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!

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!