Mountains and Valleys

After every time of exaltation we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are where it is neither beautiful nor poetic nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley; but it is in the valley we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mount, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the sphere of humiliation that we find our true worth in God. That is where our faithfulness is revealed....

When you were on the mount, you could believe anything, but what about the time you were up against the facts in the valley? You may be able to give a testimony to sanctification, but what about the thing that is a humiliation to you just now? The last time you were on the mount with God, you saw that all power in Heaven and in earth belonged to Jesus - will you be skeptical now in the valley of humiliation?

- Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest", October 2

The Relationship Between Prayer and Living

"There is a two way relationship between prayer and life. Prayer can be seen as the focusing and redirecting of an attitude to God and to our fellow [human beings] that runs through all that we do. On the other hand we can see our daily life as something which prayer purifies, directs and consecrates. This interrelationship of prayer and life was expressed by William Temple in his well known saying "It is not that conduct is the end of life and worship helps it but that worship is the end of life and conducts tests it." Temple is here using worship in a broad sense to include all of life. For in worship, as the derivation of the work from worth implies, we declare what we value most. If in prayer I declare that I value God above all things and in my life I show that my own selfish interests come first I am making a nonsense of my praying. We declare how we value God as much by our actions, by the way we treat other people, by the manner in which we do our work, as by anything we say. If my actions are wrong or wrongly motivated prayer cannot make them right. If however, despite my failures and inconsistencies, I do on the whole want to put God above all things then prayer will help to purify my motives and clarify my judgment."

- Christopher Bryant, "The River Within"

Rivers of Living Water

'A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received His fullness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth. We have nothing to do with the outflow - "This is the work that ye believe." God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is.

Think of the healing and far-flung rivers nursing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up marvelous truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is an indication of the wider power of the river He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has nourished you in mighty torrents of blessing for others.'

- Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest", September 6

It seems so much of my life I have been asking, "What legacy will I leave to future generations? What purpose does my life serve? How will I be remembered? Does my life really matter in the grand scheme of things?"

This comment gives me hope that, though I may never know it, I can (and will) make someone's life better simply by getting as close to God as possible. It also challenges me. For if I want to truly make a mark on this rock that will last, I must remember from where that change comes and must be open for that changing force in my life as well.

The joy of Jesus Christ

What was the joy that Jesus had? It is an insult to use the word happiness in connection with Jesus Christ. The joy of Jesus was the absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice of Himself to His Father, the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do...

The full flood of my life is not in bodily health, not in external happenings, not in seeing God's work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the communion with Him that Jesus Himself had.... All that God has done for us is the mere threshold. He wants to get us to the place where we will be His witness and proclaim who Jesus is.

Be rightly related to God, find your joy there, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. Be a center for Jesus Christ to pour living water through.... The life that is rightly related to God is as natural as breathing wherever it goes. The lives that have been of the most blessing to you are those who were unconscious of it.

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 31

Faith or common-sense?

"Every time you venture out in the life in faith, you will find something in your common-sense circumstances that flatly contradicts your faith. Common-sense is not faith and faith is not common-sense; they stand in relation to the natural and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common-sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture heroically on Jesus Christ's statements when the facts of your common-sense life shout - 'It's a lie?'...

Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams He will not stand by us."
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 29

What's the good of prayer?

"It is not so true that 'prayer changes things' as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has no constituted things that prayer on the basis of redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man's disposition."
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 28

C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity Book One, Chapters 1-3

Unfortunately, as we humans muddle through life and think we have a good plan worked out, God has a way of changing things mid-stream. Such a situation has obviously arisen for RC and myself too, to a smaller degree. Even so, this book deserves to be looked at and discussed in order that we may all get a better grasp of what Mr. Lewis describes as 'Mere Christianity'. RC, you will be in my prayers as you face whatever trials may be befalling you.

For those of you that would prefer, a downloadable audio version of this book, including the preface, is available at: http://www.apollos.ws/blog/mere-christianity-audio-book.html

Before I begin in earnest, I think it would be worth mentioning that Lewis doesn't use the word 'mere' as we usually intend it in modern language, meaning 'nothing more than' or 'only', but as the exact opposite, meaning 'nothing less than' or 'absolute'. So, in essence, Lewis is trying to describe for us what he sees as his absolute meaning of what it means to be a Christian. He is trying to describe what he calls 'the great hall' that all Christians start in before they find the rooms of their own faith and denominations. I found it very eloquent the way he describes us moving from room to room and waiting to find the right room for ourselves and his beseeching that we be charitable to those who have chosen another room than our own. So to those who have chosen a different room than my own, I thank you for coming to visit and to share what you have learned where you reside. And to those still searching, please come in and warm yourself and enjoy some conversation.

In Chapter One, Lewis lays the groundwork for his entire argument by introducing the law of Human Nature. He describes this 'law' as a standard of behavior that we all understand. He says this isn't a natural Law such as gravity because we can either choose to follow the rules of behavior or not. Natural Laws like gravity work on us even if we choose not to accept them. He goes on to say that this law is present in all of us regardless of our predisposition to follow them. He explains that even the person who does not act 'fairly' will try to justify why the law does not apply to his specific situation and he is, therefore, not required act accordingly - thus proving the standard exists. I thoroughly enjoyed how Lewis explained that even the man who says he does not believe in absolute right and wrong will change his tune when he feels he is the one being treated 'unfairly'.

Chapter Two covers some of the objections people might have to accepting this law of Human Nature. Lewis starts by making the distinction between instinct and Moral Law by making the argument that often Moral Law contradicts instinct or governs over two contradicting instincts - as when we place ourselves in danger to help someone else. He also shows the difference between social convention and Moral Law by making the argument that conventions may differ and change, but the Moral Law crosses social lines. He concludes by making the case for our evolving Code of Decency - saying that, yes, it has evolved, which goes to show our growth in knowledge as well as finding better ways to interact with one another.

Chapter Three opens with a profound statement: That we all know there is this Moral Law and that we all know we should be following it, but nevertheless we do not. Lewis makes the point that, though we know it is better for society as a whole to act in a just way with one another, none of us do so all the time. Some do so more than others, but we all fail to meet the standard we set for ourselves and our neighbors.

Since this blog was envisioned as a forum to study together and have discourse, please share your thoughts!