Steve Mounts' Prayer Blog and Daily Devotionals

Freedom From The 'Jarring ' Life

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Commenting on Colossians 3:12-13 -

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." ESV

Henry Scott Holland writes:

'Self-preoccupation, self-broodings, self-love - these are the reasons why you go jarring against your fellows. Turn your eyes off yourself; look up and out! There are men, your brothers, and women, your sisters; they have needs that you can aid. Listen for their confidences; keep your heart wide open to their calls, and your hands alert for their service. Learn to give, and not to take; to drown your own hungry wants in the happiness of lending yourself to fulfil the interests of those nearest or dearest. Look up and out, from this narrow, cabined self of yours, and you will jar no longer; you will fret no more, you will provoke no more; but you will, to your own glad surprise, find the secret of "the meekness and the gentleness of Jesus;" and the fruit of the Spirit will all bud and blossom from out of your life.'

Do You Believe?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:47:00 +0000

'Do you believe? Because Christ rose from the dead, we know that our world is heading for redemption, not disaster. We know that death has been conquered and that we, too, will be raised from the dead to live forever with Christ. We know that Christ is alive and ruling his kingdom, and that God's power that brought Jesus back from the dead is available to us so we can live for him in an evil world. Do you believe? Then live with joy and hope and power. Dave Veerman

God's Offer

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:59:00 +0000

'I am persuaded there are Christians as much in grace beyond ordinary Christians as ordinary Christians are beyond the profane. There are heights which common eyes have never seen, much less scaled. There are nests among the stars where God's own saints dwell and yet how many of us are content to go creeping along like worms in the dust! Would that we had grace to cleave the clouds and mount into the pure blue sky of fellowship with Christ! We do not serve God as we should. We are cold as ice, when we should be like molten metal, burning our way through all opposition. We are like the barren Sahara, when we should be blooming like the garden of the Lord. . . I fear we are scarce fit for service and yet he hath exalted us to be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, married to him by a glorious marriage covenant. O brothers, God often calls us to higher degrees of piety, and yet we will not come.' Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Faithfully Linked - Victoriously Christ's

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:59:00 +0000

'We see clearly . . . that we may be saved, yet all our works burned up. I may have a wretched, miserable voyage through life, with no victory, and no reward at the end: saved, yet so as by fire, or as Job puts it, "with the skin of my teeth." I believe that a great many people will barely get to heaven as Lot go out of Sodom, burned out, nothing left, works and everything else destroyed. It is like this: when a man enters the army, he is a member of the army the moment he enlists; he is just as much a member as a man who has been in the army ten or twenty years. But enlisting is one thing and participating in a battle another. Young converts are like those enlisted. It is folly for any man to attempt to fight in his own strength. The world, the flesh, and the devil are too much for any person. But if we are linked to Christ by faith, and He is formed in us the hope of glory, then we shall get the victory over every enemy (because He has gotton the victory over every enemy, and we are in Him). It is believers who are overcomers. "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ." D. L. Moody

God Knows Me And Still Loves Me - Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:09:00 +0000

I have a good friend who, probably, most people would consider to be a difficult - maybe 'challenging' is a better word - person to deal with. Alot of people misunderstand this person, I think, but you know what? God doesn't. God knows us just as we are and says to all of us - for we are all, by nature, difficult, challenging, sinful, me-first people - 'I made you. I love you. In my Son, Jesus, I have redeemed you. Come to me just as you are and I will make you into all that I intended you to be.' C. S. Lewis puts it this way:

"Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you. The mold in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never seen a key; and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions. For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you - you . . . the individual. Blessed and fortunate creature, your eyes shall behold Him . . . Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it - made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.

Defining Goodness: What Does God Think?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:50:00 +0000

Francois Fenelon wrote to a counselee:

"Evil circumstances are changed into good when they are received with an enduring trust in the love of God, while good circumstances may be changed into evil when we become attached to them through the love of self. Nothing in us or around us is truly good until we become detached from the world and totally abandoned to God. So, even though you are now in these bad circumstances put yourself confidently and without reserve into His hand. I would give anything to see you in better circumstances. But if evil circumstances have taught you to be sick of the love of the world, then that is good. The love of self, which the world advocates, is a thousand times more dangerous than any poison."

