He encounters someone who may sin again after leaving His presence. Even if Christ knows someone is going to sin again later (as He did with respect to Peter’s three denials), He is still obligated by His own integrity and holiness to command them to “go and sin no more.” He can not and will not say “Well, I know you’re going to sin again anyway, so I’m not going to bother telling you not to.” Christ’s own integrity and holiness requires Him to tell you to “go and sin no more,” whether you can do that or not. Christ is not some corrupt third ward judge “who knows how it goes” and gives a little wink every now and then. Christ is the holy and righteous Judge of all the earth, who will “do right.” (Gen 18:25)

The other problem I have with the faulty conclusion is that there are Christians who can drawn from it the conclusion that they can be sinless just because Christ has commanded it of them. This completely flies in the face of I Jn 1:8-10 which says:

I Jn 1:8-10

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

(KJV)

What typically happens after someone has committed him or herself to the idea of their own sinless perfection is that when they do sin, they start calling it something other than a sin. They’ll call it “a mere fault,” “a lapse,” “an indescretion” or something other than what it actually is. And the range of what they will call a sin will begin to contract and get smaller and smaller. And the consequence is that they will avoid confession of sin and begin to spiral downward into a cycle of deceit and self-deceit, while badly damaging themselves and those around them.

Don’t fall for the idea of sinless perfection.

Rom 8:23

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

(KJV)

It as long as you have a mortal body in this present evil age it just isn’t possible for you to be sinlessly perfect at all times.

A Stubborn Habit?

2005-08-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Erwin W. Lutzer has written a book called“How to Say No to a Stubborn Habit. In that book he says that some stubborn sins may be stubborn because they are tied to other sins that are buried deeper.

For example, a stubborn habit of overeating may be tied to an unconscious habit of being angry at someone for some dark reason. The Lord will not deal with the overeating problem until the anger problem is dealt with. The overeating problem then becomes the goad that sends you repeatedly to prayer to meet Christ at the back door of your mind, your heart, where He visits. He may be using the circumstance of the stubborn habit to get more “apple of the eye” time with you, while preparing you for the real answer to your prayers.

Don’t drive yourself crazy over it. And don’t let anyone else either.

There is one particular thing you need to be aware if you happen to have a stubborn habit that’s very visible. You need to watch out for other Christians, and even Christian assemblies, who keep a mental checklist of particular sins that they think need to be dealt with before any other sins are dealt with. Now it may happen that they are in agreement with the Lord that your particular stubborn habit is something you should deal with first. But sometimes Christians and Christian assemblies tend to major in the minors, and there are new Christians that can be hurt by this.

I know of one potential example of this that could have occurred. On an episode of Pacific Garden Mission’s fine radio show, Unshackeled!, I once heard the story of a drunk who started his own private Bible study in his home. That’s right. He was a private drunk, who had a habit of drinking to drunkeness in the privacy of his own home. It turned out that one day, while he was quietly drinking himself down, he happened to notice a Bible in his house, and conceived an impulse to start reading it while he was downing his drinks. He started at Genesis. And he then went on to make a habit of reading the Bible while he was drinking. Then came Exodus. Then Leviticus. And he was still drinking. But by the time he got to Revelation, he was not only sober, but a regenerated, church-going man. A powerful testimony to the Word of God itself.

But there are assemblies of Christians where even having de-alcoholized wine in one’s house is grounds for being publically excommunicated. Had this man showed up in one of these assemblies before the Lord had completed His work with him, the work might have been damaged or stopped altogether.

This is the kind of thing I’m thinking about when I talk about assemblies having checklists of what work they think the Lord should do first on a new Christian. Christ’s grace is sufficient for you, and it should be so for everyone else.

Not Christ, But I!

2005-08-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

C.S. Lewis has likened us who know Christ to obstinate toy soldiers who resist being tapped with the magic wand that can transform us into flesh and blood creatures. We are Pinocchios in reverse. Live wooden puppets that want to remain wooden puppets.

And since the enterprise of existence is about free will in worship, there is a limited amount that Christ can force us to accept, if at all. There is a picture of this in the conquest of Canaan by the children of Israel under Joshua son of Nun (the original Jesus). In the book of Numbers the children of Israel where warned:

Num 33:55

55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

(KJV)

But they were also told that

Exod 23:27-30

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

(KJV)

As there was an ecology to the conquest of Canaan, so there is an ecology to the conquest of the self. Christ would have you grow in Him and grow high in the leaves and deep down in the roots. But He somewhat needs your permission each step of the way if He is not to end up with a broken wooden puppet instead of a worshipful being.

And that is where the proverbial “rub” is. Sometimes we are stubbornly unware of what He wants of us. Sometimes we are stubbornly all too aware of what He wants of us. And He cannot force us farther than we want to go.

Take a look at this fascinating website: http://www.heroesofhistory.com/

It’s about some of the bright heroes of the Christian faith that we all admire. But unlike most websites like it, this one was has a section that reveals some of the “warts” and “failures” of these heroes of ours. And these were things that went on while these heroes were “sanctified” in what they where accomplishing by the Word of God and prayer.

Glady Aylward (1902-1970), missionary to China, took part in planning the killing of entire unit of Japanese soldiers turning WWII.

William Carey (1761-1834), “the father of missions,” was unable to bring himself to properly raise the children he had fathered, even though he had plenty of time to indulge his hobby of horticulture. Someone else ended up raising them for him.

