HCLM BLOG

"Virtue starts to grow in a heart that desires the will of God.  It is not a question of knowing a lot, or being talented, or even of doing great deeds.  All that you really need is to long to belong completely to God.  But how does your will come to this place?  by conforming little by little, but without reservation, to what God wants.  You must learn to bring your weak will in line with God's all-powerful one.  Here you will find inexhaustible and never-ending peace and joy.

Adore, praise, and bless God for everything!  See Him in all things.  There is no longer anything truly evil in your life for God uses even the most terrible sufferings to work for your good because you love Him.  Can the troubles God uses to purify your life be called evil?  Think of what these troubles accomplish in your life.

Rest all your cares on the bosom of the Father.  Be content to follow His will in all things, and to let Him bring your will into harmony and oneness with Him.  Do not resist Him as He works within you.  If you feel resistance rising up inside of you, turn to Him and take His side against your own rebellious nature.  He will know what to do.  Learn not to grive the Holy Spirit within you, for He watches over your inner life.  Learn from past mistakes you have made without getting discouraged.

How can you better glorify God than by renouncing your own desires and letting Him do what pleases Him?  He is truly your God when you see nothing but the hand of God ruling over all things in your life, and you worship Him with no outside pressure and even with no inward comfort.

To want to serve God in some conditions, but not others, is to serve Him in your own way.  But to put no limits on your submission to God is truly dying to yourself.  This is how to worship God!

Open yourself to God without measure.  Let His life flow through you like a torrent.  Fear nothing on the road you are walking.  God will lead you by the hand.  Let your love for Him cast out the fear you feel for yourself."

-Francios Fenelon

This particular bit from Fenelon totally blew me away: "There is no longer anything truly evil in your life for God uses even the most terrible sufferings to work for your good because you love Him.  Can the troubles God uses to purify your life be called evil?"

Wow!  How incredible of a statement is that?  Without God, we have no chance but to sink into a slow downward spiral, with all the difficulties and uncertainties of life pulling on us and catching us up until we are reduced to nothing.  But we have a God whose heart is all about drawing out the beauty in everything.  We have a God that works beauty into even the ugliest of circumstances; who meets us in the dungeons--sometimes literal ones, but more often in the ones we build for ourselves inside--and starts breathing His life into us right where we're at.  We have a God that doesn't waste a single moment; who custom-fits everything He does and says in our lives to draw out the best of us.

Choose right now to really believe that right where you are is exactly where God has placed you.  Start right here, right now, to let Him have His way in your life.  No special prayers, no list of steps...just surrender to Him; yield to Him.  Learn to be second, to let God weave His beauty through every part of your life.

"There must enter into your heart whole new attitudes toward your entire life.  If you are to branch out beyond just a time of prayer each day, other parts of your life--and even your whole viewpoint of life--will have to be altered.  This new attitude must come for a very special reason--so that you may go on deeper, still deeper, into another level with your Lord.

To do this, you must have a fresh attitude toward yourself as well as toward the Lord; it is an attitude that must go much deeper than any you have known previously.

To do this, I introduce a new word to you.  The word is abandonment.

To penetrate deeper in the experience of Jesus Christ, it is required that you begin to abandon your whole existence, giving it up to God.  Let us take the daily occurrences of life as an illustration.  You must utterly believe that the circumstances of your life, that is, every minute of your life, as well as the whole course of your life--anything, yes, everything that happens--have all come to you by His will and by His permission.  You must utterly believe that everything that has happened to you is from God and is exactly what you need.

Such an outlook towards your circumstances and such a look of faith towards your Lord will make you content with everything.  Once you believe this, you will then begin to take everything that comes into your life as being from the hand of God, not from the hand of man."

-Madam Guyon

There are so many times in my life where I thought "man, if I could just have _________", or "if I was ________ instead of here, then I'd be happy."  So what did I do?  I tried to change my situation by any means necessary.  I would manipulate people, including myself, in order to change the course of my life to the place where I believed I would be most "happy".  In the end, though, I realized that we act like this because we're afraid that God doesn't know what He's doing.