A baseball umpire was asked one day when it was that he determined that a pitch was a ball or strike: was it when the ball initially came over the plate or was it where the ball finally hit the catcher's mitt? His response? It doesn't matter where the ball comes over the plate at or where it hits the catcher's mitt, the pitch is nothing, he said - neither ball nor strike - "until I say that it is a ball or strike!" Serving God isn't so much about keeping a checklist of things that I can or can't do - 'Well, I didn't cuss today, or smoke today, or kill somebody today, so I must be a christian' - and still be okay with God and have my place reserved in heaven. Serving God is about falling in love with Him to the degree that we cannot live without His smile. And, to attain this smile, we want Him to dictate His desires - knowing that what He desires He will bring about in my life, for without Him I can do nothing - for every aspect of my life. 'You tell me, God, what is right, what is pleasing to Yourself, and what is wrong - in me, to me, and for me. More and more Father, make me a living sacrifice to Yourself: holy - and wholly - acceptable in your sight!'

Spiritual Weakness and Prayerlessness

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:05:00 +0000

'Nothing so reveals defective spiritual life . . . as the lack of believing and unceasing prayer. Prayer is in very deed the pulse of spiritual life. It is the great means of bringing . . . the blessing and power of heaven. Persevering and believing prayer means a strong and an abundant life' Andrew Murray

And what is the essence of prayer? Believing - and telling God that you believe - that He is going to do in every situation in our lives everything that He promises to do in His Word. I am praying right now for some financial help -as are a zillion other people in this world. Nowhere does it say in the Bible that: 'Steve Mounts' financial need will be taken care of in this way at this time or in this manner.' What is promised is that, if we have put our faith and confidence in Jesus as our Savior, 'He will supply all of our need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus' Phil. 4:19. I believe, then, that I can go to God and say, 'Father, You know I have this financial need and I believe on the basis of this promise that in Your way - which is the right way - and at Your time - which is the right time - You will give me what I need. I believe that prayer is claiming a promise from God's Word and allowing Him to define for us what that promise means in the details of our lives. As we consistently come to God as we are told to do and, through His grace, peacefully wait for Him to do for us what we really need for Him to do, we can be confident that He will hear us and intervene in our lives and save us as we must have Him to do - FOR HE HAS PROMISED, AND HE DOESN'T LIE!

I Will Praise Him! I Will Praise Him! Praise The Lamb For Sinners Slain!'

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

'Today God is calling his Church back to worship. This can be seen in high church circles where there is a renewed interest in intimacy with God. It can be seen in low church circles where there is a new interest in liturgy. It can be seen everywhere in between these two. It is as if God is saying, "I want the hearts of my people back!" And if we long to go where God is going and do what God is doing, we will move into deeper, more authentic worship.' Richard J. Foster

Grace To Help

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Many, many years ago my wife and I attended a church conference in the state of North Dakota. One of the sessions at this gathering dealt with the power of prayer. At one point in the proceedings we were each asked to share with the group some personal example of God's gracious movement in our own lives. Great testimonies of salvation, spiritual victory, financial help, and God's power were shared and enjoyed by all. When it came her turn, we listened as a young mother - tears streaming down her face - asked this question: 'Do you think that the God you all are talking about - with all these great things that He is doing - can help my little boy stop wetting the bed?' As we took special time to pray for this mother and her frustrating situation, our leader said to her: 'Ma'am, bed-wetting problems arn't to big - or to small - for our God. He just wants us to come to Him.' I believe our leader was spot-on correct. Anything that bothers God's children bothers Him. His response: COME!
Commenting on Hebrews 4:16 -

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

- James Montgomery Boice shares:

"Because of who God is and what Jesus Christ has done in dying for us, changing the throne of judgment into a throne of grace, we who trust Christ are to draw near the throne of grace in confidence. If we came in our own merit, we could have no confidence at all. The throne of God would be a place of terror. But since God has done what was needed to take away all judgment for our sin, it is now sin for us to come in any other way but with confidence. If we come in confidence, we can come knowing that God will do exactly what the author of Hebrews says he will do and we will indeed 'find grace to help us in our time of need' - Whatever our need may be! Do you seek forgiveness for sin? You will find God's grace forgiving you for every sin. Do you need strength for daily living: You will find the grace of God providing strength. Do you need comfort because of some great loss? God will provide comfort. Direction for some important decision? You will receive direction. Encouragement? You will receive encouragement. Wisdom? That too."

I believe that God's grace for us is not just for heaven, but that it includes our needs, concerns, fears, pain, joys, desires, goals, and ambitions right now. Jesus cares - Come to Him!

