Surrendered

Surrendered.  When we hear that word we almost immediately think of someone - whether it be an organization, a country, a team, or an individual- giving up the fight.  We say that they surrendered, they gave up, the other side won. Inevitably we think of those who surrender as weaker, as losers, as those who should have shame in the face of their superior adversary.

Yet we need to surrender our self to our Savior, don't we? And that's an amazing and wonderful thing. Surrendering to Jesus in truth makes us stronger…

Let me pause there for a moment. 

Does surrendering to Jesus make US stronger?

As soon as we begin to think of ourselves again aren't we taking on something less than one who has surrendered?

When one army surrenders to another is the surrendered army stronger for it? No. In fact the goal is to weaken the other army as much as possible.

When we watch a boxing match and the white towel is thrown in the ring and the boxer surrenders, is that boxer deemed stronger for having done so? Again the goal is to weaken that boxer, his reputation is tarnished even if it is a single match he's lost.  The object of surrendering as a rule is NOT to make the surrendered party stronger.

It's the same for us really, and we NEED to understand this.

It is CHRIST in us who is all things, not us. We are not made stronger, CHRIST in us is strong and through our association with Him, He is our strength.

He's our ROCK, we do not ever become the ROCK. 

Deu 32:3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Psa 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter.
 And upon this ROCK I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

(THAT ROCK is NOT Peter, but JESUS CHRIST!)

Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Psa 18:31  For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Jesus is our FOUNDATION, Jesus is the ROCK, we are but stones upon Him, Our Foundation. We are built UPON Him, without HIM we are NOTHING.

To believe that we somehow become the rock is wrong. We have to surrender to Jesus and we surrender our self will, we surrender all that we are to Him. When we surrender to Him we ARE admitting that beyond any shadow of doubt whatsoever we are WEAK, we are not on level with Him and we will NEVER be on the same level as our Savior!

Those who surrender to Christ in the hopes of being turned into something they are not in and of themselves, will be greatly disappointed or extremely deceived. We can be born again when we surrender, and we are new creatures in CHRIST, not in spite of CHRIST.  As soon as we get any idea that we have any power of our own outside of CHRIST we are no longer surrendered  beings, and we have to remain FOREVER surrendered to Him.

Unlike armies, and boxers, chess players, and the hundreds and hundreds of sports and game players, who when they surrender, more often than not, look forward to a rematch so they can become conquerors OVER another, we are only ever conquerors IN CHRIST, when we remain surrendered to Him, fully, wholly surrendered to Him not keeping anything back of ourselves, not living at all under our own power but all through HIS.

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We must NEVER be separate from our God, our Creator, our Redeemer! We must forever be IN HIM, comprehending He is our all and all and without Him we are nothing! NOTHING!

If we are in the LOVE of Jesus we have won the greatest gift there is EVER going to be in life- here on earth and in heaven. There is NOTHING greater than living in CHRIST JESUS with HIM as our Conquering KING!

We would be YOURS Lord Jesus, wholly and solely YOURS and no other's, not even our own, especially not our own. We desire to live in YOU as YOURS, and YOU in US! Please LORD, help us to surrender ourselves in every way to you, not holding back at all in any thing.  Knowing as we CLING to YOU we have YOUR strength to trust in always, refusing to trust in our own strength which is nothing but an illusion.

You are EVERYTHING, ALWAYS!

BY YOU!
BY YOUR LOVE!
YOUR AMAZING, AMAZING LOVE!

Fabricated Love or True Love-God (Cost of Discipleship Pt 100)

Chapter 18 - The Disciple and Unbelievers

Bonhoeffer- 'Any misguided love for the sinner is ominously close to the love of sin.

But the love of Christ for the sinner in itself is the condemnation of sin, is his expression of extreme hatred of sin.

The disciples of Christ are to love unconditionally.  Thus they may effect what their own divided and judiciously and conditionally offered love never could achieve, namely the radical condemnation of sin.'

My thoughts-

Think about this a moment, don't just read the words and let them skip over you as if you're skipping stones across a small brook to the other side- touching the water, but never really sinking in.

Truly if our love for anyone else is a love that is not of Christ, it is close to the love of sin. Any love that doesn't stem from Christ, is a perverted love. If any of our love come from any other source whatsoever it's sin, right? 

God is love.

1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16

If God is love- our love must be God's love if it's a REAL love and not something mankind has manufactured with the help of Satan taking love and making it into something evil at it's very core- selfishness, prideful.

The very closest, I believe, a person can feel, a love that is a tendril of God's true love, is the love of a parent for a child, and a child for a parent.  I say tendril because so much of all love even love of parents for children and children for parents is selfish and prideful, sinful. 

I'm sure there are people reading this (well, sure as I can imagine- if people are reading this) that there are some who think I'm crazy for saying this, because they can't imagine a love a mother has for a child being anything but genuine and natural, something we call normal.  We are shocked and dismayed when we read of mothers abusing their children, mothers abandoning their children, mothers hating their children, because we somehow believe there HAS to be a natural mother's love that would only protect and care for their child. Love by our God's definition is NOT the love of a mother for a child- it is GOD HIMSELF.  And like it or not, if any love a mother has for their child is NOT coming from their love of God, then there is a very good chance that mother's love is something manufactured and even if it appears to be genuine in all respects- it can't be at its heart. What it can be is a magnificent counterfeit- so magnificent that none can tell the difference, but it cannot be real.

We as a people have truly fooled ourselves into believing love is all sorts of things, and this belief has colored God's love into something too often abhorred rather than desired.

When God tells us to love Him and to love Others He is telling us to treat them as He has commanded us to treat them, as HE treats them, unselfishly, caring for them more than self even unto death because we care so much.

Can you imagine choosing to die for someone who hates you, dying for someone who has despised you and has constantly chosen to do things that hurt you?  Can you imagine doing that because you love the one who hates you, not caring that they hate you and hurt you, but wanting to sacrifice yourself for them with the HOPE they'll accept that sacrifice and understand your love?

We can truly scarcely begin to comprehend what LOVE is, because our twisted idea of love is what we cling to.  And we mostly cling to love as something that selfishly benefits us in some way. Is it any wonder it's so easy for people to divorce when their love is a purely fabricated love and not real at all, not stemming from God who is Love!

The Bible tells us this…

Mat_24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

That love is waxing cold because is stems from SIN and not from God at all!

God's love is a love choosing to die for one who is completely at odds with you.  We can't imagine that can we? And before you say that you can, tell me, would you give all your worldly goods to one who hated you? If that person came to you and told you to give them all your money, would you?  We're talking money, not your life, but money. If they told you to give them their car, would you? If you can't even give them all your worldly possessions how can you say you'd be willing to die for them?

If we are not willing to give up all for each other, we are not in possession of Christ's love. If we value our money and possessions more than we value another's life, even that life of one we'd consider most unworthy, then how can we love with God's love? How? That is HIS love! Sacrifice, and yet we do SO LITTLE sacrificing!

Remember this--

Mar 12:41  And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
Mar 12:42  And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
Mar 12:43  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
Mar 12:44  For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Can we even imagine such sacrifice? Truly, can we?