John Wesley (1703-1791), along with his brother Charles, were long time bachelors, who unconsciously kept raising the hopes of the young unmarried women who constantly flocked around them.

All four of these people were sancified to the their work by the Word of God and prayer, and yet these defects remained.

What we do about our defects? Well, I think patience, both on your part and on the part of others, is the main cure. If you are praying concretely and patiently, and you are sitting still for the Word of God patiently, then you have given up to Christ the responsibililty for your conformity to His image. It’s up to Him. His grace is sufficient for you, and it should be for everyone else.

The Swinging of the Front and Back Doors

2005-08-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Santification has been written about by some as though it could be called "the science of saint-making." But since we are all saints by calling (“called to be saints” 1 Cor 1:2), it is better to think of it as “the process of being conformed to the image of Christ” (Romans 8:29). As we shall presently see, it is better to think of this process as something that is done to us (like crucifixion to the world), then something we do to ourselves. (Yes there are verses that say crucifixion is something we do to ourselves, but that has to do with our volition in accepting what has already been done to us). Indeed, santification is the extention and working out of our spiritually based crucifixion and resurrection in Christ. It is something done to us that we cannot do for ourselves.

What is santification about? It is about the fact that most Christians, when they first come to Christ, come to Him with the “front door” of their minds, and only much later bring the back door of their minds - their hearts - to Him. Let me reiterate this distinction that Christ Himself made.

As I’ve spoken of it before, there is a front door to our minds, and back door to our minds. The front door of our minds is the mind proper. It’s the very small, tiny thing that’s only awake for about sixteen hours or so a day, and spends most of it’s time awake worrying “what shall I eat? what shall I drink? how shall I be clothed? How shall I be housed?" etc. etc. ad nausuem. This little tiny helpless thing also spends it’s time worrying about what’s coming in from the back door, the heart, because some of what comes from the back door is not from God, but from the carnal, Adamic nature, which is in opposition to the mind of a human being who has consciously given himself or herself to Christ. This is the strife of the two natures.

Rom 7:15-24

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing.

20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law;

23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

(NIV)

James 1:8

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

(KJV)

James 4:8

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

(KJV)

Now fortunately, most Christians do not have much natural mental discipline in the front-door part of their minds. The fact that they cannot always keep the back door of their minds - their hearts - from leading them into sin causes them to realize that there is more of themselves they have to allow Christ to have then they at first realized.

Saved they are! Christ sees them from His eternity as fully in the promised land of His eternal love by reason of His blood shed for all their sins in time. But fully in fellowship with Him in time by concrete communication, they are not always. Through the back door of their hearts they can always be tempted away from Christ and into sin.

As this strife of double mindedness goes on, two events should eventually take place.

1.) The pressure of temption from without and within becomes so intense that Christ is continually resorting to in the concrete communication of prayer. The front door of the mind continually pounds on the back door of the mind for Christ to take up his residence there. By His grace, this brings Christ to the heart at the back door early and often.

2.) The pressure of self-discipline eventually causes the front door of the mind to collasp of its own into the arms of Christ, who has now been a frequent visitor at the heart at the back door. This is where the mind eventually learns to practically believe in Christ’s presence in the heart, and learns to rely on His presense there to handle every contingency of life. This is where the Holy Spirit of God becomes more president in addition to being resident. This is were double-mindedness ceases for the most part and the unity of mind and heart in Christ begins.

This is not a fanciful notion of mine. This is the great land-bridge between Romans chapter 7 and Romans chapter 8:

Rom 7:24-8:4

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

25 Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Rom 8:1-4

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

(NIV)

It it when we stop struggling with the front of our minds, and start resting in Christ who dwells at the back door, in the heart, that we start to practically come into the things that Christ has for us while we are on earth. There is a picture of this in Christ’s prediction to Peter of what Peter’s future life was going to be like:

John 21:18

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

(KJV)

It is also the practical picture that is seen in the biography of every great Christian:

“The pattern seems to be: self-centeredness, self-effort, increasing inner dissatisfaction and outer discouragement, a temptation to give it all up because there is no better way; and then finding the Spirit of God to be their strength, their guide, their confidence and companion, -- in a word, their life.” [V. Raymond Edman, They Found the Secret, Clarion Classics, Zondervan, 1984]

It is then when Christ really begins to be able to grow us and use us more and more. There will be things that He will bring us into intuitively, by the back door, at the heart, that we will not totally be able to accept with the front door, our minds and wills. That will make for some interesting times indeed. But we will learn and re-learn the surrender of acceptance.

Now note well that I am not calling the last part of this process, “the deeper life,” or “a second blessing.” There is no such thing as a “deeper life” or a “second blessing.” Christ wants the whole of us from the time we first believe in Him to the time we meet Him in heaven, and for all eternity. This is the end and aim of Christ in regard to us.

The process of furnace-and-collasp tends to look and feel like two separate processes, and like one is following on the other, but this is simply due to the stubborness of our own minds and the deceitfullness of our own hearts. But having said that, it can also not be denied that there is shallowness at the beginning of our Christian life, and deepness (or at least deep-er-ness) at it’s end in time.

But the process of santification is not without its dysfunctions. There are things that can go wrong with the process. And they are things that have to do with us and not Christ.