Our Eighth Reading: Bernard of Clairvaux Teaches Us to Love God

In yet another installment of our summer reading series, we're digging way back into the Middle Ages to look at an influential monk named Bernard. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) made a difference in his generation. In some ways he was a positive influence, in other ways he was a negative influence. Whatever his failings, he knew God and loved God and was able to articulate that love compellingly. (Wikipedia article, Catholic Encyclopedia article)

A word of disclaimer: Bernard had some major defects in his theology. I can get behind the excerpt we're reading today, but I would strongly differ with him over other opinions he expressed. Read with discernment - no spiritual writing outside the Bible is perfect.

This week we're going to read from his famous work "On The Love of God."

In it, Bernard explains why we should love God and how our love of God should mature over time.

He posits four levels of love:

1. The love of self for self's sake


2. The love of God for self's sake


3. The love of God for God's sake


4. The love of self for God's sake

It's in the Devotional Classics book on page 41, or you can find a more antiquated public-domain translation at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bernard/loving_god.html. We're reading from chapters 1,8,9,10,13,14, and 15.

A testimony

Hey everyone, here's a testimony about how God broke through my spiritual
slump in a moment last week. I was actually hesitant about posting it
because I'm still thinking about it a lot, so please comment if you'd like.

This summer I’ve been busy. Sure, I’ve had a lot of activities going on—an
internship, exploring DC, hanging out with friends, etc.—but what I really
mean by being “busy” is having my mind constantly focused on things other
than God. At first I forced myself to spend some time alone with God
because I knew it was important, but gradually I found myself unable to
follow through on these daily sessions because I felt like I was unable to
connect with God or found it too boring to go on. When I tried to pray or
read the bible, I couldn’t concentrate. When I tried waiting on God, I
couldn’t sit still. And yet I knew that spending time with God was
important, so I felt like I had failed. Throughout the day, my mind would
be consumed with other things and every time the thought of God came up
(which was less and less), I would think, “Oh, I really need to have more
quiet time with God.” I knew I was not where I should be spiritually. But
the problem was that to me, the solution was to pray more, to read the
bible more, to wait on God more, yet despite my efforts these things were
getting more and more difficult for me to do. I felt like a gulf had formed
between me and God, and the path to the way back was vastly unappealing.

But one night last week God broke through this all. When I didn’t think I
could make it all the way back to Him, He came and met me where I was. It
happened when I realized that all He wanted, all He required, was for me to
turn my heart toward Him that moment. My heart had been either delaying a
return, not wanting to face the disappointment in God’s face, or else
caught up in repenting for my shortfalls whenever I tried to draw near. I
felt that I had let Him down. But what I suddenly realized was that He
wasn’t disappointed. Disappointment comes when there are unmet
expectations, but God doesn’t have those kinds of heavy-burdened
expectations for us. All He wanted was for me to simply turn to Him that
moment, and He was overjoyed because of it!

I had thought that, before I could draw close to God, I had to be ready to
commit myself to Him again. But this was a deception that was keeping me
from God. I thought that before He could completely accept me, I had to
say, “Okay, God, I’m ready to live whole-heartedly for You now. I’m ready
to obey all Your commands and do everything You want me to do.” And the
problem was that I wasn’t ready to say that, and so I felt I couldn’t truly
come back.

But what I found was that God doesn’t require us to make promises we’re not
ready to make. He didn’t require me to be ready to give my entire life to
Him then and there. All I had the strength and faith to do was to turn to
Him that moment, and I realized that was all He wanted. As I processed this
revelation, and simply turned to God, it was all He needed to pour all of
Himself over me. I was set free. I had gotten used to coming before Him
with a feeling of inadequacy and the condemnation of “not giving enough.”
But now I came before Him with freedom and confidence, knowing He was
filled with joy merely by my presence.

The only way I can describe what that moment felt like is this: think about
having a fifty-pound weight on your shoulders for several years and had
already gotten completely used to it when, suddenly, someone took it off.
You would feel like you could fly. What happened inside of me was something
like that. I had gotten used to feeling guilty for not giving “enough” and
not meeting God’s expectations, when suddenly, that condemnation was lifted
off. I realized that God was so pleased with whatever I had at that moment
and that I was "enough" for Him. Suddenly I had ascended to a freedom, joy,
and peace I had never felt before. I actually laughed so hard I started
sobbing.

