The Myth of the Spontaneous Word

Nothing we do is ever truly spontaneous. Whether in word or deed, it began somewhere inside before it exits via action or message. Thus, our Lord rightly affirms, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he" (Prov. 23:7, KJV). Out of the well of our hearts springs whatever is inside (Luke 6:45). Good or bad. But this is not the kind of spontaneity of which I am thinking.

Good Springs . . .
A number of weeks back, after having shared with the men in our Saturday morning men's group, my family and I were discussing what was said. We remarked how the Lord had blessed something I had shared from that morning's devotions. It's true, I had been affected by the passage in my reading, the Spirit having blessed and opened up wonderful truth to my soul. In turn, I was enabled to share that with the men, who in turn related their own opinions. We all entered into the spirit of the text and enjoyed it immensely. It was quite evident that the Lord had brought that about, as I must add, He does practically every week! It's become a sort of humorous thing when I say, "Before we begin, I have something that I was reading that I just want to draw your attention to." And then we may end up talking it over for the entire hour! Mind you, the class enters into it happily. There's something exciting about such "spontaneous" words from God.

Spontaneous . . . Really?
My son, Dave and I were remarking how blessed, how rich we all have been after these times and on top of that, to know that this wasn't a "prepared" word, but spontaneous! Phyllis pointed out that no word shared like that is ever truly spontaneous. "After all," she said, "You've been saved for 48 years!" She's right. I remember hearing that same thing brought out in my readings, so it struck a note in all our hearts. What's she saying? After that many years of living the Christian life, daily devoting oneself to reading, praying, studying, preaching and teaching the Word of God, can anything be truly considered "spontaneous"?

This applies across the board. What comes out of us is essentially what we have taken in all our lives. Are we not all products of our past, for good or for bad? Every sermon, every Sunday School lesson, every book, movie, or job, every person with whom we've interacted, all feed into and contribute to the storehouse of our experience. This is why it is so vital for us to ensure that we "load up" with the right food, that we place ourselves in the path of God's blessing. Each of us is the sum of what we have experienced.

Let us affirm good, godly preparation for lessons or sermons. But let's not hesitate to share with our brothers and sisters what God has placed on our hearts in routine devotions. I greatly enjoy hearing from my fellow believers the word God has given them for the day. It may be a tough word, or harsh. And maybe our reaction to God is negative or angry. But it is a TRUE word. The point is that God's Word is so marvelous that we don't want to practice reading it without also enlisting the Spirit's aid to ensure that we see, really SEE what's in front of us.

Keep taking in God's Word, and you'll be loading up to one day give it out, . . . perhaps, SPONTANEOUSLY!!

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Jolted By John Adams . . . Again

Phyllis, my son, Dave and I finished watching the celebrated HBO 7-part version of the life of John Adams. That was our second time. Well-acted, it projects a sober account of the battle that led to and followed up the American Revolution. You get an inside look at great men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and, of course, John (and Abigail) Adams. But we did not close out our viewing with just a simple dismissal, "That was good." Often upon watching serious shows like this, I am affected, deeply moved, nearly transported in my mind by the sheer weight of the subject of a life lived well and by the finality, the dreadful shock of death. With Adams and Jefferson dying on the same day (July 4th, 50 years after signing) those signers of the Declaration of Independence had all died, but one. In a real sense, a long, colorful, turbulent time in our history was past. So much life lived. So little attention (it seems) to the even greater issue of life with God! Oh, the weight that overcomes me after viewing such films! You get to know these people, develop an appreciation for their personalities, quirks, and their more noble traits. Then you must watch them leave this earth. My heart cries out, "Oh, did you know Jesus Christ?" "Will I see you again?" It is not a light concern, personality flaw or a mere religious preference. These "heroes" of our early years as a country, I want to see in heaven--and I think I shall for some. But watching their lives made me realize that one cannot absorb all the living that takes place in a few people, much less all those who've ever lived! It's alarmingly overwhelming. I sit in a fog. I don't want to forget. It's as if they came back to life for a season, of course, only to expire once again re-aggravating the pain of loss.

What jolts me? It's the thought that so much life has been lived well beyond my control and mostly outside my knowledge or understanding. I praise God that He has always been at work in every country at all times in each person! Unfathomable! Were it not for my faith in this loving, sovereign Providence I could not hope to get back on track, to re-enter life's routines with any semblance of priority. It's difficult sometimes. I swallow, ponder and re-commit my heart, my life, my all to Jesus Christ who does all things well. Once again that ubiquitous phrase finds its appropriate target, "Teach us to number OUR days, so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Ps. 90:12). I am further comforted in the knowledge that He who created all things, has also determined the time and location of our lives so that each may "feel their way toward" God, and hopefully find Him (Acts 17:26-27). I trust this for them then, as well as for ourselves today.

