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Written by Dean Taylor on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

When God Refuse to Answer

When God Refuses to Answer, by Dean Taylor

In the early morning hours of December 7, 1941, an Army radar base on the northern tip of Hawaii suddenly noticed a target echo, larger than they had ever seen before. They promptly notified a lieutenant at the Intercept Center: “Large number of planes coming in from the north, three points east.” Upon receiving the notification, the man in charge ignored the warning, assuming it was the scheduled arrival of six US B-17 bombers. The radar base had neglected to say just how large the target echo had been, and the warning went unheeded. Instead of six friendly B-17s, those blips on the radar were several hundred Japanese aircraft, which 55 minutes later began destroying the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Sometimes we hear people saying “Ignorance is bliss.” While this might be true for a moment, the fact is, the truth eventually comes out. What is more, like the US Military on Hawaii on December 7, 1941, I have found that ignorance, and especially deliberate neglect, only makes matters worse.

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Written by Michael McDaniel on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

Forklift Theology

Strange title, right? Let me explain. I have a vinyl siding business, and recently purchased a forklift to unload and position 12’ long pallets of siding. Having never operated a forklift before, I learned quickly that the controls were opposite of what I felt was logical. For example, I pushed the lever forward to lift the pallet, since to me that appeared to be “up.” Wrong. It lowered the pallet down instead! Conversely, to lower the pallet, I instinctively pulled back on the lever, which—to me—logically meant “down.” Wrong again. It lifted the pallet up! The first few times driving the new machine, I found myself falling right back into my predictable pattern of dropping the pallet down when I meant to raise it up, and vice versa. I thought about painting the little arrow indentations on the knob with colors that would dictate the proper action.

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Written by Viola J. Berg on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

As Jesus Loved

I thought I knew how to love
but I found
that I really didn’t.
I was just giving my love
to those who loved me back—
to the clean children,
the respectable folk,
the well-behaved teenagers,
the obedient ones;
but I didn’t have any real feeling
for the runny-nosed dirty child
next door,
or for the quarrelsome old man
across the street
who played his radio
so maddingly loud.
So God had to admonish me—
and He did.
He showed me to my shocked surprise
that I was passing by
on the other side,
that I wasn’t really walking
in His footsteps at all;
because when Christ
lived on our earth
He ate with publicans,
and sinners,
He talked with the woman
at the well,
He humbly washed
His disciple’s feet, 		and He loved sinners everywhere—
the tax gatherers
the prostitutes,
the doubters,
the hungry,
the untouchables of His day,
He loved them all.
Through my tears I saw
that I was not really following Him at all;
and then I understood
that if I wanted to be His disciple
and bear His name,
I must be willing to give up
my selfish convenient little world
and mingle with the lost ones—
minister to their needs,
heal their wounds,
share their sorrows,
and offer a cup of water
in His name.
I must love as Jesus loved;
for unless I do,
how are the lost and lonely ones
around me
going to believe
that God loves them—
if they cannot see
His love in me?
How, tell me,
how are they ever
going to know? ~Viola J. Berg
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Written by Ante-Nicene Fathers on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

Voices from the Early Church On the Mortality


Mortality

In the middle of the third century, a severe plague swept through North Africa, killing tens of thousands of people – Christian and pagan alike. In some places, the dead outnumbered the living. Some thought the end of the world was imminent. Many Christians were surprised that they too were afflicted by this deadly plague. Cyprian encouraged and challenged his fellow Christians with these words:

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Written by Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882) on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

Do ALL to the Lord Jesus

Some of you, my brethren, have no doubt known, at times, the following state: After a busy day spent in your duties to others, you finally stand alone with God. All the events of the day now seem as one empty turmoil. The soul seems to have been dead the entire day. And now it has only a faint sickly life, having been away from God all day. The whole day since you last prayed to Him, seems to have been lost. It was all one busy emptiness, because God was not in it. Where was the evil in this? What is the remedy?

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Written by Rachel Weaver on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

Broken Pieces

Broken

“If we allow Him to, the Master Architect will take the broken pieces of our lives and put them together in a way that the sunshine of His love can shine through both the light and the dark pieces.”

A sweet friend said that to me one day in the middle of an unusually long, difficult trial that I was going through, and I perked up my ears. Then she continued, “Looking back along the years of my life, I can see where He has taken both the bright pieces and the dark ones and put them together. When the light shines on all these pieces at once, they are amazing! They remind me of His glorious Presence!” She went on to talk about the broken pieces of her life and how the Master had used them and how, even now, she was beginning to see some of the beauty of what He was doing.

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Written by Rachel Weaver on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

A Singing Heart

Here are some true examples of what a song can do.
  • I was in the middle of the airport, but there it was—the distinct sound of singing. I looked around and a gentle looking, middle-aged woman was singing softly as she waited for her flight. She was singing a hymn that I knew and it cheered my heart and blessed my day. I told her so and it blessed her day.
  • He made his living at house repairs and went to all kinds of homes in the course of a week. He also heard all kinds of things at the homes where he went, but today, as he worked he heard a lovely harmony coming from the window over his head. Inside that window two young girls were singing as they did the morning’s dishes. Instead of the fighting and scolding that he often had to listen to, he was treated to uplifting singing. The workman left that place inspired to train his children to sing like that. What a testimony those two girls had even though they did not know it.

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Written by Charles Spurgeon on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

Picklocks

Whenever you cannot understand a text, open your Bible, bend your knee, and pray over that text; and if it does not split into atoms and open itself, try again.

If prayer does not explain it, it is one of the things God did not intend for you to know, and you may be content to be ignorant of it.

Prayer is the key that opens the cabinets of mystery!

Prayer and faith are sacred picklocks that can open secrets, and obtain great treasures! There is no college for holy education like that of the blessed Spirit, for He is an ever-present tutor, to whom we have only to bend the knee, and He is at our side, the great expositor of truth!
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Written by the Dohnavur Fellowship on . Posted in Spiritual exercise.

Discipleship—Which Means Discipline

The question is often asked, “How can I best begin at home to prepare for the life of the mission field?” Here are a few practical suggestions:

Effort • It will not be easy. We must go out of our way to acquire this preparedness. We are called to a strict training for a hard fight which will not end till we hear God’s ‘Well done.’

Difficulties • Let us learn to choose the hardest things, to do what others leave undone. We can begin in the ordinary affairs of home life. The joy of hard climbing and the glory of the impossible should not be mere phrases but experienced facts.

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