It was like Jesus was at the door knocking. I could hear Him knocking, but
I didn’t want to open the door because I wasn’t ready to be a good host.
I’d have to prepare things for him to eat, a place to sleep, etc. and most
of all, I still had to clean the house! But when the knocking continued, I
knew I couldn’t ignore it anymore so I mustered the courage to open the
door. Too embarrassed about the mess and not being prepared, I could hardly
look at Him. But to my surprise, He was filled with uncontainable joy just
to see me! He didn’t care about how clean the house was. He didn’t even
comment on it. He stepped through the door and hugged me so tightly: “I am
so pleased with you, my daughter! I love you so much.” And what I didn’t
expect was that behind Him, there were cleaning supplies that He had
brought to clean the house for me. And He had brought tons of food for us
to eat. I was filled with so much peace and joy. I didn’t have to do
anything, to prepare anything. All I did was open the door and He took away
all the other burdens I thought I had. And most of all, I saw He had only
wanted to be with me.

This was a life-changing moment, but the beauty of it lies in every moment.
Every moment is a chance to start over, and every moment is a new
invitation. He doesn’t ask us, “Will you follow me to your death?” He just
asks us, “Will you turn your heart to me this second?” Don’t even think
about trying to follow Him in the future, don’t worry about tomorrow. What
God wants is that in this moment we turn to Him, and then comes the next
moment. It’s step by step. And it’s walking in freedom and joy because I
know that every time, it’s a simple act of faith that touches His heart.
Before, spending time with God through praying or reading the bible had
started to become a burden because I thought it was something He “expected”
from me. But now it is a joy and I want to press in because I know He is
proud of me. He isn’t proud because of what I have done in the past or what
I will do in the future. No matter what, He is proud of me because I am His
daughter. Just like a baby doesn’t have to do anything to win the affection
of the parents, we receive God’s love not through earning it (which means we
also can’t disqualify ourselves from it.) And this love that is almost
too-good-to-be-true is what makes me want to know Him more.

What I’ve realized is that God doesn’t just want me to spend so many
minutes alone with Him everyday; what He wants is my soul resting in Him
throughout the day, to have my thoughts constantly turning to Him and
enjoying His presence with me. It’s okay if I am immersed in other
activities and thoughts, but what’s important is that when my mind is
finished being consumed with these other things, I can quickly turn to Him
again. Having a certain amount of prayer or bible reading everyday isn’t
the “goal”—it’s being able to turn my heart back toward Him and rest in Him
wherever, whenever.

This only confirms to me that it’s not because of our self-discipline, love
for God, or will power that we can abide in His presence. It’s because of
His unconditional, overwhelming love for us that draws us in and meets us
wherever we are. He is an awesome God!

Our Seventh Reading: Blaise Pascal Brings The Heat

This week's reading is from Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), one of history's true genuises. At 16, he published a paper on conic sections that so impressed Descartes that he refused to believe it was written by a youth. At 18, he built the second mechanical calculator ever. He went on to lay the foundations for probability theory and make significant contributions to number theory, do important research in physics, and to write a seminal defense of the scientific method.

Already a believer, Pascal became passionate about his faith after what he later called his "night of fire", which he described in a parchment he wrote to himself.

The year of grace 1654. Monday, 23 November... From about half-past ten in the evening until about half-past midnight.

Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of the philosophers and intellectuals. Certitude, certitude, feeling, joy, peace. The God of Jesus Christ...

(the parchment goes on for quite a while - you can read more about it elsewhere)

He carried that parchment on his person all the days of his life to remind him of what God had done in his life.

He began drafting a document to persuasively explain Christianity to skeptics, but died before he could complete it. All that we have are his fragmentary notes, which were collected and published as the Pensees. They have become a classic of French literature and are regarded by some scholars as the most elegant French writing of all time - the Pensees.

So today we'll read a little of this masterpiece. In our Devotional Classics book it's on page 143. You can also read an older and less elegant translation online.

Online, read section 7 fragment 430.

If you like the way Pascal writes, I highly recommend Peter Kreeft's annotated version titled Christianity For Modern Pagans. Kreeft teaches a philosophy course on Pascal at Boston College and is himself an able proponent of the Christian faith, so he is eminently qualified to help navigate the tunnels of Pascal's mind.