Bonhoeffer-'Any misguided love for the sinner is ominously close to the love of sin.'

MISGUIDED love for the sinner-  OMINOUSLY close to the LOVE of SIN.

Bonhoeffer- 'But the love of Christ for the sinner in itself is the condemnation of sin, is his expression of extreme hatred of sin.

The disciples of Christ are to love unconditionally.  Thus they may effect what their own divided and judiciously and conditionally offered love never could achieve, namely the radical condemnation of sin.'

TRUTH!

Christ's love is all that Christ is and Christ HATES sin!  Sin is to be destroyed! Sin warrants death it's so evil and despised. Sin is to be done away with forever! Christ's very life is a testament to the evil of sin. He became Human and DIED to save us from the evil of sin. 

It can be nothing but the truth- that Christ's love is the condemnation of all sin.

We are to LOVE unconditionally as we are loved by CHRIST, accepting HIS condemnation and hatred of sin as ours.  We accept that HE and HE alone has the right to judge because He is the ONLY ONE who has ever and will ever conquered SIN. It's through HIS righteousness we can live, that we are given His power by the Holy Spirit. We are to LOVE unconditionally and let HIM be the JUDGE while we forever remain the disciples of the JUDGE.

Loving unconditionally. 

Loving without conditions.

Loving - hearts breaking when others refuse the love of Christ, no condemnation, no hatred, no judging of them, loving them.

By His GRACE!
By His MERCY!
In His LOVE!
In His RIGHTEOUSNESS!

All in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior now and forever!

Christians cannot judge anyone unworthy - Cost of Discipleship Pt 99

Chapter 18 - The Disciple and Unbelievers

Bonhoeffer- 'No, the disciple can meet the non-disciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes. Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own. Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'

My thoughts-

Jesus died so that He could save all of mankind. Mankind as individuals must choose to believe in that, the greatest of Sacrifices ever made, and they must believe it was made for them, because IT WAS. Every single person we encounter - Jesus died to save. We have NO right to judge any one unworthy, not after our Savior died for them!

Most assuredly our following Jesus does NOT give us any right whatsoever to attack another in any way at all! Satan loves when we attack and accuse others, that only proves just how far from Christ we ourselves are. We TRULY must go to ALL others with UNCONDITIONAL love, comprehending that Christ would have us do NO LESS than that. It is LOVE, not our own sense of self righteousness, not our own preconceived ideas of what a righteous life looks like, but love that reveal Christ.  We do not reveal Christ in living a pious life seemingly untainted by the world. We can't point to the seemingly sinless person who appears as if their life is so close to God's that they do no wrong. And we can't point to the seemingly most sinful person we know, living a life of total debauchery.  We cannot POINT at all! Because we KNOW so very little of others and we certainly do NOT know the hearts of others. The most pious could in fact be the worst, and the worst could be the best, we CAN'T know! 

What we have to concern ourselves with is our own walk with Christ, with our own heart's surrender to the Savior, and revealing only HIS LOVE to others all in the TRUTH.


Mat 7:1  Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Mat 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9  Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Mat 7:10  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Mat 7:11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Christ stands between the believer and unbeliever - Cost of Discipleship pt 98

Chapter 18 - The Disciple and Unbelievers

Mat 7:1  Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Mat 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9  Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Mat 7:10  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Mat 7:11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Bonhoeffer- 'The disciples are not to judge. If they do so, they will themselves be judged by God. The sword wherewith they judge their brethren will fall upon their own heads. Instead of cutting themselves off from their brother as the just from the unjust, they find themselves cut off from Jesus.

Why should this be so? The source of the disciple's life lies exclusively in his fellowship with Jesus Christ. He possesses his righteousness only within that association, never outside it. That is why his righteousness can never become an objective  criterion to be applied at will. He is a disciple not because he possesses such a new standard, but only because of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and very Son of God. That is to say, his righteousness is hidden from himself in fellowship with Jesus. He cannot, as he could once, be a detached observer of himself and judge himself, for he can only see Jesus, and be seen by him, judged by him, and reprieved by him. It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them. Christian always see other men as brethren to whom Christ comes; they meet them only by going to them with Jesus. Disciple and non-disciple can never encounter each other as free men, directly exchanging their views and judging one another by objective criteria. No, the disciple can meet the nondisciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes. Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own. Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'

My thoughts-

This is beautifully put. PLEASE READ IT AGAIN!

Bonhoeffer-

The disciples are not to judge.
If they do so, they will themselves be judged by God.
The sword wherewith they judge their brethren will fall upon their own heads.
Instead of cutting themselves off from their brother as the just from the unjust, they find themselves cut off from Jesus.

Why should this be so?
The source of the disciple's life lies exclusively in his fellowship with Jesus Christ.
He possesses his righteousness only within that association, never outside it.
That is why his righteousness can never become an objective  criterion to be applied at will.
He is a disciple not because he possesses such a new standard, but only because of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and very Son of God.

That is to say, his righteousness is hidden from himself in fellowship with Jesus.

He cannot, as he could once, be a detached observer of himself and judge himself, for he can only see Jesus, and be seen by him, judged by him, and reprieved by him.

It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them.

Christian always see other men as brethren to whom Christ comes; they meet them only by going to them with Jesus.

Disciple and non-disciple can never encounter each other as free men, directly exchanging their views and judging one another by objective criteria.
No, the disciple can meet the non-disciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes.

Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own.

Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'

My thoughts-

I particularly want to touch on this one point-

'It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them.'

We get so caught up in how we appear to others.  We have in our minds what a Christian's life should look like- basically anyway- if not in detail. But the truth of the matter is- we haven't a CLUE what someone's relationship with Christ is.  Their struggles that we interpret as being sinful, even grossly and blatantly sinful, might be their personal fight in a relationship that is deeper, and stronger than any we have. We CAN'T know! To judge others based on OUR perceptions of right and wrong, is so incredibly wrong! Only Christ can know them in the eternal way that matters most.

Also, personally, we strive to follow Christ as He has asked us to follow Him and yet we too have to realize that it is our RELATIONSHIP with CHRIST that matters most.

First the Kingdom - Cost of Discipleship pt 97

Bonhoeffer- 'Anxiety is characteristic of the Gentiles, for they rely on their own strength and work instead of relying on God. They do not know that the Father knows that we have need of all these things, and so they try to do for themselves what they do not expect from God. But the disciples know that the rule is "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." 

Anxiety for food and clothing is clearly not the same thing as anxiety for the kingdom of God, however much we should like to persuade ourselves that when we are working for our families and concerning ourselves with bread and houses we are thereby building the kingdom, as though the kingdom could be realized only through our worldly cares.

The kingdom of God and his righteousness are sharply distinguished from the gifts of the world which come our way.

That kingdom is none other than the righteousness of Matt. 5 and 6, the righteousness of the cross and of following Christ beneath that cross.

Fellowship with Jesus and obedience to his commandment come first, and all else follows.

Worldly cares are not a part of our discipleship, but distinct and subordinate concerns.  Before we start taking thought for our life, our food and clothing, our work and families, we must seek the righteousness of Christ. This is no more than an ultimate summing up of all that has been said before.