That's ultimately what it comes down to.  What does it mean that God is sovereign; that He is all-powerful and all-knowing?  Those aren't just $5 words that we throw out when someone asks us to describe God--they mean something.  If God truly is in control, then that means that no matter how you got to where you are right now--whether through truly seeking God or by "mistakes" that you've made along the way--God has at the very least allowed, and at the most actually orchestrated first-hand the events and outcomes in your life to bring you to where you are.  He has you right where you are for a special purpose: to draw you closer to Himself.  Whether there are good times, hard times or a little of both in your life right now, it is exactly what you need.

Can we trust God enough to believe that?  Because once we can, we become free.  How can we worry when we understand that right here, right now is where God is meeting with us, is drawing us closer, is burning away everything in ourselves that is not Him.  God is big enough to work all things for our good.  He's bigger than our mistakes, our insecurities, our confusion.  He doesn't ask for us to understand why we're at where we're at in life, or the grand plan for our existence.  He doesn't give us a list of "to-do's" or "to not do's".  All He wants is for us to turn to Him; to give up on our own efforts to make life comfortable and secure and instead embrace His sufficiency.  

"I have no doubt that God treats you as one of His friends by giving you the cross.  God's way accomplishes His purpose quicker than anything you could think of.  God is able to seek out and destroy the roots of self-love. You, on your own, could never find those hidden roots.  God can see the entire path of self-love within your heart.  Let Him attack self-love at its strongest point.

Pray for strength and faith enough to trust yourself completely to God.  Follow Him simply wherever He may lead you and you will not have to think up big plans to bring about your perfection.  Your new life will begin to grow naturally.  

I know you want to see the road ahead rather than trusting God.  If you continue this way, the road will get longer and your spiritual progress will slow down.  Give yourself as completely as you can to God."

-Francios Fenelon

I've been reading this book by Gene Edwards called "Living by the Highest Life"; really amazing book (and my favorite Christian author, by the way) for those of you who are interested.  

Of course, the "highest life" in the book's title refers to God's life; the life that is spiritual, eternal, not created; the life that is deeper and more substantial than any other life.  But, interestingly enough, the book puts God's life on a "biological" chart--if you will--showing all other kinds of life in relation.  What does this have to do with us?  Well, the book makes a really interesting point; that many of the traits of a certain species are significant only to that species.  Example: give a $100 bill to someone and they get really excited, but give it to a dog and it will probably just sniff it or chew on it.  Buy a girlfriend diamond jewelry, and she'll cry with happiness, buy a cow diamond jewelry, and it'll just keep eating grass!  Let some of the world's top scientists in on a new equation developed for quantum mechanics, and they'll be drooling all over the place to discuss it, but talk about such things with a pigeon, and it could care less.  Some might say that the reason behind this is because animals are obviously less advanced than humans, but not so fast!

Anyone who has ever had a dog understands that they live in a totally different world than we do.  They hear things, see things, and smell things that we are completely oblivious to.  In fact, their world revolves around their acute senses--and so does the world of many other animals--in a way that we cannot even fathom.  Consequently, they may actually think of us as the stupid ones, because we lack the ability to detect natural disasters before they happen, to instantly understand volumes about friends and objects simply by their smell, etc.  This is something different; we usually think of our values and interests not translating to forms of life below our own on the "biological" chart, but we find that this also works in the reverse; that animal values and interests don't translate up to humans, either. 

So the question I want to pose is this: if there is such a huge gap between the values and interests of animal life and human life, then how different must God's values and interests be from our own.  Have you ever thought that human's obsession with science and information and material possessions and power is something that only applies to humans, and translates neither up or down on the "biological" scale.  Angels care just as much about our big houses or higher education as a cat would.

As Christians we have become a hybrid species.  We have a soul; our human life, but we also have the highest life within us; the very life force of God Himself.  When a squirrel gets up in the morning, it lives by squirrel life.  When a tree "wakes up" in the morning, it lives by tree life.  When angels "wake up" in the morning, they live by angel life.  But when Christians wake up in the morning, we can choose between two completely different sources of life!  We can live by our fallen human life, or by the eternal life, the divine life!

