In Psalm 73.28, and in The Message it states,

“But I’m in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!”

This inspired me to begin reading Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence….and her are some reflections on how he practiced God’s presence….

Salvation

Brother Lawrence was saved as a result of the providence of God.  It wasn’t through reading the Word, or hearing someone preach (although I do believe all of these are essential), it was through seeing the undeniable work of God in nature.  God’s POWER and LOVE are surrounding us, do we take the time to see it?

“That in the winter, seeing a tree stripped of its leaves, and considering that within a little time, the leaves would be renewed, and after that the flowers and fruit appear, he received a high view of the Providence and Power of GOD, which has never since been effaced from his soul. That this view had perfectly set him loose from the world, and kindled in him such a love for GOD, that he could not tell whether it had increased in above forty years that he had lived since”

Devotions

Brother Lawrence believed that devotions shouldn’t merely be a time we have in the morning or evening with prayer, worship, and Bible reading….but they should be a lifestyle.  We should be in constant communion with God and doing all things for God.

“That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD’s Presence, by continually conversing with Him”

“That we ought to quicken, to enliven, our faith. That it was lament- able we had so little; and that instead of taking faith for the rule of their conduct, men amused themselves with trivial devotions, which changed daily”

“That we ought to give ourselves up to GOD, with regard both to things temporal and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only in the fulfilling of His will”

“And found it the shortest way to go straight to Him by a continual exercise of love, and doing all things for His sake”

“That with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times: that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his Superior, but that he did not want such retirement. nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from GOD”

“That he was more united to GOD in his outward employments, than when he left them for devotion in retirement”

“That many do not advance in the Christian progress, because they stick in penances, and particular exercises, while they neglect the love of GOD, which is the end. That this appeared plainly by their works, and was the reason why we see so little solid virtue”

Now this doesn’t always mean that this will be the easiest thing to do but….

“That in order to form a habit of conversing with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him; we must at first apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty”

Lifestyle

His lifestyle was one that was completely governed by love.  Everything that he did was for God.  Nothing was for personal gain, or even to receive gifts from the Lord….it was solely to please God, and do his work.  He realize that he could do nothing without God, and because of this he lived a lifestyle of constant conversation with God.

“That he had always been governed by love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of GOD the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method”

“I have endeavored to act only for Him; whatever becomes of me, whether I be lost or saved, I will always continue to act purely for the love of GOD”

“That when an occasion of practicing some virtue offered, he addressed himself to GOD, saying, LORD, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me; and that then he received strength more than sufficient.”

“That we ought to act with GOD in the greatest simplicity, speaking to Him frankly and plainly, and imploring His assistance in our affairs, just as they happen”

“Having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of GOD, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy, during the fifteen years that he had been employed there”

Sinning & Forgiveness

It seems that every time Brother Lawrence sinned or messed up, he confessed his sin to God, and that was the end of it.  He didn’t keep thinking of how wrong the things he did were, he merely asked for forgiveness, moved on, and did what God was calling him to do.

“That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed his fault, saying to GOD, I shall never do otherwise, if You leave me to myself; ’tis You must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss. That after this, he gave himself no further uneasiness about it”

“He was very sensible of his faults, but not discouraged by them; that he confessed them to GOD, and did not plead against Him to excuse them. When he had so done, he peaceably resumed his usual practice of love and adoration”

“We ought, without anxiety, to expect the pardon of our sins from the Blood of JESUS CHRIST, only endeavoring to love Him with all our hearts”

“When outward business diverted him a little from the thought of GOD, a fresh remembrance coming from GOD invested his soul, and so inflamed and transported him that it was difficult for him to contain himself”

Busyness & Distractions

I think that so many times we let busyness and the cares of life distract us from spending constant communion with God.  We often have a pre-set time for spending time in prayer and in the Word, and when we miss that time, we (or should I say ‘I’) decide that we just get back on track tomorrow.  But constant communion with God changes everything.  And if for some reason we get out of communion with God Brother Lawrence looked at it this way….

“When outward business diverted him a little from the thought of GOD, a fresh remembrance coming from GOD invested his soul, and so inflamed and transported him that it was difficult for him to contain himself”

Fear

Because of constant communion with God Brother Lawrence didn’t have fear.  He knew because of his nearness to God, that he would never forsake or leave him alone.