Another sermon

read this one.
http://articles.christiansunite.com/article581.shtml

oh man.

-Alan

There's also a bunch of sermons at this site by other people:
http://articles.christiansunite.com/

There may be a better site out there with similar sermons and stuff, let me
know if you find one or know of one.
I think, in general, that these sermons by people who were passionate about
REVIVAL and passionate about people really knowing God will be very, very good.

Interesting sermon

Hey everyone,
  I read this sermon yesterday and thought I would forward it along because I thought it was convicting in ways we don't usually hear and I don't frequently think about.  In particular:
  * It talks about how we need to pray more, how *I* need to pray more.  How important it is to pray!
  * It talks about letting Jesus become Lord of our lives more.  Like, how good it is to ask God how we can grow in submission to His Will more! 

I was initially somewhat hesitant to forward along the sermon because there are some things I don't quite agree with or am not sure are right or not, but I decided to anyway because of the good stuff there too.  So, read with discernment!  Also, a bit more background, the person who wrote the sermon is one of my friends from MIT who is quite fervent for God.  He recently started a church plant at MIT.

Here's the link: http://www.cmfiboston.org/sermons/the_conversion_of_cornelius.html

and here are some clips of it in case you don't want to read the whole thing:

[It's about the conversion of Cornelius, in the New Testament: Acts 10:1-7,19-48, Acts 11:11-14 ]

And lastly, the bible says this man [prayed] to God regularly, and that's the thing that just blows my mind away. Let me ask just here honestly, which one of you have just prayed regularly in the last 30 days? Which of you have prayed regularly at the same time for the last 30 days? A survey was done for pastors in the southern states found that the average evangelical minister prays for five minutes. So Leonard Ravenhill used to tell David Wilkerson, that if you want to preach to ministers, preach to ministers about prayerlessness, and give an altar call. At the end of your message, they will flock. At a minister's conference, he asked the ministers how many prayed for 15 minutes a day regularly. Two raised their hands, in an audience of hundreds of ministers. When I came here my freshman year, I went to a big meeting that I will not name, but a popular meeting that lots of Christians go to. Man, that was my first time, I had just come from my home in Virginia, and I came with expectations on Christian ministry, but I went to this meeting, and it was so dead. The preacher was just dead. It was a nice talk, a nice presentation, but spiritually, it was zero. But everyone thought it was okay. At the end of it, I wondered if I was just being a little too judgmental. So at the end, I went up to the preacher, and I asked him "How much time do you pray a day?" He told me, "Well, my wife and I have so many children, there are some days I don't pray at all." And he said it without any shock. On some days when I pray, my bible reading, my meditation, including prayer, is sometimes one hour. No wonder our generation is heading straight to Hell. No wonder our generation has been so lost. Because our generation has sat under prayerless preachers, and I'm speaking to myself also. Our nation has sat under prayerless preachers who come on the altar without any anointing, who are unable to break people's doubts. Unable to shake the wicked. Unable to rouse the wicked with the judgment derides alarm, as the word says. Unable to make people walk out of church thinking hard, even if they refuse to give their lives to Christ. David Wilkerson went to New York and he preached to the gangs. Nicky Cruz said to him "I hate you, and I'll kill you if you try to speak to me about Jesus any more." But he said, when he went home, the message he spoke was ringing in Nicky's head over and over and over. He said, "This crazy preacher, he's messed up my mind." "This crazy preacher, he messed up my mind." He couldn't shake off the conviction. Why's that? Because this man had sold his TV, had started praying every day, going up on a hill every day praying for a year. He turned the time he was watching TV into prayer time, and after a year, the Lord said, "Go to New York and talk to the gangs." And he was the first preacher to address the issue of gangs on the streets. And so, we've lost a whole generation, like he says, because we lack the people on the altar who are people of prayer. I'm digressing a lot, but these are the things that have been on my heart. In any case, let me get back to my message.

...