My wonderful family has grown used to my nearly depressing angst in these times. (Other films have likewise left me deeply moved, e.g., "Amadeus" and "Saving Private Ryan" being two major culprits). If they sober my soul, far better is it to have experienced such heavy enlightenment than to have lived a life flitting about between mist and myth. If one lands hard, at least he has landed. Lord plant my feet on the sold ground of hope in Christ who has indeed ordered all things after the counsel of his own will to his own glory. That wins the day for me. My Lord will bring all things together, the just and unjust in one final and powerful display of divine judgment. On that I trust; in that I hope.

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JUST DO IT!

This Christmas, while in Virginia with family, we visited a Barnes & Noble! That's not a shocker to anyone who knows me. But while other family were shopping, Dave and I went down the line in the shopping center for coffee and a look-see. I "happened" upon a collection of daily readings from Philip Yancey's writings- Grace Notes. Knowing Yancey as I do, I've always admired his way of seeing the otherwise undetected or seemingly unimportant. I read him and I am awakened. His reading for today centers on prayer, a perpetual interest of mine, even if I do not practice it as well as I should. Should we pray even if we are not up to it?

Regular Exercise
Yancey points out that he likes to run. But he will run even IF he doesn't feel like it. Why? Because there are accompanying benefits in other areas of life, like strengthened heart and lungs, it facilitates skiing and mountain climbing, and he can eat what he will without worrying about weight gain!

"Benefits accrue as well for those who practice regular prayer (whether or not they feel like praying)." He cites writer Nancy Mairs, who attends church in the same spirit that a "writer goes to her desk every morning, SO THAT IF AN IDEA COMES ALONG SHE'LL BE THERE TO RECEIVE IT." [Emphasis mine] Yancey approaches prayer the same way. Many days he may not get anything perceivable out of it, no appreciable profit. But, he says, "I show up in hopes of getting to know God better, and perhaps hearing from God in ways accessible only through quiet and solitude."

I resonate with Yancey's attitude. It has been my habit for years to arrive early in my office for Scripture and prayer. It's as much a part of me as any bodily routine to begin or end the day. You just do it. But I look forward to it; the day could not be the same without it. Still, not every day does truth flash like lightening upon me. But it may! It HAS. But routine has a 100% better chance of doing so than if I never began such a regimen. I remember in the early 60's hearing Pastor Seume (Richmond, Va.) say from time to time, "Even if you do not get anything out of your Bible reading, God will still bless your pursuit anyway." And this is much the same. To quote Nike (but with a much greater goal in view) "Just Do It!" Swoosh! That's right, "JUST DO IT!!" Listen to Yancey again,

For years I resisted a regular routine of prayer, believing that communication with God should be spontaneous and free. As a result I prayed infrequently and with little satisfaction. Eventually I learned that spontaneity often flows from discipline. Leonardo da Vinci spent ten years drawing ears, elbows, hands, and other parts of the body in many different aspects. Then one day he set aside the exercises and painted what he saw. . . . I found that I needed the discipline of regularity to make possible those exceptional times of free communication with God.

Spontaneous Routine?!
I too, have often found a true "word from the Lord" in my regularly scheduled devotional times. It has been my added privilege to be able to carry those thoughts into the classroom on the same day as I received them. The class has been very receptive and open to such a "word," which has given an originality to such times as opposed to being a "canned" talk.

Such preparation has not been the consequence of a singular isolated "Word" from above, but the result of years of participation in the glorious routine of pursuing God in Scripture and prayer. So, how shall I conclude this post? . . . JUST DO IT!

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Former Catholic Priest Exposes Rome's All-Inclusive "Faith"

Former Catholic Priest, Richard Bennett speaks at Metropolitan Tabernacle in London on the subject: "Catholic Mysticism and the Emerging Church Reexamined." This is of tremendous importance in the battle for the truth, especially in terms of the authority of the Word of God versus the false authorities of man (all religions which teach contrary to faith alone in Jesus Christ alone). Among other heresies, you will hear is one that shows Rome approving of both Hinduism and Buddhism as "valid means" of reaching heaven!? That's completely and utterly heretical beyond the pale of anything remotely sensible! And this is written in Vatican II. See verses below video for God's take on this!



"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you" (Deut. 4:2). Peter, an eyewitness of Jesus Christ states (by the Spirit) that over against the evidential aspect of eyewitness reports is the superior ("more sure") "prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place . . . knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19-21).

Oh, Lord, give us boldness in these last days to stand up for the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. Dear reader, pray that folks will see the weight of this issue. Pray that Protestant church leaders will rise up and be counted among the true seekers of Jesus Christ and defenders of the truth as it is in Jesus. Pray for Roman Catholics to be freed from the bondage of syncretism's grip and to find true freedom in the releasing and exclusive gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Beware Satan's Tactics!

Taking from J. C. Ryle's Thoughts For Young Men, listen to this sage, godly advice:

For another thing, the devil uses special diligence to destroy the souls of young men, and they seem not to know it. Satan knows well that you will make up the next generation, and therefore he employs every art betimes to make you his own. I would not have you ignorant of his devices.

". . . We would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs" (2 Cor. 2:11).

