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!

Unending struggle of the spirit - Cost of the Discipleship Pt 86

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-  'When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh. How is it possible to live the life of faith when we grow weary of prayer, when we lose our taste for reading the Bible, and when sleep, food and sensuality deprive us of the joy of communion with God?'

My thoughts-

Bonhoeffer -'The life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.'

Joh_6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Rom_6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Rom_7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom_8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom_8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom_8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Mortify the deeds of the body. 

The only way to mortify the deeds of the body is THROUGH the SPIRIT.  Our flesh cannot mortify flesh.

We have to pray to GOD our Heavenly Father and we have to pray that the Spirit lives in US and the SPIRIT works in us and that work is MORTIFYING the DEEDS of the BODY.  And only the deeds that are contrary to our God need mortifying.  It's no mystery, our God has told us over and over what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to Him. The things that are the lust of the flesh are NOT acceptable to Him and we need to allow the SPIRIT to mortify those unacceptable things in us. 

IF YE through the SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body.

YE- that word means WE have a part in this.  WE have to THROUGH the SPIRIT-  MORTIFY the deeds of our bodies!

So why does anyone, anywhere believe that they can do ANYTHING they want, that they can indulge SELF and it doesn't matter at all.

If we live after the flesh- we DIE eternally.
If we live after the SPIRIT we live in CHRIST eternally!

Please LORD, please teach us to live THROUGH the SPIRIT, and THROUGH the SPIRIT mortify the deeds of our bodies. 

Bonhoeffer -'The life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.'

TRUTH!

An UNENDING STRUGGLE!

You will NEVER get to a place the struggling stops.
We are in a WAR.
We forget that, we forget we are in the middle of a war, the ultimate war.
We want peace and an easy life- easy in all respects- emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually.  When we are being tortured we long for that peace, and we expect peace in the form of our problems going away. The peace can only come from the SPIRITUAL knowledge of our SAVIOR and HIS LOVE, no where else! Our TREASURE and that is a treasure - PEACE - must be laid up in HEAVEN with our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

All in HIM! By HIS GRACE, HIS MERCY, HIS LOVE!

Self indulgence - Self Deceit Cost of Discipleship Pt 85

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 - 'The flesh resists this daily humiliation, first by a frontal attack, and later by hiding itself under the words of the spirit (i.e. in the name of "evangelical liberty"). We claim liberty from all legal compulsion, from self-martyrdom and mortification, and play this off against the proper evangelical use of discipline and asceticism; we thus excuse our self-indulgence and irregularity in prayer, in meditation and in our bodily life.  But the contrast between our behavior and the word of Jesus is all too painfully evident. We forget that discipleship means estrangement from the world, and we forget the real joy and freedom which are the outcome of a devout rule of life.   As soon as a Christian recognizes that he has failed in his service, that his readiness has become feeble, and that he has sinned against another's life and become guilty of another's guilt, that all his joy in God has vanished and that his capacity for prayer has quite gone, it is high time for him to launch an assault upon the flesh, and prepare for better service by fasting and prayer (Luke 2:37; 4:2: Mark 9:29; 1 Cor. 7:5)

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.
*******
My thoughts-
Fasting and prayer- go hand in hand.

Bonhoeffer is DEAD ON! Reread what he wrote.

'The flesh RESISTS this daily humiliation.'    TRUTH.

'We thus EXCUSE our self-indulgence and irregularity in prayer, in mediation, and in our bodily life.'  TRUTH.

We do! We excuse ourselves constantly!  All the time we are trying to live to the flesh while being God's, but we CAN'T live to the flesh! We just...can't. 

Bonhoeffer speaks the plain truth here-

'We forget that discipleship means estrangement from the world, and we forget the real joy and freedom which are the outcome of a devout rule of life.'

Remember this--

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

They are of the WORLD.
We are of GOD.

You cannot be of the world and be of God.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

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.

Jas_4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

So WHY do we choose to forget that we need to be estranged from the world?

And WHY aren't we estranged from the world?

WHY are we friends with the world?

Why do we FORGET there is joy, a special joy, and yes, a freedom, in living the life that Christ calls us to, a life of SELF DENIAL, NOT SELF INDULGENCE.

Prayer and fasting.

Loving NOT the world, but loving GOD.

TRUTH-
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.
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Truth.
By the grace of God may WE live in His truth, in Him, and not in and of this world!

Please LORD, SAVE US from this world!

And no more will repent...

Mat 6:13  ... but deliver us from evil

From a few days ago--

'Satan sinned, evil was found in Satan.  Mankind was protected from all the evil and the results of evil; they lived in a perfect world, yet they were allowed to be tempted. Why? Some people say they should never have been allowed to be tempted. Some people say that tree should never have been placed in the garden. Our God had created angels and in those angels sin was found.  Angels had been given freewill, and out of that came pride leading to a third of the angels falling.  God created man, making Him a little LOWER than the angels and He gave them free will.  He told them their life would change should they choose to disobey Him.  They had EVERYTHING but that ONE tree.  Would mankind sin? Would mankind choose to sin?  Yes and no.

