SIMPLE GIFTS

Posted on June 28, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

Christ’s thinking and teaching … dwelt when He pleased in the loftiest region of truths. … Words fell from Him the infinite depth of whose thought we have not fathomed yet.

And yet, dwelling in this inner light and breathing always the air of the sublimest heights, we find His work and His teaching revolving always around the simple things of life. In them He found His peace: in making a religion of common life fit for the use of the humblest and of the poor in spirit. In healing the sick and comforting the sorrow-stricken; in taking away the burden of sin; in moving through the ordinary life of men–in the boat, in the field, in the craftsman’s shop, in the quiet village, He found for men the way to God, the certainties of immortal life, the best repose of heart. In the homelier scenery of earth He found the best illustrations of the infinite truths of Heaven: in the rain which fell and the flowers that adorned themselves, in the flying-birds and the growing seed, in the ways of the sheep and the foldings of the vine branch. In these things, simple human and natural things, he chose to reveal the infinite God and His relation to us. To understand them and their stories, to understand the relations of man to man, and man to nature and its life, was to understand the relation of the Everlasting Father to His children. The word is very nigh thee, even in thy heart. [Deuteronomy 30:14, quoted in Romans 10:8]

It is a great lesson for us. We shall find the most enduring beauty and sublimity not in the mountainous region of Christian speculation, haunted by the thunderstorms of spiritual doubt and pain, but in sailing on the slowly flowing river of a life of daily love. … And with that life, there will be revelation also–quiet days when the still beauty of God will descend like the low colour of the sunset, and fill the heart with mystic peace and long-lived joy: and when out of the far and steady aspiration wrought by doing always the right and loving thing, magnificence will come, and we shall look below the clouds of life straight into the infinite, and in the light know the truths which speculation only toils all its life in vain to find.

It is well when we have been a long time in our nest on the dewy ground of gentle human love, to soar, singing and aspiring, into the skies, and live for a little in a ‘privacy of glorious light;’ but the greater part of life should bring God down to the common earth.

We shall have hope, not ecstatic, but growing into assurance. And in such a life, most tenderly, most purely dawns the peace which passeth understanding.

 – The Rev. Stopford Brooke
“Spiritual Exhaustion,”
a sermon in The Spirit of the Christian Life, London, 1881.

Righteousness by faith speaks like this:
“You need not say in your heart
‘Who could go up to Heaven to bring Christ down to us,
or who could descend into the depths to bring him up from the dead?’
No, the word is very near you, on your own lips and in your own heart!”

Romans 10: 6-8
The New Testament in Modern English
Revised Student Edition
Translated by J. B. Phillips, 1972

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SUPREME BLESSEDNESS

Posted on June 18, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

There is no inner life that is not also an outer life

There is an outer way and an inner way and both are one.

He who asks, with the ground swell of his whole inner being, for the things which minister to life and feed its deepest roots, will get what he asks for.

Religion can no more be cut apart from the intellectual currents, or from the moral undertakings, or from the social tasks of an age, than any other form of life can be isolated from its native environment. But at the same time the only possible way to realize a kingdom of God in this world, or in any other world, is to begin by getting an inner spirit, the spirit of the Kingdom…

(In the Beatitudes), in a few lines, loaded with insight, the seed-spirit of the Kingdom comes full into sight. We are given no new code, no new set of rules, no legal system at all. It is the proclamation of a new spirit, a new way of living, a new type of person. … this spirit would produce not only a new inner world, but a new outer world as well.

The beatitude [blessedness] lies not in attainment, not in the arrival at a goal, but in the way, in the spirit, in the search, in the march.

 – excerpts from Rufus Jones, The Inner Life, 1922.

When Jesus saw the vast crowds he went up the hill-side and after he had sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began his teaching by saying to them,

How happy are those who know their need for God,
for the kingdom of Heaven [the kingdom within] is theirs!

How happy are those who know what sorrow means,
for they will be given courage and comfort!

Happy are those who claim nothing,
for the whole earth will belong to them!

Happy are those who are hungry and thirsty for true goodness,
for they will be fully satisfied! [“Seek and you will find.”]

Happy are the merciful,
for they will have mercy shown to them!

Happy are the utterly sincere,
for they will see God!

Happy are those who make peace,
for they will be known as sons of God!

Happy are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of goodness,
for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs!

And what happiness will be yours when people blame you and ill-treat you
and say all kinds of slanderous things against you for my sake!
Be glad then, yes, be tremendously glad–
for your reward in heaven is magnificent!