Young men, beware of being taken by his snares. He will try to throw dust in your eyes, and prevent you seeing anything in its true colors. He would fain make you think evil good, and good evil. He will paint, and gild, and dress up sin, in order to make you fall in love with it. He will deform, and misrepresent, and caricature true religion, in order to make you take a dislike to it. [Just watch the evening news!] He will exalt the pleasures of wickedness--but he will hide the sting. He will lift up before your eyes the cross and its painfulness--but he will keep out of sight the eternal crown. He will promise you everything, as he did to Christ, if you will only serve him. (Matt. 4:1-11) He will even help you to wear a form of religion, if you will only neglect the power. He will tell you at the beginning of your lives, it is too soon to serve God--he will tell you at the end, it is too late. Oh, be not deceived!

See yesterday's post for where to buy Ryle's book or to read it online for free.
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Time To Be SERIOUS!

Recently, I gave my son, Dave a copy of J. C. Ryle's "Thoughts For Young Men," (1868) which is a wonderful call to Christian living for men, both young and old, and as Dave would offer, for women as well. Here is a quotation which meant much to Dave and me and which we'd suspect you'd have to find intriguingly apt. Illustrating one of the dangers facing young men as being that of "thoughtlessness and inconsideration," Ryle writes:

Matthew Henry tells a story of a great statesman in Queen Elizabeth's time, who retired from public life in his later days, and gave himself up to serious thought. His former gay (i.e. "frivolous") companions came to visit him, and told him he was becoming melancholy. "No," he replied, "I am serious; for all are serious round about me. God is serious in observing us--Christ is serious in interceding for us--the Spirit is serious in striving with us--the truths of God are serious--our spiritual enemies are serious in their endeavours to ruin us--poor lost sinners are serious in hell--and why then should not you and I be serious too?"

Thank you J. C. Ryle. You can read this book online HERE. Or better yet, buy the book HERE.

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Dismount A Dead Horse!

One does not have to look far to find aberrant or at least, substandard views on Church. Just look at Church web sites! Not all, of course. Praise the Lord, many will not cower to worldly pressures or bend to "emerging" methodologies. Still, we may learn from what appears or in many cases fails to show up on web sites. Like prayer meetings. The following quotation comes from Trevor Bron, in "3 Truths Churches Struggle to Accept." He offers some sound advice to be sure. What I found somewhat disconcerting was a comment he made under point 1, "It's OK to Say "NO." He revealed an effete Wednesday prayer meeting running simultaneously with an undermanned AWANA program. He writes:

The first church I was on staff with had a difficult time saying no. This was especially true when it came to the Wednesday night prayer meeting. By the time I began my internship at the church, there was only a small group still attending the prayer meetings, and the average age was well over 65.

Even as a young, inexperienced intern I knew the reason the prayer meeting was still going on was that no one had the leadership clarity and ability to say no. This small band of people had such great potential to be engaged in more meaningful ways. AWANA also met on Wednesday night, and its leaders were always in need of more volunteers. With a greater clarity of vision for these kids, I believe those prayer meeting folks could have been utilized to a much greater degree and at the same time been re-instilled with a feeling of value and purpose in their service to the church.

Now, I wrote to Trevor asking him to clarify if his comments included disbanding Prayer meeting altogether? That was two days ago. I hope still to hear from him. At this point, and unless otherwise corrected, here is my assessment. 

I wanted to quote Trevor, because of what we did as a church when our Wednesday prayer meeting fell off. You see, he's not completely wrong. Sometimes we hang on to programs to the detriment of what they were intended to produce, in this case EFFECTUAL PRAYER. I love this quote, "When the horse you're riding dies, dismount!" But let's be sure that the horse is NOT prayer itself! The Church can no more forget prayer than humans can forget to breathe! But that seems what many many churches are doing! It's nothing less than self-inflicted suffocation. It's like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

What dawned on me (Spirit) as we changed our day for prayer was that prayer is NOT a program of the church. If it were, then people could opt out of it like they do any other program that doesn't fit into their gift-mix, or service preference. But prayer is the life of the church and cannot be dismissed like a program. I began to teach the flock this way, and that along with, of course, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, has produced a growing number coming out and praying together for about an hour! Yes, we meet for 90 minutes, the last hour of which is prayer. We have a good secretary who publishes a Family Prayer Sheet each week with the latest updates from our missionaries from whom she receives regular emails to keep us current. It's a wonderful time of prayer. But we as leaders see this as a priority. Incidentally, one of our reasons from moving from Wednesday to Sunday was to allow our Elders to attend more regularly. They simply could not "swing" Wednesdays (as with others). It's not just that they should "be at prayer meeting to be a good example. THEY wanted to pray with the Body of Christ! This provided that forum.

This has been a blessed time. We pray that more (who are able) will come, not out of some legalistic constraint, but from heart motives. One thing we do know, WE MUST PRAY. Period! And God will add unto His church, for indeed, Jesus said, "I will build my church." And part of His building is to put it within the hearts of his people to complete his command to be always at prayer.

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