Again we have here either a crushing burden, which holds out no hope for the poor and wretched, or else it is the quintessence of the gospel, which brings the promise of freedom and perfect joy.

Jesus does not tell us what we ought to do but cannot; he tells us what God has given us and promises still to give. If Christ has been given us, if we are called to his discipleship we are given all things, literally all things. He will see to it that they are added unto us. If we follow Jesus and look only to his righteousness, we are in his hands and under the protection of him and his Father. And if we are in communion with the Father, nought can harm us. We shall always be assured that he can feed his children and will not suffer them to hunger. God will help us in the hour of need, and he knows our needs.

After he has been following Christ for a long time, the disciple of Jesus will be asked "Lacked ye anything?" and he will answer "Nothing, Lord." How could he when he knows that despite hunger and nakedness, persecution and danger, the Lord is always at his side?'

My thoughts-

'DESPITE hunger, nakedness, persecution and danger…   the LORD is always at his side.'

We confuse our temporal needs with our eternal needs. 

Which would you rather have met? Your temporal needs or eternal needs?

When you face difficulty shouldn't that be one of the first things we ask ourselves? Is this a temporal need I'm lacking, or is it an eternal need?

More often than not we'd have to admit the need, no matter how dire, is a temporal need. When we are in pain- physical, emotional, mental agony- we long for relief from that pain. Satan would have us focus on our pain and accuse our Heavenly Father of not caring about us enough to rid of us the pain. Satan would have us believe we have somehow failed in our discipleship if God is not providing for our needs, because Satan has us believing our needs are all important, our ease, our pain free existence is all that matters. If Satan has convinced us that our needs, our VERY temporal needs, are what matters then we will be very tempted to leave the love of our Creator, our Redeemer, when those temporal needs are not met.

We'll say God's word tells us that He feeds the birds, and how much more He'll feed me, so why am I starving? He's allowing me to starve because He's cruel, He doesn't love me- not really, He's not real. Those are the things that we will be tempted to believe all because we've focused on our temporal existence.

You'll get any number of people preaching about prosperity and God and how you can have it all with God. I'm not going to say you shouldn't prosper at all, but seriously when our Savior lived a life focused on the eternal and not the temporal, and He tells us plainly NOT to lay up treasures here on earth, why do we believe those people? Why do we allow ourselves to get caught up in earthly treasures, in temporal treasures?

The LORD is ALWAYS at our side- NO matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. We need to BEND to HIS will whatever it is. We don't have to comprehend, but we have to trust that our Savior will see us through to His kingdom.

Can we do this?

Is God THIS important to us?
Is ETERNAL LIFE THIS REAL to us?

Christ's righteousness truly is the greatest need we could ever have, and God will give this to us, He will NOT leave us wanting, He could not. Our Heavenly Father will give us ALL we need to be HIS. It's up to us to CHOOSE Him over ALL else, even ourselves.

Luk 12:23  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

Do we believe this?

Luk 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

First the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God- this should be our desire above all. Our Savior is the kingdom of God. It is through Him and His righteousness we find the kingdom and no where else.

In our world, people will hold very fancy parties and only those who receive an exclusive invitation can attend. If You don't KNOW that person hosting the party, you simply CANNOT ever expect to get an invitation, it's that simple. We comprehend that perfectly. We cannot gain the kingdom of God without Jesus Christ, without knowing Him and being known by Him, it's impossible.  Unlike worldly people of wealth and circumstance, who will more than likely never invite you to any of their exclusive parties, in fact they almost certainly do NOT want to know you-  Our Savior WANTS to know us! Our Savior extends His invitation to ALL.

Rev_3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Truth!

He provides - Cost of Discipleship Pt 96

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life



Bonhoeffer- '"Likewise it is man's bounden duty to work and do things, and yet withal to know that it is Another who nurtureth him: it is not his own work, but the bounteous blessing of God. It is true that the bird doth neither sow nor reap, yet would she die of hunger if she flew not in search of food. But that she findeth the same is not her work, but the goodness of God. For who put the food there, that she might find it? For where God hath put nought, none findeth, even though the whole world were to work itself to death in search thereof" (Luther)



But if the Creator thus sustains the birds and lilies, should he not much more as a Father nourish his own children, who daily pray to him? Should he not be able to grant them the necessities of life, when all earthly goods belong to him, and when he can distribute them according to his pleasure? '



My thoughts-



Do we believe the Bible?



This is a question that many answer quickly, saying, "Yes."



But then you look upon their lives and see them living in such a way that if they truly believe the Bible then you have to question whether or not they truly love God.



Do we love God?



We've grown so used to our idea of love it's easy for us to answer yes, we do. It's easy because we believe love is something that you abuse and treat any way you desire and it will still be love.  The concept of love and obedience has been altered. We don't like the 'obey' part of wedding vows because it makes us feel subservient to another. We pick and choose our obedience, don't we? We like to obey when it suits us.



Did love exist before sin existed?



Yes.



And because love existed before sin existed, love is everlasting while sin is not. Sin has tried to destroy love, perverting it so that it's become something elusive and undesirable. I'm not talking about the love we imagine love to be, but God's love, the true love. God is love. That love we imagine is here, there and everywhere, people claim to have and to give and to take it all the time- loving in one moment, and unloving the next as if that love were truly real- but it's only an illusion of love we manufacture.



God's love, is a belief so strong it doubts nothing at all.

God's love, is giving of ALL things good.



Think about God in Eden with the first couple before sin ever entered mankind. He created a world for them. He filled the world with wonderful, exquisite things beyond our imagination. He gave us everything we could ever desire and Adam and Eve were loved.  When a tempter entered the picture the weakness of mankind was exposed. Yet the love of mankind's Creator knew the possible weakness existed when He gave mankind the power to choose.  Creating mankind with a plan in mind should they choose to sin, God still would NOT force mankind to accept His plan. The plan included obedience. So many say it exclusively means accepting what Christ has done and nothing else, and guess what, they're right. That acceptance includes obedience. When we accept what Christ has done for us, we are accepting all that He's done and He obeyed God completely. He offers us the ability through the Holy Spirit to choose to obey. We ALL have that same freedom of choice that was given to us upon creation.  We all can choose to obey or disobey. 



So when we say we believe the Bible, that we love God, are we choosing to following in the example of our Savior and obey, are we loving, truly loving?



And if we love God, we believe, and if we believe we obey.



He wants us to trust Him, that He will provide. Do we trust Him?



Our anxiousness over the cares of this life - truly should not be focused on our temporal needs. If we believe in love, if we believe in God, we know He will take care of us.



We know God will provide, and we step out in FAITH knowing He will.



All through HIS LOVE, HIS AMAZING UNENDING LOVE!



May we LOVE.

Unquestioning acceptance of His gifts - Cost of Discipleship Pt 95

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- "Be not anxious for the morrow." This is not to be taken as a philosophy of life or a moral law: it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and only so can it be understood. Only those who follow him and know him can receive this word as a promise of the love of his Father and as a deliverance from the thralldom of material things. It is not care that frees the disciples from care, but their faith in Jesus Christ. Only they know that we cannot be anxious (verse 27). The coming day, even the coming hour, are placed beyond our control. It is senseless to pretend that we can make provision because we cannot alter the circumstances of this world. Only God can take care, for it is he who rules the world. Since we cannot take care, since we are so completely powerless, we ought not to do it either. If we do, we are dethroning God and presuming to rule the world ourselves.