A word of caution, though; you can bet that many of the things that God values are quite different and sometimes downright opposite of human values.  Human life values getting all you can, God values loosing everything.  Human life values building yourself up, God values brokenness.  Human life values escaping pain and suffering at any cost, God freely gave His own life to brutal torture and a humiliating, excruciating death for those He loved; clearly He holds pain and suffering as something deeply sacred.

I love in Isaiah 55 when God puts it so simply: "My thoughts aren't your thoughts; my ways aren't your ways."  It is true, and yet through Christ's life in us, we have the opportunity for His thoughts to become our thoughts, and His ways our ways.  The true Christian life takes a lifetime of unlearning our human life and learning the rhythms of the new divine life we have been given.  Let's start now to seek Him within, to draw upon that eternal life that He has given to us.  Let us learn to live by the Highest Life.

Basket weaving: what's the first thing you think of when you read that?  Some kind of joke class that you take in high school for a few easy credits?  A hobby for sissies?  WRONG!

In fact, in my personal opinion, to be real man, you need to know at least the basics for basket weaving.  Why?  Well, as many of you know, one of my big hobbies is wilderness living skills which--for people who have never heard of this--is the accumulation of various skills that dramatically increase one's chances of surviving (and if need be, actually make a living) in the wilderness.  These skills include the ability to assemble temporary and semi-permanent shelters from natural materials, make fires by friction, make primitive tools from stone/bone/shell, make rope from bark/leaves/roots, reliably hunt/trap/gather food, and along with that to identify a large variety of edible plants and animals, just to name a few.

Basket weaving falls in with primitive pottery as a way to hold/transport various items without actually having to hold them in your hands, which could be a big deal when you're getting berries or acorns or small stuff like that.  Also, if you know how to basket weave, there's also a pretty darn good chance you also know how to make cordage (rope) out of various natural materials, which is many times literally a life-saving piece of gear, but I won't even get into that.  If you know the basics of basket weaving, you could make yourself a wide-brimmed hat to keep out the sun; you could make a mat to lay on; you could even create fish traps and bird nets to catch food!

So, summer's coming up, and some of us are going to have some free time on our hands.  Need something to do?  My advice; BASKET WEAVING...a real man's hobby!  Haha!

FAITH  

Now, I know, faith, like "sin" or "self-esteem" is one of those super vague words that we throw around all the time but don't really know that it means, but I had a friend one time tell me a simple story that made the meaning of this word crystal clear and really practical for me:

You're standing on one side of a bridge which stretches across a canyon to the other side.  You need to get to the other side.  Now, you can believe that the bridge is going to hold you up when you walk across it, and you can keep believing that for as long as you want, but believing alone isn't going to get you anywhere, right?  So what is faith?  In this situation, it would be walking across the bridge; simply acting on what you believe!  

That simple story totally "demystified" the idea of what faith actually is and the role it had in my life.  When you realize that faith is simply "acting on what you believe", you suddenly realize that we use faith all the time, even non-Christians.  Why do you turn the key in your car in the morning?  Some might say, "well, that's how you start the motor".  That's true, but I think everyone has, at least once, gotten in their car, turned the key, and the engine doesn't start, right?  So there is a possibility for failure; why do we keep turning the key.  We turn the key out of faith; acting on a belief that the car will start, even if we're not consciously aware of it.  There are even simpler acts of faith of which we're even less aware.  How do we know that when we walk on the sidewalk, the ground won't cave in underneath us and swallow us up?  Hey, with earthquakes and volcanic activity, it could happen and on occasion does, right?  We walk down the street because--even if it is only unconsciously--we believe that it will not cave in, so walking down the street is an act of faith!  In fact, if you think of pretty much anything we do--brushing our teeth, going to work, doing homework, going out on a date--you can ultimately trace it back to an underlying belief that is being acted upon, which makes them all acts of faith!  No matter who you are, faith defines every aspect of your life!  (I've found that it's really hard to distinguish faith from another word that we often use, which is trust)

There is one problem with all of these acts of faith that I've mentioned, however.  As we noted before, some people's cars don't start when they turn the key, though the were acting on the belief that it would.  Some people do occasionally get swallowed up by a freak earthquake while walking down the street, though--through simply walking--they were acting on an unconscious belief that they wouldn't be.  Some people brush their teeth out of the belief that if they do, they won't get cavities, but some will get cavities anyway.  Do these people not have enough faith?  Is that why what they believed would happen didn't?