Matthew 5: 1 – 12a

The New Testament in Modern English,
Revised Student Edition
translated by J. B. Phillips, 1958.

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The GIFT

Posted on June 7, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

“Fear not, little flock,
it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
(Luke 12:32)

Fear is the great enemy of man. But fear is a mental attitude and as such can be converted into something else. Fear is the reverse mental attitude to faith …

Fear arises from that mental attitude which limits the possibility and the willingness of Spirit to give us the good we so greatly desire. There is nothing wrong in the desire for self-expression.

God is the giver and the sustainer of human life and expression. …

If it is God’s pleasure to give us the Kingdom
then it should be our privilege to accept the gift.

The Infinite will not be, or become, less than Itself. We are of Its nature. We did not make our own being. All we can do is to accept that the being which we are is some part of the Divine. To know this is to overcome fear.

Love alone can overcome fear because love surrenders itself to the object of adoration. The soul must make a complete surrender of itself to the Spirit. … The will of the Spirit is peace, clear thinking and happiness, It could have no other will.

– excerpts, Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind; A Philosophy, A Faith, A Way of Life
1938; edition of 1998.

 

There is no fear in love,
but perfect [complete] love casts out fear.

I John 4:18a

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DIVINE NATURE

Posted on May 30, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

Spiritual character building is from within outward. Spiritual character lives in man; it is what God has engraved on man’s soul, ready for development through man’s spiritual efforts.

Man builds spiritual character by consciously functioning in God-Mind, where, laying hold of spiritual ideas, through Christ he realizes the truth they contain; and as he thus weaves them into his soul consciousness they become a part of his very nature.
Our most effective prayers are those in which we rise above all consciousness of time and space. In this state of mind we automatically contact the Spirit of God. Indeed when we elevate our consciousness to that of Jesus Christ, the God presence becomes as meaningful to us as it was to Him. It is in this state of at-one-ment that we truly become aware of His sublimity and power.

Thus we must understand the nature of the God to whom we pray and awaken in ourselves that divine nature through which we effect our union with God.

God is power: man is powerful.
God is wisdom: man is wise.
God is substance: man is form and shape.
God is love: man is loving.
God is life: man is the living.
God is mind: man is the thinker.
God is truth: man is truthful.

To Jesus God-Mind was a treasure field within Him in which could be found the fulfillment of every need He could possibly have. The Spirit of God in Him was constantly working, yes, steadily and persistently working, to transmute every natural impulse of mind and soul into a spiritual realization of life.

– Charles and Cora Fillmore
excerpts from “The God to Whom We Pray”
Teach Us To Pray, 1941

Then Job answered the Lord and said:
“I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you.”

Job 42:1, 5

Paul:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
 that he might be repaid?”
For from him
and through him
and to him
are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:33 – 36

The Bible
English Standard Version
copyright 2001

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SANCTUARY

Posted on May 20, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

If men always maintained a sanctuary of the spirit in the inner life, it would not be necessary to seek “the silence” self-consciously. It is inner silence as a habit that is desirable.

The ideal is to penetrate beyond mere self-consciousness to the holy of holies, to uplift the soul in worship, breathe a silent prayer to the Father.

It is a law of the spiritual life that renewed consecration is the beginning of all fresh activity; and the silent communion at its best is consecration. … (it) is a glad moment of recreation on the part of the man who worships God “in spirit and in truth.” It is a rediscovery of the primal sources of the spiritual life on the part of those who no longer find values in external symbols. It is the natural act of the self-reliant soul, an expression of the freedom of true individuality; and hence valuable as a means to an end.

It is a revelation to many people who have sought to enter fully into the present to discover how largely their consciousness is ordinarily concerned with distant things. The attention is constantly turned here and there by thoughts that disturb one’s repose. The past is regarded with regret, the future with fear and suspicion. … The thought occurs that perhaps one ought to be elsewhere, instead of taking time for a quiet meditation.

Consequently, if you really wish to profit by a half-hour’s meditation make up your mind to put aside everything else. If duties occur to mind, decide when you will attend to them, and immediately dismiss them. When the past comes up laden with regret, leave it to bury its own dead. Tell the future that you will attend to it when it arrives. If part of your consciousness is flying north, part south and the rest up and down, call it in from all directions, as if you were drawing in an arm, gathering your forces unto yourself. … When the mind flies off again, bring it back. Yield yourself to the moment in full enjoyment. Disconnect from the rushing currents of modern thought … Do not simply banish all thoughts from your mind,, but whatever you think let your thoughts radiate, as it were, from the eternal present. Remember that you are a soul dwelling in eternity. Live in the thought of eternity for a while, and let the world of time rage on.