' But the Christian also knows that he not only cannot and dare not be anxious, but that there is also no need for him to be so. Neither anxiety nor work can secure his daily bread, for bread is the gift of the Father. The birds and lilies neither toil nor spin, yet both are fed and clothed and receive their daily portion without being anxious for them. They need earthly goods only for their daily sustenance, and they do not lay up a store for the future. This is the way they glorify their Creator, not by their industry, toil or care, but by a daily unquestioning acceptance of his gifts. Birds and lilies are an example for the followers of Christ. "Man-in-revolt" imagines that there is a relation of cause and effect between work and sustenance, but Jesus explodes that illusion. According to him, bread is not to be valued as the reward for work; he speaks instead of the carefree simplicity of the man who walks with him and accepts everything as it come form God.'

My thoughts-

The GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.

These are HIS words, HIS instructions for us in our lives. We ask for instructions, we say we want them and yet for some reason we don't particularly care too much for the instructions we are given. How can I say that? I say that because SO few among those who claim to be followers of Christ actually listen to His instructions and then follow them.  That's one of the keys there- FOLLOWING the instructions.  Many people listen to the Words of Christ, they listen and listen and do so all the time, constantly. They listen so often they can recite the words of our Savior.  Many mistake this for following Christ, but the truth is, the majority of those who know Christ's words enough to recite them over and over, are but human recorders pressing the repeat button over and over.  Their lives do not reflect the words of Christ coming out of their mouths. They do not LIVE Christ's words. They are not DOERS of Christ's word, but hearers only.

Jas_1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Doers of the word.

Christ Jesus tells us not to be anxious, do we obey?  We hear those words, we hear them but now we need to obey them.

Don't worry about tomorrow.
Don't worry about what you're going to eat.
Don't worry about what you're going to drink.
Don't worry about what you're going to wear.
Take no thought for tomorrow.

So… do we listen?

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

We are told to SEEK first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness- and all those things we worry about will be given to us.

The truth, we will be given all we need for salvation if we seek the kingdom of God- Our Savior.

And in seeking, we will find, and in finding we must hear, and when we hear we must obey.

Of course we could keep on worrying and trusting in ourselves if that's what we desire.  Or we can hear the Gospel of the Kingdom and not only listen, but live the Gospel of the Kingdom.

ALL by the GRACE of GOD! All through HIS POWER!

May the Holy Spirit work in all of us!

Thank you LORD Jesus, thank YOU!

Anxiety is always future focused - Cost of Discipleship Pt 94

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'The way to misuse our possessions is to use them as an insurance against the morrow. Anxiety is always directed to the morrow, whereas goods are in the strictest sense meant to be used only for to-day. By trying to ensure for the next day we are only creating uncertainty to-day. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The only way to win assurance is by leaving to-morrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from him all we need for to-day. If instead of receiving God's gifts for to-day we worry about tomorrow, we find ourselves helpless victims of infinite anxiety. "Be not anxious for the morrow" : either that is cruel mockery for the poor and wretched, the very people Jesus is talking to who, humanly speaking, really will starve if they do not make provision to-day. Either it is an intolerable law, which men will reject with indignation: or it is the unique proclamation of the gospel of the glorious liberty of the children of God, who have a Father in heaven, a Father who has given his beloved Son. How shall not God with him also freely give us all things?'

Mat_6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (KJV)

Mat 6:34  Then do not be anxious for tomorrow. For the morrow will be anxious of itself. Sufficient to each day is its own trouble.  (LITV)

Rom_8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

My thoughts-

Do we use our possession as an insurance against tomorrow?  We do, don't we? We even go so far as to INSURE our possessions to they are being doubly used as an insurance against the future. We have *things* we possess which we can possible sell to give us necessary funds to provide for our own needs.

Telling a starving person not to worry about tomorrow is cruel isn't it? Shouldn't they be obsessed with worry about not starving?

I confess, I'm a worrier.

I've been riddled with anxiety since I was very young, and it's not something I seem to be able to rid myself of. Throughout my life I've been on several medications all geared to help control the anxiousness I've experienced.  Anxiety has become a sickness. Anxiety can paralyze.

When I was young, anxiety wasn't much thought about but by the time I was in my mid to late twenties, anxiety it was suddenly very common and they had several drugs people were using for people with anxiety.  I just found out this year at my fiftieth birthday party when my sister was reading a list of things that occurred in 1963, that valium was first used in 1963. So from the time I was born until twenty some years later anxiety as a very real problem became prevalent. The term panic attack/disorder didn't become officially recognized until 1980, I was 17 at the time, and I'd already lived intensely with anxiety  since I was 10. So my experience with being OVERLY anxious is going on 40 years now. To me it's a way of life that has limited me in many ways and defined me.  To tell me not to worry, to not be anxious is almost like telling me to stop breathing.

So, how do I as a Christ follower take these words about not be anxious about tomorrow? My first instinct is to say,  "That's easy to say, hard to do."

Mat 6:34  Then do not be anxious for tomorrow. For the morrow will be anxious of itself. Sufficient to each day is its own trouble.  (LITV)

Could we take this a step further and say we shouldn't be worried about today?

Almost all anxiety is truly future focused, focused on possibilities, focused on what may or may not happen whether it's tomorrow or five minutes from now.  Anxiety as a rule dissipates when the thing you are anxious over is gone, yet tomorrow is never gone.  How does one who is worried about tomorrow ever find relief from that anxiousness?

Truly this is truth- 'Sufficient to each day is its own trouble' or as the KJV says- 'Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. '

We do have enough worry in the here and now, don't we?  Each day has its own trouble, and worrying about tomorrows troubles will avail nothing.

In fact, worry avails nothing.

This is truth--

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

The ONLY way we can truly NOT worry is by believing that NOTHING matters but CHRIST JESUS our SAVIOR, and eternal life in Him.

If we TRULY believe only CHIRST matters then we have to believe that whatever our lot is, whatever we are called to endure no matter how awful, no matter how hard here and now, that it will somehow work to our good, even if that good is eternal life, and absolutely NO good here and now beyond that HOPE, that glorious HOPE found only in Christ Jesus.

Bonhoeffer is right though, we use our possessions as security and they are no security at all. It is only Christ who can be our security. If He allows us possessions we must possess them through HIM as He allows, and all things to HIS glory, none for our own. All things in the light of HIS CROSS!  Not some things, not a few things, but ALL THINGS.

Day by day, and all by the Grace of our LORD, will I learn to trust and not be anxious for tomorrow.

Earthly possessions delude us.... Cost of Discipleship Pt 93

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'Be not anxious! Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time they are the very source of all anxiety. If our hearts are set on them, our reward is an anxiety whose burden is intolerable. Anxiety creates its own treasures and in turn beget further care. When we seek for security in possessions we are trying to drive out care with care, and the net result is the precise opposite of our anticipations. The fetters which bind us to our possessions prove to be cares themselves.'

