Adoration & Perspective

It’s day 11 in a row of listening to Bob Hartley’s “Adoration” CD.  I am so grateful for him helping me to focus on the mercies of God rather than on my own weaknesses.  Bob focuses on this perspective in the last track of his CD.  I need to hear this more and more until it breaks away all of my criticism for myself and others.

Adoration of Jesus

Listening to Bob Hartley’s “Adoration” CD this morning, my heart was broken when he described having the eyes and heart of Jesus.  He talked about obtaining these from his times with Jesus, adoring Him until he began to emulate what he saw in Him.

I realized that I began to experience this in some part yesterday morning after listening to this CD and adoring God.  I also realized that I did NOT experience this throughout the rest of my day as it faded.  He speaks on this CD of our examples from scripture who set aside time to adore Jesus 3-7 times each day.  He spoke to this very issue of how we move from practicing this as a discipline to craving it as necessary to sustain our life.  I NEED this.

This is not a utilitarian purpose of getting something from Jesus, and yet we experience the blessing of receiving His insight and perspective on all of life when we simply focus on and adore Him.  If we seek the blessing then we miss it as we miss Him.  It is the transformation of our thoughts, emotions, faith, and our physical forms as we adore Jesus.

Another 1.5 miles

Cheryl and I decided to give Jack an opportunity to go with Hannah and me on our 5 am walk today, but the sandman got the better of him.  It will be interesting to see how well he handles it later today when he eventually wakes up.

It was a little cooler (43°) with decent winds (10 mpth) to try Hannah’s resolve, but she did very well and showed me the resilience a 9 (almost 10) year old can possess.

…and we prayed some more for our neighbors.

Healing

I read a section of “The Power of Faith” to my children this evening as I taught them about…the power of faith.

It was wonderful to see them respond…well, I’m referencing Hannah’s response.  Jack is constantly doing something and yet he still seems to listen to everything I say.  Regardless, I shared with them the story and will post excerpts here:

I went, and when I got to this place, I found that the whole country was expecting me.  They had said that when I came, this man would be healed.  I said to the woman when I arrived, ‘I have come.’  ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘but it is too late.’  ‘Is he alive?’ I asked.  ‘Yes, barely alive,’ she said.  I went in and put my hands on him and said, ‘Martin.’  He just breathed slightly and whispered, ‘The doctor said that if I move from this position, I will never move again.’  I said, ‘Do you know that the Scripture says, ‘God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever’ (Ps. 73:26)’?  He said, ‘Should I get up?’  I said, ‘No.’

That day was spent in prayer and ministering the Word.  I found a great state of unbelief in that house, but I saw that Martin had faith to be healed.  His sister was home from an asylum.  God kept me there to pray for that place.  I said to the family, ‘Get Martin’s clothes ready; I believe he is to be raised up.’  I felt the unbelief.

I went to the chapel and had prayer with a number of people around there, and before noon they, too, believed that Martin would be healed.  When I returned, I said, ‘Are his clothes ready?’  They said, ‘No.’  I said, ‘Oh, will you hinder God’s work in this house?’  I went into Martin’s room all alone.  I said, ‘I believe God will do a new thing today.  I believe that when I lay hands on you, the glory of heaven will fill this place.’  I laid my hands on him in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and immediately the glory of the Lord filled the room, and I fell at once to the floor.  I did not see what took place on the be or in the room, but this young man began to shout out, ‘Glory, glory!’ and I heard him say, ‘For Your glory, Lord,’ and he stood before me perfectly healed.  He went to the door and opened it, and his father stood there.  He said, ‘Father, the Lord has raised me up,’ and the father fell to the floor and cried for salvation.

God wants us to see that the power of God coming upon people has something more in it than we have yet known.  The power to heal and baptize is in this place, but you must say, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’

After sharing this passage with the children, I explained how this was not just for Mr. Wigglesworth but also for us.  I told them how God had healed Mr. Kent (“Gravely”) just yesterday after he asked me to pray for his lower back.  The healing was instant.  We spent some time praying after that and experienced the presence of God right here in our living room.

Out of shape

When a good friend approached me 2 weeks ago to see if I wanted to join him for a 20 mile back country hiking weekend, I was excited. I realized quickly that I am not physically prepared for that type of exercise and need to get into shape if I plan to go with him this coming Spring.

So, to date I have managed to go for a quick 1 mile walk at least 3 times over the past week. I do it at 5:00 am right after I wake since it provides the most solitude for my walk. I have enjoyed learning a bit more about my neighborhood (in the dark) and today began the process of praying for my neighbors. Makes me wish someone had asked me to trek 20 miles in the mountains earlier.

Self-love vs. Introspection?

“We are made for God, and for Him, alone; He cannot therefore take it ill that we forsake all, even ouselves, to find our all in Him. In God we shall see more clearly what we lack than we could in ourselves by all our introspection; which in reality is but the remnant, unexpelled, of self-love, which, under the guise of zeal for our own perfection, keeps our gaze down on self instead of raised to God.” (The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence)

The passage above is in reference to how Brother Lawrence defined his total commitment of his focus on the love of God.  This statement is taken in context as an explanation for why he did not focus on even his own salvation or sanctification.  He had in effect given up on looking at himself in lieu of looking at God.  He explains elsewhere in the text that he pursued this through a strong discipline that encompassed many years before it became second nature to him, thus revealing the power that exists within us all that desires to set ourselves as the supreme focus of our attention.