Eternal Life, Even In The 'Muck'

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Commenting on Ephesians 2:4-6:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." ESV

Frederick Buechner writes:

"We think of Eternal life, if we think of it at all, as what happens when life ends (here). We would do better to think of it as what happens when life begins. St. Paul uses the phrase Eternal Life to describe the end and goal of the process of salvation. Elsewhere he writes the same thing in a remarkable sentence in which he says that the whole purpose of God's slogging around through the muck of history and of our own individual histories is somehow to prod us, jolly us, worry us, cajole us, and if need be, bludgeon us into reaching 'mature manhood . . . the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). In other words, to live Eternal Life in the full and final sense is to be with God as Christ is with him, and with each other as Christ is with us."

And, though there is a literal heaven to gain that Jesus and the Apostles and the Scriptures speak of, it is also just as true that if I right now 'am walking in the light as He is in the light and Christ's blood is cleansing me from all sin,' then I am having unbroken fellowship with Him and heaven - or as much as I can know of it down here on this earth - has begun for heaven is Jesus - in this life and the next - and fellow shipping with Him.

A Spiritual Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Michael Green writes:

'The miracles are pictures of what Jesus offers to do in the human heart. His opening the eyes of a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, is a picture of the new vision He offers to us all. His healing of paralyzed people is a picture of the new power He makes available to those who put their lives in His hand. His turning of water into wine shows how He can change the ordinary drudgery of life into high-octane living. His feeding of the multitude shows how He longs to be the bread that satisfies the believer's heart. His raising of Lazareus from the grave points to His ultimate offer: to give new and eternal life to all who trust themselves to Him. That is one of the main reasons why Jesus worked miracles. He wanted to make concrete before the imaginations of His contemporaries (and their successors) the spiritual revolution He was (and is) longing to bring about in their lives.'

It is a basic fact of God's operational plan with man that, though He will accept anybody who will come to Him seeking mercy and salvation in Jesus just as they are, He will immediately begin changing them into the people He wants them to be. He will make the thief honest, the hater loving, the hard and cold person loving, kind, and forgiving. Through the Presence and power of His Holy Spirit He will - day by day, step by step, issue by issue - changes us into the image of Jesus. And I believe that the first thing He begins to change is our desires in this whole process. He makes us who - in our natural, sinful state want nothing more in life than our own way - to want more and more to be like Christ -finally, at whatever cost. That is a revolution indeed.

O, What A Savior

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:42:00 +0000

"The ultimate reason why we may forgive instead of condemn is because God himself does not condemn but forgives. Because he has freely chosen to put tenderness before law, we are authorized to do the same. In the imagery of the parables, God is constantly presented as the father rushing out to meet his son, the absurdly generous farmer who gives the latecomers the same wage as the day-long laborer, the judge hearing the payer of the importunate widow. In the man Jesus the invisible God becomes visible and audible . . . Jesus Christ taught prophetically, in the power of the Spirit, that Christian giving and forgiving should copy God's giving and forgiving. Acceptance is absolute, without inquiry into the past, without special conditions, so that the liberated sinner can live again, accept himself, forgive himself, love himself." Brennan Manning

Practically Christian

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Having been brought up in a Christian atmosphere that - however well-intentioned - was based to a large degree on the 'you can'ts' of life: Christians can't do this, can't do that, can't go here, can't go there, can't be this, can't be that, etc. - it has been extremely liberating in the last 25 years or so of my life to realize that I can involve myself in and enjoy anything in life that is a God-created activity as long as my participation is based on, first, my desire to glorify God while enjoying what He has given to me - for example, a good meal and, secondly, my desire to glorify God in enjoying what He has given me in a measured, self-controlled manner - say, one piece of cake and not ten. Sin, indeed, is the high-jacking of the good things of God and totally spoiling them through selfish misuse - pornography, for example. Dietrich Bonhoeffer speaks effectively to this point:

"I believe that we ought so to love and trust God in our lives, and in all the good things that God sends us, that when the time comes (but not before!) we may go to God with love, trust, and joy. But, to put it plainly, for a man in his wife's arms to be hankering after the other world is, in mild terms, a piece of bad taste, and not God's will. We ought to find and love God in what we are actually given; if it pleases God to allow us to enjoy some over-whelming earthly happiness, we must not try to be more pious than God and allow our happiness to be corrupted by presumption and arrogance, and by unbridled religious fantasy which is never satisfied with what God gives. God will see to it that those who find the Divine in earthly happiness and thank God for it do not (forget) that earthly things are transient, that it is good for them to attune their hearts to what is eternal and that sooner or later there will be times when they can say in all sincerity, 'I wish I were home.' But everything has its time, and the main thing is that we keep step with God, and do not keep pressing on a few steps ahead - nor keep dawdling a step behind.

