"If you want to experience God's presence in your life all day long, you will have to part with much that you formerly thought lawful." Andrew Murray
"Lord, I have had misgivings about Thee. I have not believed in Thy wits apart from my own; I have not believed in Thine almighty power apart fom my finite understanding of it." Oswald Chambers
Tomorrow morning I'm off to Deaf Camp in MD! It's a Methodist camp for all ages of deaf, kids to 20-somethings. I'm really looking forward to it. Just pray it's not sweltering this week - no AC in the cabins and I'm not used to roughing it.
Hey, you've gotta see this YouTube thing my nephew, Ryan, and his fiancee, Isabel, did. They're rock climbers who have started their own company, 'Ascendance', for performing. Pretty cool. This rock wall is in their apartment in Berkeley, CA. They've posted other performances on YouTube if you like this one. Ryan has a solo one also.
Yeah, so, what do you get when you mix J.W. and a trampoline? A sight to behold, I tell you! Such talent, such agility, such depth of creative contortionism, such soaring heights wasted on an audience of one awestruck being, two apathetic male forms, and hundreds of visionless, mindless pines. Unbelievable. Indelibly etched in my mind..... a vision to behold.
Henry Drummond, in his book, Addresses, (I don't know how to make this thing underline) wrote, "A telescope in an observatory follows a star by clockwork, but the clockwork of the soul is called the Will. While the soul in passivity reflects the Image of the Lord, the Will in intense activity holds the mirror in position lest the drifting motion of the world bear it beyond the line of vision. To follow Christ is largely to keep the soul in such position as will allow for the motion of the earth. And this calculated counter-acting of the movements of a world, this holding of the mirror exactly opposite to the Mirrored, this steadying of the faculties unerringly through cloud and earthquake, fire and sword, is the stupendous co-operating labor of the Will. It is all man's work. It is all Christ's work. In practice it is both. In theory it is both. But the wise man will say in practice, "It depends upon myself." " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
I love this quote because it reminds me that my faith MUST be active - The righteous shall LIVE by faith. I must WALK by faith. My Will must constantly be taking every thought captive to obey Christ. It's a decision I choose to make every day, every moment. Andrew Murray says, "Faith has ever, only, to deal with the present moment." My mind must constantly be preaching, "I keep the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved." and "Thou dost keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee." "No eye has seen a God besides Thee, who works for those who wait for Him."
If I don't take hold of my thoughts and feelings to keep them stayed on Christ, then my flesh (Satan) will have its way with me. I will drift on a dark, endless sea of nothingness.
A Pilgrim's Progress devotional book by Cheryl Ford says, "Simple, Sloth, Presumption; How like them I am! Simple is out of God's way because he lacks spiritual depth. Sloth, because he decided to do what most comforted him. Presumption, because he thinks he can get away with doing whatever he wants. They don't realize their danger. Satan has chained their feet and they lay as sleeping children cradled in his lap."
Oh, wake me up, Lord! May I never forget that Christ worketh in me mightily, and one with Him, I possess strength sufficient to overcome every temptation. He is able to keep me from falling! Hallelujah!!
