"What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops." Matthew 10:27
At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. "What I tell you in darkness" -- watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
After every time of darkness there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation (if there is delight only, I question whether we have heard God at all), delight in hearing God speak, but chiefly humiliation -- What a long time I was in hearing that! How slow I have been in understanding that! And yet God has been saying it all these days and weeks. Now He gives you the gift of humiliation which brings the softness of heart that will always listen to God now.
Taken from: My Utmost For His Highest, Osward Chambers
14 February 2015
The Discipline of Heeding
09 November 2009
Draw God
Later I would learn that Uccello painted the Battle of San Romano with tempera on wood panel in 1435, a scene recounting the victory of the Florentines over the Sienese.
But walking through the Louvre that day I didn’t know any of that. Frankly, the painting’s spirited clash of metal, charging horses, flapping banners appealed little to my pastoral, peace-loving sensibilities. But it was that boy sitting there….
If it hadn’t been for that cross-legged boy sitting on the floor of the gallery, a few feet from this masterpiece that purportedly once hung in Napoleon’s bathroom, I likely wouldn’t have given the work more than a passing glance.
But when I realized what this child attempted in the circling of tourists and foreign languages and the clicking of shutters, I lingered long, intrigued.
What I witnessed brushed me, dyed me, soaked into the fabric of me.
Actually, the young boy didn’t gaze on Uccello’s painting either. I never saw him look directly at it. Instead, this boy of perhaps ten turned slightly to peer at the canvas beside him. An artist had propped up an easel in front of Uccello’s Battle of San Romano, carefully dipped her brush into the palette atop a stool, and painstakingly copied every stroke of Uccello’s unto her canvas.
And this boy copied every stroke of hers.
By Ann Voscamp
Read the rest here.
27 August 2009
Life in the Midst of Mess
Chapter One of The Grace of Catastrophe by Jan Winebrenner (2005) appears by permission of Moody Publishers.
God is what He is in Himself. He does not become what we believe. 'I Am that I AM.' We are on safe ground only when we know what kind of God He is and adjust our entire being to that holy concept.
A. W. Tozer
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18-19
Desperation makes us do strange things—things like sit up all night in a cheap motel and read the Bible out loud.
It’s not something I’d usually do after a day on the road. On my best day, I’d probably watch a little TV, read a novel, then turn out the lights, and get to sleep early.
But let a catastrophe strike, and God has my attention.
The rest is here.
08 December 2008
Scripture Memorization: Yawn or Yippee?
Over at Between Two Worlds, they're encouraging folks to do some Bible memorization during 2009. In fact, a passage every week. That's a chunk.
I immediately wondered if this was something I could do, but really if this was something I wanted to do. Let's get real: Do I really think hiding God's Word in my heart is helpful? necessary? essential?
What will I do with this challenge?
Here's the list.
07 November 2008
from Spurgeon
04 October 2008
What is the secret, Grandmamma?
(J. R. Miller, "The Duty of Pleasing Others" 1904)
"Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good,
The Duchess of Kent was universally beloved. Once the Princess Alice, herself simple, sweet and unspoiled, asked her:
"What makes everyone love to be with you? I am always so sorry to have to leave you--and so are all the others who come here. What is the secret, grandmamma?"I
It was not easy for the noble woman to answer such a personal question. But it was important that it should be answered for the sake of her who had asked it, and who was indeed hungry to know the secret. So the noble lady gave this memorable answer:
"I was early instructed, that the way to please others--was to be sincerely interested in the things which interested them, namely their own affairs; and that this could be accomplished only by burying one's own troubles, interests, or joys completely out of sight. Forgetfulness of one's own concerns, a smiling face, a sincere word of sympathy, or unselfish help, where it is possible to give it--will always please others--and the giver equally so."
23 August 2008
"The More"
The more generous we are,
the more joyous we become.
The more cooperative we are,
the more valuable we become.
The more enthusiastic we are,
the more productive we become.
The more serving we are,
the more prosperous we become.
The more outgoing we are,
the more helpful we become.
The more curious we are,
the more creative we become.
The more patient we are,
the more understanding we become.
The more persistent we are,
the more successful we become.
- William Arthur Ward
Found at: A Ministry of Pastor Tim and Cybersalt Communications
http://www.cybersalt.org Subscribe for yourself!
09 August 2008
This really got me thinking...