To be trully Christian is to be practically Christian. Jesus said, 'I am come that you may have life and and have it to the full. John 10:10 NIV

Yielded and Still

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:26:00 +0000

"The phrase we so often hear, Decide for Christ, is an emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him - a very different thing." Oswald Chambers

I Will See You Again, Brother!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Two weeks ago you entered the hospital for tests. Five days ago you are diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Three days ago you are given 2 weeks to 2 months to live. One hour ago the Lord took you home to be with Him forever. Brother, you found the Lord late in life - around about age 75 - very unusual. But when you found God you truly fell in love with Him. You were voracious in you appetite and desire to make up for lost time and know your Lord and serve Him. You and your good wife, Ellen, joined our little church and blessed us with your sweet spirit, and gentle smile, and hard work on our lawn and building. And you were a friend to me - a true brother in Christ and friend when I had precious few. Those weekly New - Believer Bible studies which you, Ellen, and I enjoyed together - the fellowship, the Presence of the Spirit of Jesus as '2 or 3' were gathered together around that circle table in the Fellowship Hall in Christ's name - I will never forget them. And now you are home - Praise the Name of Jesus! Paul told the church at Philippi that 'to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.' I believe it!!! You are not in 'soul-sleep'; you are not in purgatory; you are not in some intermediate 'holding room' of some kind or another. You are gazing upon the face of your Savior - He who died for you. Congratulations, Hoppy! Welcome home! See you soon. Steve

To Obey God Is To See God

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:01:00 +0000

"We read some things in the Bible (promises and truths) three hundred and sixty-five times and they mean nothing to us, then all of a sudden we see what God means, because in some particular we have obeyed God, and instantly His nature is opened up. . . when by the obedience of our lives we say 'Amen' to a promise, then that promise is ours." Oswald Chambers

Back in the day when we sang hymns in church, we used to sing this song:

'When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.' John Sammis

The basic spiritual truth remains: We will know God only as we go with God - and that means seeking first and formost, through His grace, to know and do His will.

Peace Through Poise

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Oswald Chambers shares:

"When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones. (To often) Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who do not know God. We get to our wits' end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him and His government of the world; He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead. . . There are stages in life when there is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him. We have been talking a great deal about sanctification - what is it all going to amount to? It should work out into rest in God which means oneness with God, a oneness which will make us not only blameless in His sight, but a deep joy to Him (as we show our confidence in Him).

Praising: Preparing For God's Miracles

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:20:00 +0000

"We cannot always or even often control events, but we can control how we respond to them. When things happen which dismay or appall, we ought to look to God for His meaning, remembering that He is not taken by surprise nor can His purposes be thwarted in the end. What God looks for is those who will worship Him. Our look of inquiring trust glorifies Him. . . This is our first responsibility: to glorify God. In the face of life's worst reversals and tragedies, the response of a faithful Christian is praise - not for the wrong itself certainly, but for who God is and for the ultimate assurance that there is a pattern being worked out for those who love Him. Elisabeth Elliot

Ps. 50:23 reads:

"He who sacrifices thank offerings (worships, praises) honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.

Do you want to see God working and 'saving you' in every aspect of your life? You have to begin to become a person who, through God's grace, reacts to all issues in life with this attitude: 'Thank you, God, that You are with me in this situation and that You are working it out to Your glory and my good. Thank you for Your Presence, Your strength, and for Your grace! I trust You.' Praising people are delivered people.

Morning Prayers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:13:00 +0000

"O God, early in the morning I cry to thee.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on thee;
I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,
But with thee there is light;
I am lonely, but thou leavest me not;
I am feeble in heart, but with thee there is help;
I am restless, but with thee there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with thee there is patience;
I do not understand thy ways;
But thou knowest the way for me.

O heavenly Father,
I praise and thank thee
For the peace of the night;
I praise and thank thee for this new day;
I praise and thank thee for all thy goodness
and faithfulness throughout my life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

'I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand'

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:24:00 +0000

"The whole foundation of prayer must be laid in humility, and the more a soul humbles itself in prayer, the more God lifts it up. The nearer we draw to God, the more this virtue should grow; if it does not, everything is lost. The most elegant prayer is unacceptable to God unless it is accompanied by humility." Teresa of Avila

