Desires

Once upon a time there lived an archelogist who boasted over his large collection of wax idols from the Andes mountains. They were painted brilliant colors of red, yellow, and orange. On a hot summer day, the air conditioning failed and the idols began to change shape. The archeologist seized one of the idols, weeping as it began to melt. After it had all dripped to the floor, he cried out, "My life has slipped away between my fingers!"


The bloodhound said to himself, 'My master is telling me I am close to finding something!' The dog closed his eyes so tightly that his sight became blindness. His hearing became deafness. His thoughts left him completely. Then -pressing his nose to the ground- he barked vigorously, for he had found the fragrance of the trail.

I saw a farmer the other day. Guess where I saw him. On his farm? No, he was having his hair cut. I also saw a politician. He wasn't giving a speech, though, just picking up some groceries. Last week I visited a man in prison. Did I mind his company? No, it was the best of all. Today I had lunch with a poor man. Will he lead me into poverty? No, he has lead me into riches.

There once lived a woman with a blood disease. Her wounds bled every day and never healed. Although she worked hard every day, she labored much harder to find a cure. When she went to the doctor, the doctor smelled the decay of her blood and he saw the filth of her bandages. 'We must deal with that smell and those unseemly bandages!' He cried. The woman was washed and given fresh bandages and sent on her way. Other people liked her appearance much better, but her sickness remained and she said to herself, 'My condition now is worse than when I went to see that doctor!'

This age may best be compared to that young man who made outward gestures toward a woman, but failed to pursue her decisively. Even though he managed to propose (and she accepted), his confidence in marrying her remained in question to him. He hired a look-a-like to go through with the wedding ceremony in case he would later wish to have it annulled ... but the actor married the woman and then ran off with her.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
Hebrews 12:15-17

(Image from here.)

No More Doubt

Before I knew, Jesus, I doubted God every day. However, I never doubted Satan but feared him for the signs and wonders of Satan are very visible in the temporal world, along with the pain and suffering that are left in their wake. Then Jesus came into my life and opened my spiritual eyes and I no longer feared Satan as I now could see that which is eternal; instead, I began to fear God.

That which is temporal is passing and the time of Satan is growing shorter every day. Come to Jesus, let Him open your eyes to reality, to that which is lasting and cannot fade. Be enfolded within His arms as you also pass from being only temporal into the true reality of the eternal. Be filled with the joy that cannot be dimmed by sorrow, or pain, or disease, or death. Be filled with His Life in the moment that you truly, begin to believe on the Name of the only begotten Son of God. Know the joy of being released from the grip of fear as you come to know the Living God, He Who is more powerful than any temporal trick of the devil; as Jesus reveals to you this all powerful God Who is your Father. To be a child of God is to be cherished forever in the presence of your Daddy.

A HYMN OF FAITH (FROM HABAKKUK 3:17 -19)

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor Fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls--

Yet, I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer's feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Burning Sorrow

Episodes 4, 5, 6 ...








You can find episodes 1, 2, 3 here.

New Email Address!

Just got a new email address.

It forwards to my old one, so I should see it right away.

burning@meredevotion.com

The Deep Things

Everyone with a broad understanding of life fails to understand life and its depth.

In the physical world, the jack of all trades is often in the master of none. The people who travel to the most countries usually fail to understand what it means to live there, much less their own home. The more a man learns to understand women in general (whether he is a playwright or a philosopher) the less he understands any particular women, much less love.

Of course, in the physical world there are exceptions.

A historian may have a detailed knowledge of all the US presidents, but if you found him alone and asked him about Cooledge you might be surprised to learn he is very intimate with the life of Cooledge. And we may hear of a man with many friends who genuinely seems to care about each one of them personally.

The spiritual world is different.

In the spiritual world a person either understands deeply or he does not understand at all. In spirit the narrow path leads only to life -and nowhere else. In spirit the broad road leads only to destruction -and no where else. Either a man is devoted to a singular master, or his devotion is disbursed among a multitude -which is another way of saying he has no devotion.

