04.14.07
Posted in Spiritual Formation at 9:55 pm by Bily Xiao
Today I begin what I hope to be a lifelong joy and practice of Sabbath keeping.
A day of rest… Around the end of last summer I pondered how we strive to keep the Ten Commandments, but so blatantly shrug off this one. At the start of last term (2B) I actually decided I’d do do it and was fairly excited about that. The term started off terribly with my horrendous last minute scramble to do my work report in the first week. I figured second week things were still easy so I took it easy, indeed. Third week rolled around and I was absorbed in drama practices for CCF Lifesong. I hadn’t taken a single day of wholesome Sabbath rest. After these initial three weeks my sabbath-keeping commitment had been lost under the un-ending and insurmountable mound of schoolwork.
Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
09.16.05
Posted in Quote, Spiritual Formation at 9:56 am by PlayerWon
Commit the will to God, and immediately you will find Him near. Not because He has moved any closer, for He has always been at hand, but because you have finally allowed yourself to be near.
Sometimes we feel that God is distant. I myself have felt this way for quite awhile now.
We may feel God has left us to fend for ourselves. In a way He has, but He has not forsaken us. God appears to leave us sometimes so we can grow. Parents cannot always be at their children’s side if the children are to come into their own.
We may feel, furthermore, distant at some spiritual level. Not only does God seem to ignore our prayers but I no longer “feel His presence”. However, God allows us to lose the sensations of spiritual high because He wants to give us a choice. We are not impelled to follow Christ by surging emotions, but in the quiet we must choose. “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they’re yours; if they don’t they never were.”
Sometimes we feel especially kindled with fervor. A Christian life is not led by such passionate impulses as that which constitutes emotions, but by love.
In seeking to be restored to the right place with God, do not try to climb back up to a spiritual high like you might have had when first you decided to commit yourself to Christ. Just commit yourself by your will. “Spiritual highs” come and go. They are not bad in themselves, but they are only a catalyst.
Feeling distant? Ceaselessly steel your very will to that of God’s, realize that you are near, and you are near. The entire Christian life — a life of Love — is a constant affair of the will.
Permalink
Powered by FireStats