A Very Expensive Decoration

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:03:00 +0000

I just read something very interesting. Apparently when baseball player Rickey Henderson - who was just inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame - was playing for the Oakland Athletics several years ago, he earned a million dollar bonus for his play one year. This bonus payment came in the form of a check which he received in January of the following year. In December of that same year the accounting department for the team was having trouble balancing their books. It seems that they were a million dollars off. They went to Rickey to see if he had cashed his check: he had not. Rather, to commemorate the occasion, he had taken the check, framed it, and hung it on one of the walls of his home. Recently he was asked, "If the front office hadn't called, would you have kept the check framed?" "Probably," he responded, "It wasn't important that I had the money, it was just something that I had achieved."
Now I'm not going to judge this man on what he does with his million dollar checks - I mean, he doesn't judge me on what I do with mine - ha! But I will say this: You have to be pretty well off to be able to afford a million dollar wall-hanging. I don't have a million dollars - or close to it - or close to close to it. But in God's Word I - and all of us - have something eternally more valuable than any amount of money - or anything else this earth or this life has to offer. In God's Word we are given the pathway to peace with the God Who made us. In God's Word we are told of the new life that is already ours in Jesus - if we will humbly accept it. In God's Word we read of God's gracious grace, illustrated by the sacrifice of His Son, administered by His abiding Holy Spirit, lovingly lavished on all who will accept His Lordship over their lives. In God's Word we see God's face and we see it smiling on all of His creation but especially on His wayward creature man. You know what, maybe never looking into and studying and meditating on God's Word - never "hiding it in my heart" as the old King James puts it - is similar to leaving large checks uncashed except for this one thing: not getting into God's Word and finding your Savior will land you in hell.

First Things First

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:41:00 +0000

Many years ago I heard a preacher say that, when it comes to financial issues in a Christian's life, the Christian should never say, "Can I afford it?" but rather, "Lord is it Your will?" He explained himself this way: "You may have a million dollars in your pocket and want to involve yourself in a 10 cent plan but, if God is not in it, you can't afford it! On the other hand, you may have only a dime in your pocket, and the project you want to undertake is a million dollar deal, but if it is of the Lord and blessed by the Lord and supplied by the Lord, when it is all over you are going to have that dime back with more beside." I believe that this is true - and not just with money issues. The basic concern in life is not how much money do we have in the bank or how much strength do we have in our bodies or how much brains do we have in our heads or how much pull do we have with society or how much of anything else or whatever else do we have or not have that we think we need to be successful in this life. The most important pursuit in our lives must be seeking God's will - continually, specifically, and prayerfully. Why? Jesus put it this way: 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the other things of life will be added.' Mt.6:33 KJV I believe with all my heart that If I seek first and foremost to take care of what is most important to God He will take care of me. Count on it - God is dependable!

A New Kind of Living

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:11:00 +0000

"The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations; it is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us." Oswald Chambers

Victorious Christian Living Defined

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:28:00 +0000

"Beware of placing our Lord as a Teacher first. If Jesus is a Teacher only, then all He can do is to tantalize me by erecting a standard I cannot attain. What is the use of presenting me with an ideal I cannot possibly come near? I am happier without knowing it. What is the good of telling me to be what I never can be - to be pure in heart, to do more than my duty, to be perfectly devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as Saviour before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of an ideal which leads to despair. But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only; He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man - the very thing Jesus means it to do. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out our Lord's teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the paupers in spirit," that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ's kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility - 'I cannot begin to do it.' Then Jesus says - Blessed are you. That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor! The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works." Oswald Chambers

Living In, Through, and For Christ Now - In This World

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Mounts) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:20:00 +0000

I very much enjoy Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thoughts and writings. I'm not always sure what he is saying, but that's alright - he stretches me. However, in a section entitled, 'A Religion of Redemption', from his A TESTAMENT TO FREEDOM, I believe I know exactly what he is saying: Christianity is as much a 'this-worldly' concern as a 'next-worldly' concern.

"The decisive factor is said to be that in Christianity the hope of resurrection is proclaimed, and that that means the emergence of a genuine religion of redemption, the main emphasis now being on the far side of the boundary drawn by death. But it seems to me that this is just where the mistake and the danger lie. Redemption now means redemption from cares, distress, fears, and longings, from sin and death, in a better world beyond the grave. But is this really the essential character of the proclamation of Christ in the gospels by by Paul? I should say it is not. The difference between the Christian hope of resurrrection and the mythological hope is that the former sends people back to their life on earth in a wholly new way which is even more sharply defined than it is in the Old Testament. Christians, unlike the devotees of the redemption mythis, have no last line of escape available from earthly tasks and difficulties into the eternal, but, like Christ himself . . . they must drink the earthly cup to the dregs, and only in their doing so is the crucified and risen Lord with them, and they crucified and risen with Christ. This world must not be prematurely written off; in this the Old and New Testaments are at one. . . Christ (must) take hold of us at the center of our life."