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Take no thought for your life.

That says is all doesn't it?

Truly when Bonhoeffer writes- 'Be not anxious! Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can prove security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time THEY are the VERY SOURCE of ALL ANXIETY.', he speaks the truth!

Which of us doesn't believe that if we only had more money, if we only could win that high stake lottery that would guarantee us financial security for the rest of our lives, that everything would be so much BETTER.

Yet how many people find out more money brings more worries.

I know what you're thinking- the same thing I am- let me have those worries, just let me have more money. 

We've been raised to believe that money is the answer, that possessions are the answer. That somehow we've truly succeeded in life if we've managed to acquire things. That the homeless vagrant has failed in life. Isn't that what we believe?  Success and failure is based upon lifestyle, the better the lifestyle the better you've succeeded, and the happier you should be, the less worry you should have.

That's Satan's view of success, that's the WORLD'S view of success, NOT GOD'S!

The simpler our lives, the less cluttered with things, the less complicated our lives are, this is what success is, a simple life spent in CHRIST, following HIS ways, HIS commands, HIS truth. And His truth tells us the only REAL treasures we should possess are those we can put in in HEAVEN.

We obviously then should TREASURE one another, yes? Not idolize in the least way, but treasure each other knowing that each of us by the grace of God have the opportunity to be in heaven with Christ. 

The richest person alive is the one who has all their treasure in HEAVEN! This is Christ's truth! 

Is it any wonder so few will be Christ's? People are living for earthly treasures and they make the excuse that God would want them to have "things", worldly things. God wants them to have a house, a car, a television, a computer, a smart phone, a closet full of clothes, a fridge full of food, cupboards well stocked, a pantry overflowing, entertainment, relaxation, ease. God wants them to have all these things because He wants them to be content, to be happy, to be pleased. 

So tell me, does that mean that God doesn't want all those living in horrific poverty to have any of those things? Their lives are what? And it's not just a matter of working hard enough to get these things. This is a materialistic societies view and that view seeps out into the poverty stricken regions and poisons them into believing that the "American Dream", the "Super Power Countries Dreams", are what is desired more than anything else. Those living in poverty are taught that their possession-less lives are lives that are to be despised.

Truthfully they are living lives more like Christ's than the millions who have houses filled with "things".  They are living lives more like Christ's than those who have been raised to believe that hard work, blood, sweat, and tears are things to work your way out of until you are living in ease. 

This world is so incredibly twisted and disgusting! This world truly is something to be HATED, not embraced and loved.

1Jn_2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Love NOT the world!
Love NEITHER the things that are in the world!
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is NOT in him!

Satan has laid claim to this world.
When Satan offered Jesus the world-

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Satan did that, Satan offered them all to Jesus because they belong to HIM! This world is Satan's and will be His until He is destroyed.

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone…

The devil isn't in charge of some mysterious fiery hell where people are being tortured endlessly. The devil WILL be cast into the lake of FIRE and BRIMSTONE, he will be utterly DESTROYED!

Mal_4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Nothing left, no evil left!

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10  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.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you

We look for a NEW heavens and a NEW earth wherein dwells RIGHTEOUSNESS!

This sin sick, Satan poisoned world will be gone!

*******

Our anxiousness over life stems from desiring things, it stems from the CARES of THIS LIFE as if THIS LIFE is all there really is.

The next time we become anxious we truly do have to ask ourselves what world we are LIVING FOR.

Even if it means we are suffering some grave illness and can't afford treatment for it, and we want to justify our anxiousness because we believe this is something we must have and God would give it to us if He really cared and loved us. God's love is UNCEASING! Trusting in HIM to provide, even if it means our life here is far from what we've been taught is our right to possess. Trusting in HIM even if to all outside appearances God despises us. Trusting in HIM even unto our own deaths.

Php_1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

Php 4:6  Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and by petition with thanksgivings, let your requests be made known to God;
Php 4:7  and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   (LITV)

By His mercy and grace, His love and His righteousness always! In our Lord Jesus Christ our Savior!

Amen.

The world or God. Cost of Discipleship Pt 92

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'But Jesus knows that the heart of man hankers after a treasure, and so it is his will that he should have one. But this treasure is to be sought in heaven, not on earth. Earthly treasures soon fade, but a treasure in heaven lasts for ever.'

Bonhoeffer- 'Surely these treasures can be none other than the "extraordinary," the hidden character of the Christian life, none other than the fruits of the passion of Jesus Christ which sustains the lives of his followers.

My thoughts-

We truly do desire to have treasure and our treasures in heaven are REAL. 

Is this truth--Joh_14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

There is a REAL place for us in heaven.  A REAL place and our SAVIOR is preparing it for us. He's not up in heaven idle. He is continuing His work, a work that will not be complete until death and sin are gone forever.

Read this--

Rev 21:1  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.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  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.
Rev 21:4  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.
Rev 21:5  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.
Rev 21:6  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.
Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8  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.
Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Rev 21:16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Rev 21:18  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Rev 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Rev 21:20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 22:6  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

THESE are real expectations!  This isn't some make believe, science-fiction, fantasy, but TRUTH.  The treasures we will possess will be REAL and all of them will come from our SAVIOR. There will be no greed at all, no rivalry, nothing that corrupts. The treasures will be such that ALL will possess them and be completely content with all they have.  The treasures we seek here and now truly are ALL corruptible and subject to disappearing.

The GREAT TEMPLE, a magnificent structure that took forty six years to build, was destroyed-

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in 66 CE. The siege ended with the sacking of the city and the destruction of its famous Second Temple. The destruction of both the first and second temples is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av.

Pasted from

From the greatest treasure that we might think is indestructible, to the least treasure we cannot imagine destroyed, every single one is subject to disappearing. Every treasure that is of the world, will one day be gone. 

The ONLY incorruptible treasure is in HEAVEN. 

So why, why do we seek to gain treasures here and now? Why do we place so much into the things we possess? Why does TEMPORARY pleasure means so much to us, so much so that we sacrifice eternal pleasure?

Bonhoeffer-'If our hearts are entirely given to God, it is clear that we cannot serve two masters; it is simply impossible-- at any rate all the time we are following Christ. It would of course be tempting to show how far we had advanced in the Christian life by endeavoring to serve two masters and giving each his due, both God and Mammon. Why should we not be happy children of the world just because we are the children of God? After all, do we not rejoice in his good gifts, and do we not receive our treasures as a blessing from him? No, God and the world. God and its goods are incompatible, because the world and its goods make a bid for our hearts, and only when they have won them do they become what they really are. That is how they thrive, and that is why they are incompatible with allegiance to God. Our hearts have room only for one all embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord. Every competitor to that devotion must be hated. As Jesus says, there is no alternative-- either we love God or we hate him. We are confronted by an "either-or" :either we love God or we love earthly goods. If we love God, we hate the world, and if we love the world, we hate God. It makes no difference whether that love be conscious and deliberate or not: in fact it is morally certain that it will be neither, and that our conscious and deliberate desire will be to serve two masters, to love God and the good things of life. We shall indignantly repudiate the suggestion that we hate God, and will be firmly convinced that we love him, whereas by trying to combine love for him with love for the world, we are turning our love for him into hatred. And then we have lost the single eye, and our heart is no longer in fellowship with Jesus. Our deliberate intentions make no difference to the inevitable result: Ye cannot serve two masters, if ye be followers of Jesus Christ.'

