Excerpts from Christian Perfection

Excerpts from Christian Perfection 

By John Wesley

Lent offers the opportunity to examine ourselves, and be  renewed in God's love to repentance and correction, through confession and absolution. Wesley wrote as follows:

"PRIDE: We often think we have no need of anyone else's advice or reproof. We may be wise but have little love, or we may have love with little wisdom. For this reason God has wisely joined us together as parts of the body so we cannot say to another, I have no need of you. Be open and honest when you are rebuked and do not seek to evade it.

DECEPTION: "Beware the daughter of pride: the tendency to hastily ascribe revelations to God. Love is the highest gift of God. Do not expect knowledge, without searching the Scriptures and consulting with people of God. Do not expect spiritual strength without constant prayer and study     watchfulness.

LAWLESSNESS: "beware of thinking because I have the love of God I do not need holiness, or since I pray all the time I have no need for set times of prayer or self examination.  Instead beware of self indulgence, for my works our faith is made perfect. Be zealous of good works and give no place to laziness. Be an example of denying yourself and taking up your cross daily.

SCHISM: "beware of schism, of making a tear in the church of Christ. Do not cease to have a reciprocal love for one  another (1Corinthians 12:25). Beware of everything which leads to separation. Do not have a single thought of separating from your brother and, whether their opinion agrees with yours or not. And do not despise or run down any preacher lest you hurt both him and the cause of God. Beware of touchiness, and of an unwillingness to be corrected. Beware of being provoked to anger when criticized or when others do not accept your word.  

All can be summed up in 1Corinthians 13:1-8, "if I do not have love I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, indoors all things. Love never ends."  

God help us to fill our circles of prayer with holy love for his glory. And may we be transformed from our current state of dryness, fatigue, and distraction, into vibrant and holy witness for Christ.

Fasting and Feasting

Fasting and Feasting

By William Arthur Ward

Lent should be more than a time of fasting. 

It should also be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things

 and to feast on others.  It is a season in which we should:

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ indwelling them.

Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.

Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.

Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger; feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.

Fast from worry; feast on divine order.

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.

Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility; feast on non-resistance.

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.

Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal Truth.

Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress; feast on verities that uplift.

Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.

Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.

Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds

PRACTICING INNER PEACE

PRACTICING INNER PEACE

By Dwight Cunkle

Four Practices to develop inner peace (meditate on these):

1. Keep internal calm by disciplining external senses (what I see or want to see because of my flesh and pride or unholy desires).

2. Establish in ourselves an intention to love all people and live in harmony with everyone. Listen for their heart and with your heart, not just for the facts or to fix it. Be in the moment.

3. Keep our conscience clear within, toward God and  between us and others. Practice confession of fault and sin (openness).

4. Must accustom ourselves to bear unpleasant things and insults without becoming upset or agitated.

I don’t want to be controlled by shame and blame but by the peace of God. Many of us were raised in a shame-based matrix: interpreting life and people and ourselves through the lens of what’s wrong. Exchange that for a view of the world through God’s love, mercy and goodness.

Also, many of us grew up with many anger, adrenaline and control issues-either our anger or the anger of others around us. We need God’s help to be emotionally aware of how our emotions impact others around us-spouse, children, church or work.

Romans 13

Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to

one’s fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]. 9 The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.

NEVER GIVE UP

NEVER GIVE UP

By Dwight Cunkle

In a movie I watched recently the main character has lost round one and two in the fight. With one round to go he realizes instead of just enduring or even quitting he could actually win - and thereby earn the needed cash to save the H.S. Music teacher's job and program for the students. The music teacher is in his corner and tells him that even if he loses the fight he already has won by the inspirational example he gave his students. Then he gave this quote:

"You are showing complete resolve in the face of an unbearable obstacle"

(from the movie, "Here Comes the Boom")

Don't Give Up

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.— Hebrews 10:36

Effective leaders accomplish seemingly impossible tasks because they never give up. They never buckle under. Despite mounting criticism, intense opposition, and overwhelming obstacles, they persevere with determined resolve. They refuse to throw in the towel.

Often, the easiest thing would be to quit. Just give up. Forget about one's dream and return to the comfort and convenience of mediocrity. Give in to the words of the critics, give up to the opposition, and give way to the obstacles. Simply tuck tail and run away.

Great power is embodied in persistence. The race is not always won by the fastest, nor the game by the strongest, but rather by the one who keeps on keeping on, who refuses to give up.Consider the postage stamp. Its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. Race car driver Rick Mears said, "To finish first you must first finish."

It is always too soon to quit. One of the most powerful and destructive tools that Satan has in his arsenal is discouragement, the subtle but dangerous compulsion to give up, to quit, saying, "What's the use?"

When you are tempted to quit: resist. We must endure in the battle until the evil day is over. We must press on in the face of the temptation to quit. Until the war is over, we must fight to the end. Until the race is finished, we must keep running. Until the wall is built, we must keep stacking bricks. Never give up. Never. The promises of God are always at the end.

From an online article in Ministry Today

TRANSITIONS

TRANSITIONS

By Richard Lineberry

By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place that he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8

The Bible, as well as church history, is full of transitions from one place to another. The exodus tells how God delivered his people from Egyptian slavery, took them through and unfamiliar wilderness and finally to a land they'd never been. Why? Because it was His purpose for them at the time. Many a missionary has been uprooted from his familiar surroundings and told to go unfamiliar places. It seems that following the Lord is accompanied by our willingness to change and take a few risks occasionally.

Such is a time for us as we have sought the Lord with faith and are now in the process of selling our physical property and finding where the Lord is leading. Has the Lord told us everything we want to know about it so far? No. He has shown us how to get moving in the now. It would, of course, be nice if the Lord has said everything up front like, “Here’s where you’re going, here’s how much it will cost, and here’s the list of everything you will need.” Yes, that would have satisfied our wonderings. However, there is no story in Scripture of the Lord leading anyone that way. His word, Proverbs tells us, is a lamp unto our FEET and a light to our path. He shows us step by step. It’s sort of like, take step #1 and I’ll show you #2 but not before the first one. When God says GO and we don’t go we may be cutting off the fruit He planned for us in the future. Are transitions risky? Usually they are. But if we aren’t willing to trust God, everything stays the same.

As we, as a corporate body, pray for God’s leading, we will come into a greater unity of purpose. Things will become clearer as we walk. Now is the time for seeking the Lord’s will relative to finding a buyer and directing us to a new location. We are taking baby steps but if our hearts are open to Him in faith, God will direct our path.