Month: November 2015

Of all conceivable forms of enlightenment the worst is what these people call the Inner Light. Of all horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within.
   …That Mr. Jones shall worship the god within him turns out ultimately to mean that Jones shall worship Jones. Let Jones worship the sun or moon, anything rather than the Inner Light; let Jones worship cats or crocodiles, if he can find any in his street, but not the god within.
   Christianity came into the world firstly in order to assert with violence that a man had not only to look inwards, but to look outwards, to behold with astonishment and enthusiasm a divine company and a divine captain. The only fun of being a Christian was that a man was not left alone with the Inner Light, but definitely recognized an outer light, fair as the sun, clear as the moon, terrible as an army with banners.
–G. K. Chesterton

May you not fall into the trap of Jones and worship yourself!

G. K. Chesterton had a way with words. Sometimes he can be a little hard to follow or decipher, but he is right on target here, and his writings are perhaps even more descriptive of us today than when he first wrote them, as we are worshiping self more and more. Our culture tells us that “anything goes” as long as it brings you personal happiness. But what we find out by looking at those who pursue personal happiness through wealth, fame, and status… is that there is a lot of emptiness they try to fill with those things. And even once they achieve their goals, they are left without personal happiness. There must be something other than chasing the “inner light” that brings us fulfillment.

And Chesterton found it – the outer light of Jesus Christ. May you spend today and the rest of your life chasing Jesus (the One who has been chasing you) and discovering the ultimate happiness of finding a relationship with Him.

In some ways we would prefer to hear Jesus’ call to deny father and mother, houses and land for the sake of the gospel than to hear his word to wash feet. Radical self-denial gives the feel of adventure…. But in service we must experience the many little deaths of going beyond ourselves. Service banishes us to the mundane, the ordinary, the trivial.
–Richard Foster

Are you willing to endure the many little deaths of service for the cause of Christ? Today, if you will answer the call to service, you will have to endure the death of your words in order to use his words, the death of your attitude in order to have his attitude, and the death of your thoughts in order to think of the things of God after him.

And so when someone lashes out at you with a verbal jab, you will have to guard your tongue. Death to self.
And when someone does something else that makes you angry, you will have to guard your attitude. Death to self.
And when your mind wants to take you down a road of thought of negativity or impurity, you will have to guard your mind. Death to self.

It is many little deaths all day long.
God, help us to choose these little self-deaths over our own desires and to endure them well in order to build others up for the sake of better establishing your Kingdom here on earth.

If you wish to learn and appreciate something worthwhile, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing…. To think of oneself as nothing and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.
–Thomas à Kempis

This goes against the teachings of our society, but may each of us who are Christ-followers love to be unknown, think of ourselves as nothing, and always think highly of others.

It is good to remember that “there but for the grace of God go I” when we see others who have stumbled and fallen. Instead of condemning others for their frailness, may we remember that we are most frail and it is God’s grace that has kept us on the right path thus far. Therefore, let us consider how we can help others out of the ditch instead of pointing at them to shame them for being in the ditch.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” said Jesus. One commentary translates that “Blessed are the desperate.” With nowhere else to turn, the desperate just may turn to Jesus, the only one who can offer the deliverance they long for. Jesus really believed that a person who is poor in spirit, or mourning, or persecuted, or hungry and thirsty for righteousness has a peculiar “advantage” over the rest of us. Maybe, just maybe, the desperate person will cry out to God for help. If so, that person is truly blessed.
–Philip Yancey

Whatever it costs to have someone turn to Jesus… the price is worth it. If that means that being poor in spirit or desperate is the cost, then that is a small price to pay. We might look at such a life and think – “It’s not fair that they have so little, that they are struggling so, that they are in such a difficult situation.” But if that is what leads them to cry out to God for help and in their time of trouble they gain Jesus, then they are truly blessed.

May we who know the blessing of Christ take the message to those who are desperate and tell them that there is one who can offer the deliverance they long for… and His name is Jesus.

I pray that you will ask God for opportunities to share Him and His love with others today as you go to work, school, the store, or wherever else your day takes you.