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

TRUTH!

Earthly goods to be used, not collected. - Cost of Discipleship pt 91

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'Jesus does not forbid the possession of property in itself. He was man, he ate and drank like his disciples, and thereby sanctified the good things of life. These necessities, which are consumed in use and which meet the legitimate requirements of the body, are to be used by the disciple with thankfulness.

Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected.

Hoarding is idolatry.

But where are we to draw the line between legitimate use and unlawful accumulation? Let us reverse the word of Jesus and our question is answered. "Where they heart is, there shall they treasure be also." Our treasure may of course be small and inconspicuous, but its size is immaterial; it all depends on the heart, on ourselves. And if we ask how we are to know where our hearts are, the answer is just as simple-- everything which hinders us from loving God above all things and acts as a barrier between ourselves and our obedience to Jesus is our treasure, and the place where our heart is.'

My thoughts--

I just love this sentence of Bonhoeffers- 

"Earthly goods are give to be USED, NOT to be collected."  

We are way too caught up in our possessions. We've been taught by our society itself that to be without possessions is an awful, and tragic thing. We even applaud the homeless street person who defends their shopping cart full of their treasure. Truly to go without anything at all is to be called destitute. And it is tragic when people lose all their possessions. The idea of not having possessions is something I find very hard to imagine. We call so many things NECESSARY.  And as soon as we call them NECESSARY we are saying they are something we cannot live without.

Bonhoeffer goes on to say that - "Hoarding is idolatry."  Do you believe it? It truly is, because when we hoard something we've place it in a position of power in our lives and it take away our worship of CHRIST. It does! The eye is NOT single if we are keeping it on our hoarded treasures.

Bonhoeffer- "EVERYTHING WHICH HINDERS US FROM LOVING GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS AND ACTS AS A BARRIER BETWEEN OURSELVES AND OUR OBEDIENCE TO JESUS IS OUR TREASURE, AND THE PLACE WHERE OUR HEART IS.'

If there is a single thing that keeps us from a full devotion to our Savior we truly are making that thing- no matter how big or how small- our hearts treasure!

We have to be willing to sacrifice ALL for CHRIST!

He has to be THAT important to us!

He CANNOT be an after thought in our lives!

We should do NOTHING without consulting Him first!

Yes, I said that, and meant that. We should consult our Father in Heaven through Jesus Christ our Savior in ALL we do!

When we wake in the morning we need to dedicate our entire day to Christ. We need to lay ALL our plans at the feet of our SAVIOR. We have to ask HIM to guide us in the way EVERLASTING, even if that way means that all the plans we've made for our day are thrown out the window in favor of something our God has planned for us.

Telling God that everything we plan to do is subject to HIS approval and meaning it, is truly having our GREATEST TREASURE IN HEAVEN- OUR SAVIOR, OUR KING, OUR CREATOR!  HE IS OUR TREASURE, the ONLY TREASURE WE REALLY, REALLY NEED!

By HIS grace may we have HIM as our ONLY TREASURE here through the SPIRIT, and in HEAVEN where HE MINISTERS for US!

Let NOTHING come between us and YOU, my LORD JESUS!

Where are we focused? Self or Christ? - Cost of Discipleship Pt 90

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'If the eye sees an object which is not there, the whole body is deceived. If the heart is devoted to the mirage of the world, to the creature instead of the Creator, the disciple is lost.

Worldly possessions tend to turn the hearts of the disciples away from Jesus. What are we really devoted to? That is the question. Are our hearts set on earthly good? Do we try to combine devotion to them with loyalty to Christ? Or are we devoted exclusively to him? The light of the body is the eye, and the light of the Christian is his heart. If the eye be dark how great is the darkness of the body! But the heart is dark when it clings to earthly goods, for then, however urgently Jesus may call us, his call fails to find access to our hearts. Our hearts are closed, for they have already been given to another. As the light cannot penetrate the body when the eye is evil, so the word of Jesus cannot penetrate the disciple's heart so long as it is closed against it. The word is choked like the seed which was sown among the thorns, choked, "with cares and riches and pleasures of this life."

Luk 8:14  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

My thoughts-

'If the heart is devoted to the mirage of the world, to the creature instead of the Creator, the disciple is lost.'

Are you devoted to yourself?

We often are.  We are often much more devoted to ourselves than anything else. We think of ourselves FIRST in ALL things. It's natural for us to think of ourselves first. In fact some would say it's impossible NOT to consider ourselves first simple because we exist and can't think of other things except in the light of ourselves. Where is our heart focused though?  Is our heart focused on OUR ease, our contentment, our satisfaction, our pleasure, our desires, our well being?

I think a lot of us have our minds set on our EASE and anything that threatens that ease, disturbs us. When this is true, we are NOT focusing on CHRIST and His will no matter how much trouble to our life of ease it bring.  We don't want to be disturbed. We don't want the plans we've made to be interrupted, we don't want to DEAL with things.  How often have we said and continue to say- 'I don't want to deal with it.'  What we don't want to deal with is the things of life that are upsetting our preconceived ease of life we should have should that thing we have to deal with wasn't there.

Why can't we see, why can't we comprehend that OTHERS and ALL that would disturb our ease ARE the TRULY IMPORTANT THINGS IN OUR LIVES, and NOT OUR OWN LIFE OF EASE!

If we are singularly focused on ourselves then we most certainly are NOT focused on CHRIST, our LORD and SAVIOR, who wants us to look SOLELY to HIM and HOW HE would want us to live through Him. Christ wants us to LOVE others, to LOVE Him before we love ourselves and yet so many of us have this twisted around the other way. We love ourselves first, others second, and Christ third.  It's twisted, terribly twisted and keeps our eye from being single and directed SOLELY on CHRIST.

Our lives in the LIGHT of our SAVIOR.

Our we devoted to ourselves (the creature) or are we devoted to the CREATOR?

A creature worshipping creature, is a creature having another God before their CREATOR.

Are we focused on the CARES of this life? Are we focused on the RICHES of this life? Are we focused on the PLEASURES of this life?

Where are our minds focused?! WHERE?! 

Please LORD save us from ourselves! 

Only YOU can save!!

The light of the body - Cost of Discipleship Pt 89

Now we start over from where we started this study on - The Cost of Discipleship.

Because it's been awhile I'm going to just go into this Chapter all over again.

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Mat 6:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

*******
Bonhoeffer- 'The life of discipleship can only be maintained so long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves-- neither the law, nor personal piety, nor even the world. The disciple always looks only to his master, never to Christ AND the law, Christ AND religion, Christ AND the world. He avoids all such notions like the plague. Only by following Christ alone can he preserve a single eye.'

My thoughts--

A single eye, an eye looking upon the heart's desire. This spiritual eye focus solely on Christ truly is the light of the body. 

Remember this--

Talking of New Jerusalem, coming out of heaven to earth-

Rev_21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

And all these amazing verses--

Joh_1:4  In HIM was life; and the life was the light of men.