“That he expected hereafter some great pain of body or mind; that the worst that could happen to him was, to lose that sense of GOD, which he had enjoyed so long; but that the goodness of GOD assured him He would not forsake him utterly, and that He would give him strength to bear whatever evil He permitted to happen to him; and therefore that he feared nothing, and had no occasion to consult with anybody about his state”

To Be Continued….

Have you ever had those times when you really know that God is trying to tell you something?  Where you are constantly are reading the same thing over and over again….and it always seems to be in the back of your head…..and you constantly think about it…..

Well recently, God has been showing me the important of GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED.

You know, I think it’s interesting that we can go through something so many times, and miss a lot of what it is actually saying.  I know that I’ve read through the book of Acts more than three times, and have went through it focused on the Holy Spirit and healing and the church and prayer, which are all great and necessity for Christians and the church, but I think in that I neglected to see another huge part of the ministry of the early church: GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED.

And from this, it is incredible to me that one of the reasons that we are able to be saved today is through GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED.

When the Holy Spirit was poured out in the book of Acts, it was given to the Jews and the Jews alone, until three actions of a Gentile (Gentile: anyone who was not of Jewish decent).

In Acts 10.2 it states that:

Now living at Caesarea there was a man whose name was Cornelius, a centurion captain of what was known as the Italian Regiment, a devout man who venerated God and treated Him with reverential obedience, as did all his household; and he gave much alms to the people and prayed continually to God.

There were three important things that Cornelius did:

1. He obeyed God, and treated Him with reverence.
2. HE GAVE ALMS TO THOSE IN NEED.
3. He prayed continually.

And it was because of these three things that Peter saw a vision from God.  And when he saw this vision he realized that the Holy Spirit and salvation was not for the Jews alone, but also for the Gentiles.

And being a Gentile, it is vital to see that because of the actions of Cornelius that we are able to receive salvation and the Holy Spirit, and the fulfillment of God’s Word in our lives.

It is incredible that of all the things that could have been mentioned of Cornelius, GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED topped the list.

And if giving had such a profound effect on my life as a believer today, it is vital I GIVE TO THOSE IN NEED.

Psalm 25.1-5 states:

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.  O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.  Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.  Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.  Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

Seek God.  Wait on Him.  He will be faithful to answer.

It was one of the two hour drives that I normally take from good ole’ San Dimas to Bakersfield.  There was nothing particularly special about this drive, so I took some time to pray and ask God what he desired for the youth group, I prayed for AnnaMarie, my family, my life….and I even stopped and got a frosty @ Wendy’s to make the ride more enjoyable.  But what was so incredible about this trip was the beauty that surrounded me.  Driving through the mountains many times you see the same things, rocks, yellow or green grass, an occasionally a cow or two…but today it was springtime.  The mountains seemed as if the were brushed by a giant paintbrush with shades of yellow and orange, and it made everything so much brighter.  It made me feel so good, until I saw something that brought a smile upon my face that was impossible to get rid off.  Descending from the grapevine, I was encompassed by a sea of purple flowers.  Fields and fields, acres and acres of wild purple flowers that had to of grown within the past week…it was so incredible.  My breath was taken away by the immense beauty that was all around me.  God is so amazing, all of sights that he has created for us to see.  And….of course because I’m in bible school….a bible verse comes to mind.

Matthew 6:28-34

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?….but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

It is so easy for us to be worried.  Too much homework, too much work, too many errands to run, too many things to do.  Many times we often wonder how am I going to pay for that, or how am I going to make time for that, when in reality the answer can be seen in the beauty of creation all around us.  As long as God is first in our lives, we shouldn’t worry, because He will take care of us…we just must remember to look at the flowers…and God will take care of the rest.

Wow, so I guess this is my very first blog.  It’s kinda weird, I never thought that there would be a day when I would actually do this, but there are so many things in life that we miss.  The little things as my father would have said.  When we are young we feel as if we have forever to live.  Then as we get old, we really begin to see how fast life goes by.  Many times admist life going by we still seem to fall into the routine of life, and the things that we must get done order to have this or have that, but what is really important in life? You know not long ago I was at my two year old cousins birthday party…and I was shocked.  I remember the day he was born….and it feels like yesterday.  We must enjoy the time we have now and really understand what is important in life.

God.

Family.

Friends.

You know Robert Kennedy said….”Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation”

We must realize what is important in our lives, act on them, and our lives will change history.