The Way to Knowledge
7/27/14
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine . . .
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First . . . go . . ..” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
The Bible over and over again -- from the Old Testament through the New Testament -- makes it clear that obedience the first thing that God requires of his human creatures.
ReplyDeleteIn the 21st Century, we are in the age of Refusal to Reconcile. Most people are obsessed with hurling zingers. **sigh**
__________ Elation for Days ____________
ReplyDeleteSpeak quietly. It helps to soothe the nerves.
Yelling –– any harshness –– is abrasive ––
An agitating force no one deserves
Denying peace, obnoxious and invasive.
Refresh the soul with calm, sweet introspection.
Opening the mind clears out the dross.
Find serenity under prayer’s direction.
Needs depart, as does the pain of loss,
Only when we lift our thoughts to Heaven.
Images of all that’s bright and clean
Transcend gloom and sagging spirits leaven,
As on the rock of Truth we safely lean.
Leave resentment, fear, distrust behind;
Endure with patience, and sweet peace you’ll find.
~ FreeThinke
Many may not realize it, but writing poetry is a form of prayer. So is composing and performing music, if the work aims high in an attempt to transcend coarseness and gross sensuality.
Orthodoxy is the greatest transgression, the most rebellious and adventurous thing.
ReplyDelete“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” ― G.K. Chesterton, "Orthodoxy"
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” ― G.K. Chesterton
ReplyDeleteIf you really obeyed that old book, you'd be in prison right now, and rightly so.
ReplyDeleteJMJ
Here's an interesting little pebble to drop in the still waters that arrived by email recently: a prayer by a Rev. Joe Wright uttered in the Kansas state house some years ago.
ReplyDeleteApparently Rev. Joe would be the polar opposite of the good Rev. Jeremiah Wright so embraced by the so-called progressive mind set of the leftist goose-steppers.
"This was sent to me by a cousin from Wyoming. Maybe it needs to be sent to our government officials. Hmmmmmmmm!
When minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new sessions of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
THE PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good,," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We confess:
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the Name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on "The Rest of the Story" on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called one nation under God."
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_pastor_joe_wright.htm
A wise man, Pastor Joe!
ReplyDeleteI love G.K Chesterton!
ReplyDelete