Joh_1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Joh_1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through HIM might believe.

Joh_3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh_3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in GOD.

Joh_8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the LIGHT OF LIFE.

Joh_9:5  As long as I am in the world, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

Joh_11:9  Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the LIGHT of this world.
Joh_12:35  Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the LIFHT is with you. Walk while ye have the  LIGHT lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh_12:36  While ye have LIGHT, believe in the LIGHT, that ye may be the children of LIGHT. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

A2Co_4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the LIGHT of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

2Co_4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath SHINED in our hearts, to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Eph_5:13  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the LIGHT: for whatsoever doth make manifest is LIGHT.

1Jn_1:7  But if we walk in the LIGHT, as HE is in the LIGHT, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn_2:9  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1Jn_2:10  He that loveth his brother abideth in the LIGHT, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

*******

Our Savior is the LIGHT. If our eye is anywhere else it is NOT on our SAVIOR. We have to keep our eye on JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

Truly if we take it off Him we do fall into darkness. 

We marvel at our lives when we get caught up in things that are upsetting, depressing, hurtful, is it any wonder we are caught up in them because we've taken our eyes OFF CHRIST!

When we CARE more about the things of this world than we do of CHRIST and all thing eternal in HIM, then we are bound to be UNHAPPY, CONFUSED, MISERABLE, ANGRY, DEPRESSED and so on. 

WE HAVE to ask ourselves every single time we get caught up in the dark things of this world and I’m not talking only about the extreme evils but ALL evils, the tiniest evil to the greatest, we have to ask ourselves where our EYE is focused.  Almost every time we will have to answer- NOT ON CHRIST! Because if we are to say that our eye is ON CHRIST then we would NOT be in the dark!

That trust truly does mean we look to CHRIST for all things! Our FAITH has to be in HIM!

WE HAVE to take our minds OFF OURSELVES!

Our eye must be singly on CHRIST and all that means!

If our eye is NOT singly on CHRIST then we will be FILLED with darkness!  The little darkness we think is acceptable is NOT acceptable at all! We have to give everything over to our SAVIOR, everything! We cannot cling to our favored darkness', believing they are harmless.  They'll darken a tiny bit of us and then that darkness will grow and grow, and grow until it fills us and there is no light in us at all!

We must look solely to CHRIST!

In all situations! We MUST look to CHRIST and away from everything else!

Please LORD, help us to look ONLY to YOU. Please LORD, let our eye be singly on YOU, our LIGHT! Fill us so that our whole bodies are YOUR LIGHT!

Wherever there is a call to do good, it can be used for evil - Cost of Discipleship Pt 88

Chapter 16 - The Hiddenness of the Devout Life

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Bonhoeffer - '"Anoint thine head and wash thy face" Even this might become an occasion for a still subtler form of self-glorification or enjoyment. But that would be to miss the point and make of it a mere pretense. Jesus, however, bids his disciples to persevere in the practices of humiliation, but not to force them on other people as a rule or regulation. They must rejoice and give thanks for the privilege of remaining in the service of their Lord. Jesus does not mean that a smile on the face it to be a sort of stereotyped expression of Christianity; he is referring rather to the proper hiddenness of Christian behavior, to that humility which is wholly unselfconscious, even as the eye can see other people but can never see itself. Such hiddenness will one day be made manifest, but that will be God's doing not ours.'

My thoughts-

Wherever there is a call to do good, it can be used for evil. The motive behind our actions is always in question.

Heb_10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

We need to have our hearts sprinkled FROM an evil conscience, our bodies washed with pure water, and the only way this happens is through CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25  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

Our hearts need to be pure and only then can our motives be pure. And the only way our hearts become pure is by the cleansing of them by Christ.

Psa_51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

This MUST be our prayer, our plea!

While we seek to know and to follow, to hear God's word and do His word, we must pray for a clean heart and a right spirit. We have to question our own motives, never relying upon our feelings, never patting ourselves on the back. We have to TRUST in GOD fully, wholly in OUR GOD!

Our prayer lives, our fasting lives, our living for Christ lives must be lived as He commands- humbly. 

Please LORD, help us to live as You would have us live, in YOU ALWAYS!

By YOUR love, YOUR mercy, YOUR grace, YOUR forgiveness, YOUR righteousness! ALL IN YOU!

In the last days perilous times shall come...

'This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,  ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

2Ti 3:1-17


Satan says-- “Through those that have a form of godliness but know not the power, we can gain many who would otherwise do us great harm. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God will be our most effective helpers. Those of this class who are apt and intelligent will serve as decoys to draw others
into our snares. Many will not fear their influence, because they profess the same faith. We will thus lead them to conclude that the requirements of Christ are less strict than they once believed, and that by conformity to the world they would exert a greater influence with worldlings. Thus they will separate from Christ; then they will have no strength to resist our power, and erelong they will be ready to ridicule their former zeal and devotion.'   Great Controversy E.G. White


My thoughts-

A FORM of GODLINESS.

If someone has a form of godliness this means they appear to be following God, right? They appear to be God's. Their actions are the actions of one we imagine has a close relationship with God. They have a FORM of godliness. 

That form of godliness is deceptive. 

Many hold this form of godliness but they deny the power thereof, what does this mean? What is the denying of power?

Rom_1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 16:25  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,
Rom 16:26  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:
Rom 16:27  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever.

1Co_5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ

2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The denying of power is a denying of CHRIST!

But the form of godliness leads people to believe that they are living in Christ, it's deception. They are in fact denying Christ. When they deny His TRUTHS.

The Bible is FILLED with Christ's truths and people would rather follow their own paths of truth than God's.  They would rather follow their OWN beliefs which stem from their OWN selfish desires than follow GOD'S beliefs which call for the sacrificing of SELF and the ACCEPTING of CHRIST as THEIR SAVIOR.

That form of godliness makes an outward show of being Christ's but inwardly there is no true love for God, no true love for the Savior, no true love for the TRUTHS that are CHRIST'S.

This is truth-

'This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. '

Those who are love of themselves…
Those who are covetous…
Those who are boasters…
Those who are proud…
Those who are blasphemers…
Those who are disobedient to parents…
Those who are unthankful…
Those who are unholy…
Those who are without natural affection…
Those who are trucebreakers…
Those who are false accusers…
Those who are incontinent…
Those who are fierce…
Those who are despisers of those that are good…
Those who are traitors…
Those who are heady…
Those who are highminded…
Those who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God…

ALL THESE CAN HAVE A FORM OF GODLINESS without any POWER OF GOD!

DECEPTION!

Those who are outwardly shouting their stance against God and His ways, are LESS deceptive and sinful than those who PRETEND to be God's!

There is a REAL danger of this pretense and it is something we ALL must be on guard against, especially in ourselves!

It's so easy to say, 'Look at the world and how sinful it is with all this chaos of sinning.'  It's harder to say, 'Look at the world and know how deceptive the sin goes, being alive and well behind a form of godliness.'

We need to pray for the power of Christ to be alive in us, His power, His love! We have to love HIS truth, all of His truth and follow His truth, not being among those who love to HEAR the truth, but when it comes to living the truth that's a different story. Again, a form of godliness without any power at all!

