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Do we really believe God? We would like to say that the answer is an obvious “yes.” But it isn’t really. From the time of our salvation to our final destination in heaven, God is trying to get us to trust Him completely. He promises us that is the route to a full life. Brother Lawrence said we ought, once and for all, heartily put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us. Yet since we don’t fully trust, the reason must be that we don’t completely believe the promises of God. We say He is all powerful; but we act as if our problems are too much for Him. We say He loves us, but we act as if our problems are too little for Him. We repeat that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, we will receive else; yet we feel we have to “take care of business” before we can take care of ministry, often never getting around to it. We “know” that we, as new men, are not made for this world, yet we continue to seek our fulfillment here. […]

We sometimes make too big a deal about prayer. We think we have to have complete silence and bow our heads and formulate just the right words in our minds before we begin. Sometimes we think really important prayers require “professional” prayers. We need to “go upfront” in church to be prayed for on Sunday Mornings or go to a “healing” service.  As kids, perhaps we were taught great form prayers or to repeat prayers over and over. Maybe we learned that it’s helpful to go to intermediaries rather than straight to God.  While it certainly is a good thing to pray in public and to use great examples, like the Lord’s prayer, and to have others pray for us, a real prayer life is much simpler.  Brother Lawrence felt it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. He knew prayer was simple communication with the Father. Often words are not even necessary. I love to watch older couples together. I mean couples who have been together and loved together for years. There often isn’t a lot of talking, but each seems to know what the other is thinking. […]

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17 NLT   How has your representation of Jesus been today? Did folks look at you and see Jesus or did they look and ask “Is this a Christian?” We don’t just represent Jesus on Sunday among our fellow Christians. In fact, most importantly we represent Him at work on Monday, driving down the road after work. in line at the supermarket. We represent Him before our children, by what we say and by what we watch on television.  This verse from Colossians is very broad “whatever you do or say.” That leaves room for no exceptions. As we have been considering the life of Brother Lawrence we have been amazed by the universality of His actions. He did all things for the love God. We are called to do “all things” as representatives of Jesus. More over, we are to do so giving thanks. It is a great privilege to be His representative.  We succeed in this representation only when the world sees only Him and not our fallen selves. Go forth and be […]

How long, LORD, must I call for help,    but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!”    but you do not save? Habakkuk 1:2 When my son was in high school he went out for football. He hadn’t been involved much in athletics but he was a big strong kid. The coaches encouraged him but the hot summer practices were tough. I was proud of him as he stuck it out with boys who had been playing football since they were kids. Then, right before the first game. He quit. There are many possible life lessons from this story but for me it was about disappointment. I was disappointed. I had hoped to spend fall Friday nights cheering him on, but that wasn’t going to happen. He moved on with his life; but this disappointment stuck with me. I couldn’t understand it or get it out of my head. I would wake up thinking about it at night.  At some point everyone experiences dashed hopes. Disappointment—an emotional response to a failed expectation—is the normal initial reaction. But allowed to linger, it can turn into discouragement, which hovers like a dense cloud. When that’s the case, there is […]

Sunday Pastor discussed God’s Special Time and the difference between Chronos and Kairos. I like this illustration. When a doctor tells a woman she is pregnant and that her due date is September 25; that’s chronos time. But if on the 15th of September, ten days “early” she rolls over and taps her husband on the shoulder and says, “It’s time.” He better not suggest she go back to sleep and wait 10 more days, because it’s Kairos, God’s time and something is about to happen.  In scripture these special times are sometimes identified as “in the fullness of time.” It’s when God acts on His schedule, not ours. It’s similar to the concept of God’s presence. We know that He is omnipresent; He is always everywhere. But there are special instances when He makes His presence known. It’s not that He is not always present; but sometimes we can feel His presence in a special way. That’s what makes a Kairos weekend so special. In every one I have participated in, God’s provides Special Time for many if not all of the participants. He acts in a great and often unexpected way. We can not create these Kairos […]

Brother Lawrence talks of a continuous sense of God’s presence. Such a sense involves a constant communication or conversation with God. What would that sound like? Any worthwhile conversation involves two entities with a clear understanding of each other. There is no doubt that God knows all about us. The only problem is our knowledge of the Father, as well as our knowledge of ourselves. If we focus on who God is, our conversation with Him will consist of  praising, adoring, and loving Him incessantly for His infinite goodness and perfection. Such communication is the natural outflow of a recognition of who He is. We typically focus too much on what God has done for us. He has certainly done much; but that doesn’t get us to the place we want to be. That path starts with focus on who He is rather than what He has done. This focus creates in us a healthy “Fear of the Lord,” a sense of His wonder and awe. We have to be careful as we begin to appreciate who He is because we are  nothing in comparison. We can become discouraged because of our sins. It is important that we include […]

In the game of chess, there comes a point when one player realizes that further maneuvers are useless and the game is loss. At this point, if he has any class, the eventual loser “resigns.” It’s an interesting term. It means to give up one’s position or to accept the outcome as inevitable.  Brother Lawrence said that perfect resignation to God was a sure way to heaven. Are we perfectly resigned to God. Most of the time I would say, “no.” We are unwilling to acknowledge His inevitable complete triumph. We withhold parts of us. There are areas of our lives which we keep to ourselves in the foolish belief that such reservation is possible. We want to maintain some vestige of control over something. When we live, as did Brother Lawrence, in constant acknowledgement of the presence of God, the light of God’s presence makes such reservations impossible. If we are always aware of His presence, we are aware that He knows all, including all parts of our lives. That naturally leads to an increasing and, eventually, a perfect resignation to God.  When we are perfect resigned to God, we are in a perfect light which guides our […]

When dealing with worry I have often suggested that the worrier consider the “worst case scenario.” For almost all worries, the worst that could happen is that we could die and, for the Christian, that is not loss but gain. It is interesting to consider that Brother Lawrence said that the worst that could happen to him was to lose that sense of God which he had enjoyed so long.  How wonderful to believe that the sense of God’s presence is the most important thing in your life. Such is surely worth pursuing. One of the great things about that sense of the presence is that it comes with a guarantee. The goodness of God assured Brother Lawrence He would not forsake him utterly and that God would give him strength to bear whatever evil He permitted to happen to him. Brother Lawrence, therefore, said he feared nothing.  If we get so accustomed to the presence of God, we come to know His loving nature and become aware of the intensity of His love.   Are you wasting time in worry? Consider what is really the worst thing that could happen to you? I am becoming convinced that the worst […]