I say yes and no because on their own they did NOT touch that tree.

It wasn't until they were put to a TEST that they touched the tree.

Their weakness was exposed.

And that could have been the end of it all, but sin would still remain if that were the end, if mankind were simply done away with.

Evil had to be done away with, and it had to be done away with in such a way that it would NEVER, EVER again exist!'

So, the question arises, why didn't God just make Satan, and sin disappear the moment it began? Satan's accusations raised a question about God's character. Satan's sin was against God and all God is. Sin truly is the transgression of the law and that law is God. All that is evil in the world, every single bit of evil gets its origin from Satan, gets its origin from going against God's will, God's ways. NONE of the evil would exist if sin didn't exist.  That tree of knowledge of good and evil that the created creatures of God were not supposed to eat of, that tree truly unleashed all that is evil, all that results from turning away from God who is love.  If you turn away from LOVE, evil fills the void in many, many ways.

Satan turned his heart from God and onto Himself, introducing sin into God's existence.  To blot out the ACCUSER would leave his accusations alive and well. We all know when an accuser is left to live to answer for the accusations, to prove their case it is 100% better than if an accuser is cut down and their accusations left to remain. If you simply get rid of someone making waves the waves leave a lot of ripples, and some of those ripples even manage to become new waves.  If you CALM the wave, leaving no ripples, the waves are gone completely.  What I'm trying to say is, if a person causing trouble, raising accusations against someone or a system, is suddenly gone the accusations remain and it becomes even more accusing because the person raising the questions is suddenly gone.  You know what I'm talking about.  God could NOT arbitrarily get rid of Satan, if He did every single accusation Satan made against God would have remained! 

You have to remember that Satan's influence spread far and wide among the angels.  ONE THIRD of all the angels chose to side with Satan, meaning they believed in him and his accusations against God. They believed that Satan had the right of it and that their way was so much better than God's.

Satan and his followers have been left alive to PROVE their accusations are just, that God is UNJUST.

They FAILED!

Like David and Goliath, the stone has struck Satan between the eyes and he's down for the count, all that remains is his head being removed. 

When our SAVIOR died on that cross Satan's fate was sealed, completely irrevocably sealed. He proved Himself the author of evil, the father of lies, he had thousands of years to prove his accusations against God and He failed.  When he put God's Son to death he showed everyone, everywhere in heaven and on earth, to inhabitants the universes to infinity and beyond, were allowed to see the complete and utter truth- Satan was a LIAR and would be NOTHING ELSE, he could NOW be destroyed and all the evil he brought with him without leaving any doubt anywhere with anyone, not a single accusation against God remained.

Now, this is the ONLY reason that Satan has not been destroyed…

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.

Our Savior is not willing that ANY should perish.
Our Savior wants ALL to come to repentance.

Our Savior wants all of us to realize that we are nothing on our own without Him. Our Savior wants us to realize what all the worlds have realized that God's way is LOVE, all other ways are not. He is everything! He gave everything for US!

The ONLY reason we have been given life is because our LORD wants us to come to repentance and live in HIM, to KNOW our LORD, to KNOW GOD, to KNOW LOVE! He wants us all!

Imagine for just a single moment having to make that final call, to say the words- it is done- no more desire to repent, no more choose love. 

Of every person alive, and of the age of accountability, all have decided and no more will repent, no more will be mine no matter how long I wait.

This is a call that will be made, that has to be made. There will be an end to all evil.

Mat 6:13  ... but deliver us from evil

When we pray- deliver us from evil we are truly asking to be delivered from all evil, and to be given to God's pure love!

BY HIS GRACE!  God's WILL!

Our flesh has no rights of its own - Cost of Discipleship Pt 83

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- 'Jesus takes it for granted that his disciples will observe the pious custom of fasting. Strict exercise of self -control is an essential feature of the Christian's life.  Such customs have only one purpose-- to make the disciples more ready and cheerful to accomplish those things which God would have done.

Fasting helps to discipline the self-indulgent and slothful will which is so reluctant to serve the Lord, and it helps to humiliate and chasten the flesh. By practicing abstemiousness we show the world how different the Christian life is from its own. If there is no element of asceticism in our lives, if we give free rein to the desires of the flesh (taking care of course to keep within the limits of what seems permissible to the world), we shall find it hard to train for the service of Christ.

When the flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation.

So the Christian needs to observe a strict exterior discipline. But we are not to imagine that that alone will crush the will of the flesh, or that there is any way of mortifying our old man other than by faith in Jesus. The real difference in the believer who follows Christ and has mortified his will and died after the old man in Christ, is that he is more clearly aware than other men of the rebelliousness and perennial pride of the flesh, he is conscious of his sloth and self-indulgence and knows that his arrogance must be eradicated. Hence there is a need for daily self-discipline. It is always true of the disciple that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and he must therefore "watch and pray." The spirit knows the right way, and desires to follow it, but the flesh lacks courage and finds it too hard, to hazardous and wearisome, and so it stifles the voice of the spirit.  The spirit assents when Jesus bids us love our enemies, but flesh and blood are too strong and prevent our carrying it out. Therefore we have to practice strictest daily discipline; only so can the flesh learn the painful lesson that it has no rights of its own. Regular daily prayer is a great help here, and so is daily meditation on the Word of God, and every kind of bodily discipline and asceticism.'

