I have been reading a book written by Brother Lawrence's (a monk) and his friend Joseph de Beaufort about Brother Lawrence "the practice of the presence of God". The book has been around for around 300 years. It's been an amazing read so far- this little book has so many gems of truth in it. Here some of my favorite parts:
"Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, he added. All that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others." pg 18
"Whenever he considered doing some good deed, he always consulted God about it, saying "Lord, I will never be able to do that if You don't help me." Immediately he would be given more than enough strength.
When he sinned, he confessed it to God with these words "I can do nothing better without You. Please keep me from falling and correct the mistakes I make." After that he did not feel guilty about the sin." (conversations with Brother Lawrence, pg 11)
"But neither his awkwardness nor the errand in general caused him any distress. He simply told God it was His affair, after which he found that everything turned out nicely [speaking of his being lame in one leg and "clumsy"]. pg 12
For some years, Brother Lawrence had been quite disturbed because he wasn't certain he was saved. Even so, he maintained the attitude that he had become a christian because he loved the Lord, so he would CONTINUE to love Him, whether he was certain of his salvation of not. This way, he would at least have the earthly pleasure pf doing everything he could for the love of God. [Later this uncertainty left him].
Now here is a good quote for those of us out there who sometimes feel they are in a dry spell in our lives, maybe lasting longer than we wish for:
"We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. We should take advantage of those times to practice our determination and surrender to Him. This often brings us to a maturity further on in our walk with God." pg 9
"Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, he added. All that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others." pg 18
"Whenever he considered doing some good deed, he always consulted God about it, saying "Lord, I will never be able to do that if You don't help me." Immediately he would be given more than enough strength.
When he sinned, he confessed it to God with these words "I can do nothing better without You. Please keep me from falling and correct the mistakes I make." After that he did not feel guilty about the sin." (conversations with Brother Lawrence, pg 11)
"But neither his awkwardness nor the errand in general caused him any distress. He simply told God it was His affair, after which he found that everything turned out nicely [speaking of his being lame in one leg and "clumsy"]. pg 12
For some years, Brother Lawrence had been quite disturbed because he wasn't certain he was saved. Even so, he maintained the attitude that he had become a christian because he loved the Lord, so he would CONTINUE to love Him, whether he was certain of his salvation of not. This way, he would at least have the earthly pleasure pf doing everything he could for the love of God. [Later this uncertainty left him].
Now here is a good quote for those of us out there who sometimes feel they are in a dry spell in our lives, maybe lasting longer than we wish for:
"We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. We should take advantage of those times to practice our determination and surrender to Him. This often brings us to a maturity further on in our walk with God." pg 9
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