– Horatio W. Dresser, The Power of Silence, 1905.

Jesus said to him,
I AM the Way
and the Truth
and the Life

John 14:6a

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MOTHERS DAY, 2019

Posted on May 12, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

Proverbs 31:10-31
The Bible in Modern English; Section the Fourth
Translated by Ferrar Fenton
Fourth Edition, 1906

The Good Wife

(Translator’s Note – Every couplet of the following exquisitely beautiful poem begins in the original with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: the first with A [alef], the next with B [bet], and so forward to Th [tav] the final one. I am not able to reproduce this, but in all other respects my translation is word for word and line for line, as in the whole of Solomon’s writings, so as to preserve his literary form. – Ferrar Fenton)

Who ever finds a clever wife,
Her worth is more than pearls.
Her husband’s heart can trust on her,
And he wants no supply.
She gives him comfort in his grief,
While she remains alive.
She works up the wool and the flax,
And spins them with her own hands.
She, like the merchants with their ships,
Will bring home food from far.
Will rise at dawn to fix housework,
And give food to her girls.
She will survey and purchase a field;
Her profits plant the farm.
She girds her loins up with strength,
Invigorates her arms.
She tastes her trading brings her good,
So lights her lamp at night.
Her hands are to the shuttle stretched,
The spindle she can drive.
Her hands give out gifts to the poor,
Her fingers help their needs.
Her family fears not the snow;–
Her household double clothed.
She makes herself rugs for her beds;
Her robes are purple lawn [ fine linen or cotton ] ;
Her husband’s honoured in the Gates,
Sits down amongst the peers.
She makes and sells fine satin cloth,
And girdles to the trade.
In strength and honour she is clothed,
And at the future smiles.
Her mouth with wisdom is unclosed,
Kind law controls her tongue.
Her household’s conduct she controls,
And eats not idle bread.
Her children rise and call her blessed,
Her husband gives her praise;–
“Many wives have acted well,
But you surpass the whole.”

Conclusion
A form deceives, and beauty fades;–
A wife who fears the Lord is grand;
Give her the product of her hands;
Praise her works in the Gates.

When Jesus went into Peter’s house,
He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand and the fever left her;
and she got up and served Him.

Matthew 8:14-15
Amplified Bible
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation

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ETERNAL SPRINGS

Posted on April 28, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

We have seen life gathered up into one central grand meaning–that meaning is Christ. We feel that He represents Life and only as lesser life gets into contact with Him does it live. We offer Him to the inwardly disrupted as the One who can put them together and can keep them together. For it is no temporary Pollyanna healing which He offers–He offers what men need so desperately, namely, forgiveness, reconciliation, assurance–assurance that at the heart of things is a Heart, that God loves and cares and His love will not let us go. Moreover, He offers no spiritual coddling as the remedy, for He offers the Kingdom of God as the strenuous Cause for which a man may live, and if necessary, die.
The man now feels he is no longer orphaned, alone, estranged, he is related to Life and that Life is warm and tender and personal. When Jesus was hanging on His cross He did not say to John, “Now, please look after My mother.” He did not lay on him a duty. Rather He established a relationship: “Son, behold thy mother;” and as soon as John saw and felt that relationship the duty flowed from it naturally. If he was a son, then, of course, he would take care of his mother.

That incident lets us see the method of Jesus. He does not lay on us a set of rules and duties, rather He establishes a relationship–a relationship with God. He says to us, “Son, behold thy Father,”–He reveals God to us as a Father and man to himself as a son; and when once we grasp that central fact, then everything else flows from it, flows from it like a fountain from a hillside fed by eternal springs. Life now has infinite meanings, infinite goals, and infinite resources. And deepest of all, life has now an infinite fellowship, infinite and yet very personal, for it is all very personal in Christ.

He offers Himself as the object of our love because He first loved us and gave Himself for us. It is all very, very real.

 – E Stanley Jones, Is the Kingdom of God Realism, 1940

Jesus:
I came that they may have life,
and have it abundantly.
John 10:10b

God:
I will not leave you
nor ever forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5

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EASTER

Posted on April 21, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

Eternity is not too vast for a soul to grow in, if the soul wills to grow.