We are required to have faith, for it is what the righteous live by. The pagans have a certain kind of faith, yes, or at least on some occasions. When the flight is smooth they (may) believe they will arrive safely and on time. When the conversation is pleasant they (may) believe they have a good friendship. This common faith, this broad faith, is not the saving faith we are called to.

A common faith, a faith that is commonly held among men, is also a faith in many things ... in common things. Most people have faith in the fire department to put out fires, the rain to waters crops, and the effectiveness of many people working together. At the same time, no one is totally certain about any one of these things and in a very true sense the common faithful have no faith.

The understanding of the world (of the broad majority) is itself broad and of a majority of cases, in other words a probability. Most car travel does not end in death or even in an accident, and this is the assurance (which is not a complete assurance) that the world takes up as consolation in its fears. They try to extend this knowledge over many things, and, if they can, over everything. This is why it is so common to hear people package their decisions with "all things considered" and "when you take it all into account...". Their appeal is so extensive it is totally impossible for any human being to wrap their mind around it.

This is the world the writers of the Bible responded against. In the haste of trying to swallow literally everything the world has truly acquired nothing. And Paul describes this as 'ever learning, they are unable to acknowledge the truth'. And when the pagans pray they try to be heard on account of their many words ... or their loud voices ... or their cutting and bleeding. In contrast to these broad half-measures Paul contends that he has resolved to only know one thing: Christ crucified.

To the Greeks this is foolishness.

In the same way, a person who has learned what they value most -over and above all things- will never be understood by the vast majority of people on this earth. A few deep words can be spoken by a person whether they are simple or very thoughtful. When the world hears a few simple words, they mistake the smallness in number for a smallness in value. This is the error of the world.

When the widow offered only her mite in the collection, few people would have counted her offering as greater than the offering of others. Perhaps they considered it comical. Maybe some people thought to themselves, 'If only she had obeyed God more, then she would have had more to give.' But it was the widow who gave the most.

And it was also the widow who received the most. 'How much did she receive?' The world asks, 'And how many things did she receive? Only one thing?! How pathetic!'.

These are the questions we are always hearing in the world. One can easily envision two school boys talking with each other: 'How many minutes did you spend making out with her? How many times did you kiss her? How many guys have dreamed of doing the same thing, and how much did you end up spending on her?' The numbers could answer each question with perfect exactness, and those who boast in numbers receive their reward in full.

It takes only a small change to ask deeper questions.

The change may even be so small that a sharp ear could not succeed in noticing the difference: 'How much do you like her? How lovely did you find her to be? How long did you want to be with her?' And the question which offends because of its soberness: 'How serious are you about her?'

The eyes of the world never have enough of seeing, and they are never satisfied. They look restlessly for the metrics, the measurements, the benchmarks even in the very matters which cannot be measured. The world searches for analysts, scientists, i.e. "The Experts", to tell them what love means and how they can 'get' others to 'love' them.

The eyes of the righteous are focused also -more focused actually. They are focused exactly and precisely on the very things which cannot be seen with the eyes. The righteous are able (and ready!) to notice the subtle movements of love, the quiet 'as you wish' and the 'it was my pleasure' which say so little and yet say everything.

Jesus tells us that those who act 'to be seen' receive their reward in full. This is another way of saying their reward is not very deep. By contrast, the righteous do not even know what they will receive as their reward because, as the Scriptures say,

No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love Him.
1 Corinthians 2:9b

This is the mystery of Godliness. No human being walking this earth is able to express or even conceive the depth of the gifts God gives to His children. The love of Christ is deep: it is like a fountain that springs up inside the heart of the believer and never runs dry. The broad cisterns of the world, however, are dry and they can hold no water -only the appearance of it.

Momento Mori

Trying my hand at comics ...



I'm hoping to do more soon, although one never knows what interruptions he or she may find.

Update:

Here's my second one.



Here's the third one.

On Vacation ...

I've been in Florida for the last week.

Expect a new post soon!