Please LORD! PLEASE help us to have the POWER of YOU IN US! All through YOUR LOVE AND MERCY! We don't want to have the FORM of GODLINESS WITHOUT YOUR POWER! Please LORD BE REAL IN US!

ALL IN YOU!

Yours truly is the KINGDOM, the POWER, and the GLORY forever and ever!

Amen.

Equip us for better, deeper humiliation - Cost of Discipleship Pt 87

Chapter 16 - The Hiddenness of the Devout Life

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Bonhoeffer- 'Asceticism  means voluntary suffering: it is passio activa rather than passiva, and it is just there that the danger lies. There is always a danger that in our asceticism we shall be tempted to imitate the sufferings of Christ. This is a pious but godless ambition, for beneath it there always lurks the notion that it is possible for us to step into Christ's shoes and suffer as he did and kill the old Adam. We are then presuming to undertake that bitter work of eternal redemption which Christ himself wrought for us. The motive of asceticism was more limited-- to equip us for better service and deeper humiliation. But it can only do that so long as it takes the suffering of Christ as its basis; if not, it degenerates into a dreadful parody of the Lord's own passion. Our whole motive now becomes a desire for ostentation. We want other people to see our achievements and to be put to shame. Our asceticism has now become the way to salvation. Such publicity gives it the reward it seeks.'

My thoughts-

'The motive of asceticism was more limited- to equip us for better service and deeper humiliation.'

as·cet·i·cism
n.
1. The principles and practices of an ascetic; extreme self-denial and austerity.
2. The doctrine that the ascetic life releases the soul from bondage to the body and permits union with the divine.     Pasted from

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

When you fast…  because you will fast, you should fast, abstaining from food and possibly drink as well, only by doing this are you not focusing on indulging yourself even of a very real, very human need of sustenance.  For the duration of the fast you are depending solely upon God to keep you. You aren't giving into a desire, purposely.

Let's go back to those verses we read the other day-

Luk 2:37  And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Luk 4:2  Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

1Co 7:5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

*******

The widow served God with fastings and prayers NIGHT and DAY.

So some might say she never ate? They'd be wrong. There are many different kinds of fasting. The widow would have died had she not had anything to eat at all ever, night and day. Could her fasting have been from all but what she absolutely needed to sustain her? Could her diet consisted of the bare necessities and no more? Imagine your own life without any extras, without anything other than what you absolutely needed. It's hard for us to do that here in the United States, at least most of us find it hard. We've not only spent our entire lives indulging our passion for our preferred foods, we teach this same thing to our children and so on.

Does one who is starving truly care if they 'like' the taste of the food they are given to eat?

We are SO incredibly caught up in our 'LIKING' our food. It's a right we have, isn't it? If we don't like something we just don't have to eat it, we have to find something we do like. We'd rather waste lots of food than eat it, not liking the taste of it. We are an INDULGENT society. Fasting, could it in part be to reveal our indulgent nature?

The widow served God with-  FASTINGS and PRAYERS.

We love to serve God, don't we? Many get all caught up in serving God as meaning being out there preaching, evangelizing, healing, etc. But we can serve God in our fastings and prayers. 

How is it serving God in fasting? It's purposely abstaining.

And another verse--

Luk 4:2  Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

In a commentary on this it is noted that Christ being tempted in this way reveals to us a temptation tactic that Satan loves to use, in fact it was the first temptation of Christ that night, and used first because Satan had to believe it would be a very, very strong, all but impossibly strong temptation for any to resist- because man had over and over and over and over, time and again, fallen victim to this particular temptation- indulging self even with what we've deemed the necessities of life. Think about it for a moment.  The temptation of food is one we face DAILY. The temptation to think more of our bellies than anything else.  It's so easy for us to say, 'God understands, we have to eat, don't we?'  And then we bring up the disciples walking through a field of corn and plucking corn cobs on the Sabbath to eat, surely that means it is okay for us to eat whenever we're hungry. Jesus even said it was okay to do this thing, to satisfy the hunger rather than stay hungry until after the Sabbath. Jesus even fed 5000 people, rather than make them endure hunger as they stayed to listen to Him preach the kingdom to them. So going hungry isn't in and of itself God's desire for us, however, when SATAN is using food to induce us to sin, God would NEVER want us to fall into that sin.

This verse-

Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

-obviously there is POWER in prayer and fasting that isn't there when we pray without fasting.  I'm not saying we shouldn't pray without fasting all the time, by no means, especially if we are to pray always. But there is something that connects fasting with prayers, something that does something we cannot comprehend fully that enables the prayers to be more effective. That's what this verse is saying, isn't it?

'This kind can come forth by nothing  (…. NOTHING…)  but by PRAYER and FASTING.'

And our Savior was talking about casting out a demon. He'd already given his disciples this power to cast out demons, yet when they tried it this time it didn't work.

Mar 9:17  And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
Mar 9:18  And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Mar 9:19  He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Mar 9:20  And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
Mar 9:21  And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
Mar 9:22  And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
Mar 9:26  And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

The disciple didn't understand why they couldn't do the casting out, obviously they'd done other casting outs, but this time no results were had. They needed to know why.  If their faith is strong only some times and not others surely something is wrong. But it wasn't necessarily their faith….or was it?

Jesus did say this- ' O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?'   After He'd been told of the disciples failure to cast out the dumb spirit.  Is faith tied up in the FASTING and PRAYING? Are we revealing a deeper faith, a deeper belief, when we fast along with praying?  That kind… can come forth by NOTHING BUT PRAYER and FASTING.

That kind cannot come forth by just praying alone, there is has to be something more, something about the fasting, the self-sacrifice? The choosing to give up a part of self, to recognize that God and GOD alone sustains, it is GOD'S power that is being called upon and NOT a single bit of power we possess on our own.  Instead of focusing on self- which we HAVE to do when we eat- focusing solely on the prayer. Praying long, praying through our meal times, not setting a time limit on the prayer, doing nothing but praying.

1Co 7:5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

A married couple giving themselves over to God in prayer, in fasting, would naturally also keep from having marital relations because the focus is only upon GOD and nothing more, not on their own pleasure. The focus is taken off all OUR pleasures, whether that pleasure is food or marital relations. The focus is PRAYER while fasting.  To fast for God without prayer is truly selfish, because the desire is to be seen sacrificing self for the sake of appearing godly, but the heart isn't there.  God knows our hearts, He knows us, and He alone can make our evil, sin stained hearts, clean again.

Bonhoeffer-' The motive of asceticism was more limited-- to equip us for better service and deeper humiliation. But it can only do that so long as it takes the suffering of Christ as its basis; if not, it degenerates into a dreadful parody of the Lord's own passion.'

Nothing WE do of our own accord means anything at all. It is only CHRIST in us that matters.  If CHRIST in us, in HIS POWER, calls us to fast and pray it is all to GLORIFY HIM, and not us in any way at all!

Is it any wonder we are not to broadcast our prayers and fastings? We are glorifying GOD, we are giving all HONOR to GOD, all POWER to GOD, all PRAISE and WORSHIP to GOD, taking NONE for ourselves, it belongs all to HIM!