I challenge you not to be satisfied with that kind of Christianity, where the word of the Lord is rare. I challenge you to seek the Lord and know when you hear the Lord's voice and you know when he speaks to you. I mean it's indispensable. I don't know how people just lead their lives without it. I mean, if one day you have a family, how will you lead your children if you can't hear from the Lord on their behalf? I had the chance to chat with Henry Blackabee when he came here to Boston. He was talking to parents and said if your son or daughter is in college away from home and is about to get into deep trouble, would you like God to tell you and let you know clearly what is going to happen. He said God is not usually in corrective business, he is usually in preventative business. He speaks to people and says, "Your son or your daughter is about to fall away from his faith, is about to be tempted. Pray hard for him and send him a warning!" In my life, I am very thankful that I've had people like that, listening to God on my behalf. Sister Susan Joseph, a dear Indian lady in northern Virgina is one of my spiritual mentors. She sends me words that there can be no mistake that God has spoken to her. Sometimes when I'm going through something, and I haven't told anybody, the next thing I'll check my email, and there is a word from the Lord through her straight to me. I just sometimes sit in front of the computer and marvel how she knows. It has to be that God has spoken to her. She is a God-fearing woman, and she prays. If you tell her, "Pray for this," she will pray. The Lord speaks to his people.

...

Jesus healed those who were under the burden of sin. He healed those who were under the burdens of physical diseases. He healed those who were under the burden of emotional diseases. He comes to heal the whole man, spirit, soul, and body, from the bondage of the devil. Your godliness will not do that. Your going to church will not do that. Your giving money to the poor will not do that. You have to receive Jesus and surrender your life to him. That's why it says here, "He is the Lord of all." Those who want Jesus' healing must come under his Lordship. Those who don't are rebels. Because God made Jesus the Lord of all. Therefore, those who are not living as if Jesus was Lord of their lives are living in rebellion against the One that God has appointed to be the Lord of the whole universe. We are witnesses of everything that he did in the country of the Jews in Jerusalem. He was not seen by all people, but by witnesses whom God has already chosen. He commanded us to preach the Gospel and to testify that he is the One whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. This afternoon, our message is that the Lord has appointed us to preach this Gospel to you. That Jesus Christ appeared to set you free from sin. Free from diseases. Free from curses. And free from all the bondages of the enemy. And the question, then is, what have you done with Jesus. That's the question I asked Mario earlier. How are you doing with Jesus? What have you done with the Lord. On judgment day, the question will not be, did you give money to the poor. The question will be, were you living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Were you living in the fear of the Lord? Did Jesus come into your life and become Lord and set you free from sin? Did Jesus come into your life, and was he Lord? And did his Lordship show up in your life? I want us to pray. But before we pray, is there anyone here who knows that Jesus has not been Lord of his life? If you know that Jesus has not been Lord of your life, raise your hand. If you are here, and you know this message was for you, and you know Jesus needs to become Lord of your life, let us know. Let's pray:

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your word. We thank you that there is no other name, no other way, no other means given unto man by which we may be saved, save the name of Jesus. Lord, thank you that we have no other way to go to heaven but through Jesus Christ who died and rose again to set us free from the bondages of the devil. Lord, I pray that everyone here will grow in submission to you. Lord, I pray that everyone here will grow in submission to your Holy Will. Thank you Lord, for this time. We bless your Holy Name, in Jesus' name. Amen.
[end of the sermon]


-Alan

PS - Comments welcome!  Posts welcome!  What do you think about those Devotional Classics readings?  Which one has been your favorite?  What has weirded you out?  Posts don't have to be super profound or anything.. more like a discussion or something.

Our Sixth Reading : John Chrysostom on Dying To Sin

John Chrysostom (347-407) is one of the most famous leaders from the early church. In fact, the Catholic Church considers him to be one of the 33 Doctors of the Church (alongside such luminaries as Augustine and Anselm). Oddly, neither Luther nor Calvin made the list. ;)

Chrysostom studied at the best schools of his day under the most well-respected pagan lecturers in the Empire. After his conversion and call to ministry he used his education and eloquence to become the greatest preacher of his day (and some believe of all time). John's eloquence was so legendary that he was given the nickname Chrysostom, which means golden-tongued.

In today's reading, we're looking at a sermon from his series on Romans. In the Devotional Classics book it's on page 309. You can also find it online.

I like this reading because it reminds me that the Church's message has remained unchanged from our earliest days. This sermon could easily be preached today.

Check the Wikipedia article on him for more info.