“If a man die, shall he live again?” Our heart as well as our head seeks an answer. Knowing that such a hope is reasonable is not enough; we wish to feel that it is true. Here again God meets us, not only with an outward promise, or through the voices of nature, but with an inward conviction born of acquaintance with himself. We hear the answer when we first find him, but it grows as we learn to know him better. This is the apostle’s assurance: “I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” “Learn of me,” said the Master, “and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Yes, in this experience we even cease questioning. We know him and we trust. On his love we rest. Why should we reckon with the grave? Our Father this side shall be our Father beyond. We are trusting him here; we can trust him there.

– Rufus Jones, The World Within, 1921

 Jesus said to her,
“I am the resurrection and the life.
The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

John 11:25-26.

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NEW BIRTH

Posted on April 12, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

To become actively responsive to the divine life, we must be strong in our hope, firm in faith, that we may be helped into a spiritual state, in which we are habitually in the affirmative.

It is the affirmative attitude which quickens us to gain spiritual wisdom. By wisdom in contrast with mere knowledge, we mean truth that has borne the test, knowledge we have dared to live by. It comes forth from our lips with the power of life behind it.

To cry out in our uncertainty, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief,” is to change from weakness to strength.

We often look with a feeling akin to envy on people who are cultivating their powers with no thought for the time being save for self-expression. … No energy is lost in self-disparagement. There is no effort to be self-sacrificing. There is expression, life, energy.

The newer theology expects everything of man (mankind), just because it is positive. We now see clearly that only so far as we come out of the strongholds of our self-righteousness and really live by the faith we profess, do we make any true headway. For no one died to save us from making this effort. There is no salvation through death alone. It is not a question of the sufferings upon the cross, or even of the resurrection; but of what followed through the triumphant life of the living Lord, whose second coming is through the inner Word. The union of the divine with the human was positive. It was a dynamic, life-giving unity. It meant a new centre of action in the spiritual life of the (human) race.

So, too, the new birth is a positive event in the life of the soul. It begins in all seriousness when we come out into the clear light of day, out of hypocrisy, and every device through which we pretend to be what we are not. Through the new birth, man is made constant. The will and the understanding are brought into efficient unity. Love comes to its own as the greatest power. To love in fullness or consistency means to set ourselves in motion to achieve what we love, namely, to attain truth, to work for it; to serve our fellow men, to show by our conduct that we really love the Lord. In short, the new birth comes, not to destroy, but to fulfill; and to fulfill is to attain the affirmative.

 – Horatio Dresser, Spiritual Health and Healing, 1922

The real Light was that which enlightens every man coming into the world.
John 1:9

So out of His fullness we were all supplied, with gift heaped upon gift.
John 1:16

(both quotations:)
The New Testament in Modern English, Fourth Edition, 1906
Translated by Ferrar Fenton

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PRICELESS POSSESSION

Posted on March 30, 2019 by thoughtsmjdisler

There are many believers in the inward light as the direct witness of the Spirit, the true reason for worship. Every earnest Christian has some experience of inward piety akin to divine love. We all believe that “the pure in heart” shall see God. But there is a further step … This step is into knowledge of the Inward Presence as power. It shows one how to enter into quickening Life through vivid realization of the love and the wisdom that are ours. It shows the way to a dynamic experience passing beyond mere meditation or worship.

… our inner world is a meeting-point between the spirit and a higher activity which can be utilized when there is need.

The priceless possession is intimacy of relation through spiritual experience in which the Inward Presence becomes an immediate source of guidance and power.

It becomes possible when we take seriously the idea that man is spirit and is recipient of Life ready to make him in fulness a child of God in image and likeness.

This inward quest might lead to self-centeredness if it were not for the experienced contrast between the inner mind and the outer. To enter more deeply into one’s mere self is not to find the inner mind at all. The priceless possession is awareness of the Inward Presence by being in the sanctuary of the Spirit where a higher light is shining. The kingdom is “at hand,” it is “within,” it comes “without observation,” bearing its own evidences, summoning man to seek it first and last. The particular self making the quest is secondary. The essential is the great gift made to the self seeking the Presence in all sincerity and devotion.

There is only friendliness and peace, with a Life ever present that is working for health and freedom. Even the world seems to have faded for the moment. To have the world given back is to have it bestowed as God’s world.

 – Horatio W. Dresser, Ph.D.
excerpts from Spiritual Health and Healing, 1922

…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness
and peace
and joy
in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17
The Bible, New King James Version

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