By now it should be apparent that faith is more of an on/off switch rather than a continuum; you either act on a belief or you don't.  So the problem that these people have is not that they don't have enough faith, it was that these beliefs weren't worthy of the faith they put into them.  It's not how much faith you have, it's what you put your faith in that makes it great!

The good news?  "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8.  You could paraphrase this to say, "Cars sometimes don't start, and jobs aren't always secure, but God always is."  The great thing about God is that He is always faithful.  We can always put our faith in Him without any hesitation.  It is when we put our faith in Him that it becomes great.

I started reading this book last week called "The Inward Journey" by Gene Edwards, and it's really blowing my mind right now.  In a nutshell, the whole book talks about suffering.  But wait; it's not just one of those run-of-the-mill books that tells you if you're suffering you should pray more or change something in your life or to ask for more of God's victory in your life. No, this book talks about how suffering is the tool that God uses to make you into His image.

How is gold purified?  How are diamonds formed?  In unbearable heat and immense pressure.  Only in these kind of extreme circumstances will the impurities and hindrances finally relent their hold and allow beauty to come through.  It's the same with us.  I'm reminded here of the story of Jacob in the Old Testament.  This guy was a real weasel, manipulating every person and circumstance to work to his own advantage, and for much of his life nothing could break him of it.  Then he meets God face to face in the desert, and wants God to bless him.  When God says no, Jacob starts beating Him up...I mean the guy literally wrestled with God for hours (look it up if you don't believe me)!  Can you believe this guy?  He's trying to even manipulate God to his advantage!  Finally, God sees it's getting late and basically says "alright, man, let me go".  "No," Jacob tells him, "not 'till you bless me!".  I imagine here that God might have chuckled a little bit, because he replies by finally saying, "Ok, you really want me to bless you?".  Then without warning God shatters his hip bone, and Jacob walked with a limp for the rest of his life.  How's that for a blessing!?

Some of you might say, 'how cruel of God to do something like this!'.  Others may say, 'what do you expect; the dude tried to man-handle God!".  But it's really interesting, because after his encounter with God, Jacob was a changed person.  He became humble, forgiving, accepting; in short, he finally surrendered to God.  Why do I tell you this story?  Because it would seem that the way that God truly blesses us is very contrary to how it is often talked about; it seems that the way God blesses us is to find the strongest and most secure place in our life, and then break it!  Why?  Because that's the only way that He can find a place to seep through!  Suffering is how God chips away at all the armor around our soul; it's how He makes us into His image.  It's how He makes us His.  Keep this in mind; even God Himself has suffered, and He didn't just "stick His toe in the water".  In Jesus He took upon Himself everything that is evil and disgusting and wrong and hurtful that has ever taken root in creation.  Have you felt betrayal, pain, agony, rejection, emptiness, hopelessness?  God has felt it more.  

At the times when we feel just completely broken and helpless and at the end of our rope, I think we just might be far closer to the heart of God than we realize.  It's through the uncomfortable pain of suffering that selfishness and pride are burned away, and God's Spirit is finally able to shine out.

Just got back from band practice for this Sunday and man, what a blast!  I'm pretty tired though, so I've gotta make this blog a short one!

Don't know if any of you noticed, but it was actually a little chilly outside this morning!  How weird is that; it's almost May, and it's nice weather in Florida!  Folks, this DOES NOT HAPPEN very often!  Before it passes you by, take some time to soak it up.  Put your busy schedule aside, turn the radio/TV/computer off, and just rest for a little bit.  Let your mind find rest in the here and now; that's where we'll find God.

Me?  Oh, you can bet I'm making the most of this awesome weather every chance I get!  Tomorrow I'm waking  up early for some kayaking, some fire making, some forest hiking and maybe even some gardening in the afternoon!  Thursday's are my "not allowed to be inside" days!  Now, maybe you don't have a day, but I guarantee you can set aside a few minutes, maybe even half an hour or so.  Take some time to rest and soak up God's goodness that is permeating everything around us!