My thoughts--

'Moreover when ye fast'

When, not if.  It's moreover WHEN you fast, not moreover IF you fast.  WHEN you fast.  It's the same as this--

Mat_6:7  'But when ye pray'

WHEN you pray, not IF you pray.

We take it for granted that if someone tells us they are a follower of Jesus, that they'll be praying. Prayer goes hand in hand with the relationship we form with God, right? It's our mode of communicating with God. We talk to Him and we, through faith, believe He hears us and yes, answers us in His own way. Could you imagine someone telling you they're a disciple of Christ's but they never pray? It would seem awfully odd, wouldn't it? Yet we don't find it strange at all when someone tells us they don't fast as part of their discipleship. That sort of archaic behavior isn't necessary. We've regulated fasting to the past. 

Yet it is true when Bonhoeffer said this- 'Jesus takes it for granted that his disciples will observe the pious custom of fasting.'

Jesus takes it for granted and goes on to give instructions for fasting.  If we were NOT supposed to fast, or if fasting was something we were supposed to simply forget about, why would our Savior take time to give instructions on how to fast?  We don't doubt at all that we are supposed to pray and we welcome all the instruction our Savior has given us on prayer. Fasting is another story, and one that we quite frankly would rather didn't exist.

Fasting calls for a REAL self-denial of self indulgence.
Fasting truly does put us in mind of the place our own needs and desires really belong.

Fasting calls us to recognize that something else is MORE important than us. Something else is MORE important than our hunger pangs.

People fasting in the Bible fast for various reason. David fasted and prayed when His son was dying. Jesus told the apostles that some demons aren't easy to remove from people and they need to fast and pray to get them out. What purpose was the fasting part other than to DENY themselves? Discipline themselves?  Put self out of its place of primacy. 

We are told this--

Rom_8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Col_3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6  For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience

Mortify the DEEDS of the body.
Mortify therefore your members.

Mat_16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mar_8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Tit_1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

What are these words of God telling us?

There is a CERTAIN way we are to behave as disciples of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, our God.

If we IGNORE all these words of Jesus, if we deny all these Holy Spirit inspired words, then we aren't true disciples of Christ, but rather disciples of our own FALSE teachings. We are LEADING OURSELVES astray. We have become LIARS and have fashioned up a religion of our own making NOT GOD'S!

We are expected to fast.
We are expected to bring our bodies in subjection.

1Co_9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

*******

When we fast.

Fasting isn't done to show OTHERS that we are denying ourselves, that we are putting our bodies into subjection.  Fasting should be between God and us, and that's all. We should draw NO attention to ourselves when we bring our bodies into subjection.

*******

Bonhoeffer said this-- 'The spirit knows the right way, and desires to follow it, but the flesh lacks courage and finds it too hard, to hazardous and wearisome, and so it stifles the voice of the spirit.  The spirit assents when Jesus bids us love our enemies, but flesh and blood are too strong and prevent our carrying it out. Therefore we have to practice strictest daily discipline; only so can the flesh learn the painful lesson that it has no rights of its own. Regular daily prayer is a great help here, and so is daily meditation on the Word of God, and every kind of bodily discipline and asceticism.'

My thoughts-

Our practicing STRICT DAILY DISCIPLINE is encouraged by scripture as we know from the above verses.  So to believe that we are not to think at all about how we live would be a HUGE mistake and one we, here in America at least, find very easy to make. Pleasing ourselves is something we grow up doing. Indulging ourselves is the norm, not the exception. When we have a desire we fulfill it if it's within our means.  We seldom consider not fulfilling it, it's just the way we live here and now.  To go without food, purposely going hungry when we truly do NOT desire to go hungry, is not often done. Who enjoys the feeling of hunger? No one I know.  So choosing to fast, something Jesus expect from His disciples, is something that truly would remind us that we HAVE to bring our bodies into subjection, by HIS GRACE.  It would remind us we need to DENY ourselves. It would make us truly think about how much we DO indulge ourselves.

What reasons do we have for fasting?  Should it be done just to learn self-denial? Would we be in danger of pride if we succeed in our fast, something that would negate the entire reason for fasting? I've talked about fasting before and more than likely I'll talk about it again. Part of me wants to fast because I know that Jesus expects us to fast, I know it's a good thing, but another part of me, MOST likely the self-indulgent part of me shuns the idea of purposely going hungry.

By God's grace may we seek HIS will in ALL things, in fasting, may we find our path and may it be one of HIS GRACE and MERCY, not one that points us to ourselves, but an opportunity to offer Him praise, glory, and honor!

Please Lord, by YOUR GRACE, help us to learn that our flesh truly does have NO rights of its own as Bonhoeffer writes. Help us to live in the SPIRIT, not the FLESH, as YOUR WORD TELLS US!

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

1Pe 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

By His Grace in His Love!