Our Heart Direction, Men and Women

 

Addendum-  Celtic Christians and loads more great books https://kathiewaltersministry.com/

Mother Basilea Schlink searches for the Key

from chapter 2  http://www.canaaninthedesert.com/books/my_all_for_him.pdf


For a long time I could not find the key, the answer to my question‘ What is true discipleship? What does Jesus want? On the one hand, He calls us to an uncompromising discipleship: to give up everything, to lose our lives. He calls us to leave father and mother. on the other hand, we are to honour father and mother. '

The Bible also says that the whole creation is the work

of God’s hands. Since human intelligence and skills are part of

that whole creation, should not those aspects of human civili-

zation and culture that are “true. noble, right, pure, lovely, and

honorable” (Philippians 4:8 TIN) be held in high esteem? But if

we give up everything and live a life of uncompromising disci-

pleship, we become ascetic escapists, rejecting everything God

has given. Surely that cannot be right. So what is the answer?

Many voices reached my ears. Leaders from a variety of

Christian traditions tried to convince me that theirs was the only

way.

 One view was that, as the body of Christ, we should dissociate

ourselves from our contemporaries, virtually leaving the perishing

to perish. In addition, we were not to concern ourselves with events

of national significance. Discouraged from exploring the worlds of

art, music, and literature, we were not even to enjoy nature. We were

to live in one realm only-the Word of God and the fellowship of

believers.

For a while I went along with this, but the reality proved dis-

appointing. Those who subscribed to this view tended to be Joyless

and lacking in thanksgiving for the heavenly Father’s good gifts.

Gratitude for the revelation of His awesome greatness in nature was

somehow missing. Furthermore, I often found such people narrow-

minded and rigid, lacking love for others. At the same time they

were very self-righteous, convinced that they had a monopoly of the truth.

Then I heard a very different view, and this, too, I explored.

Here were people who were more open, loving, natural, and

relaxed. I discovered more of the love and warmth of Jesus in their

lives and personalities than I had found in the others. 'These peo-

ple did not insist that they alone were the Body of Christ. Actu-

ally, they did not speak very much at all about their conversion

and seemed to be quite at home in the world. Yet this very point

made me uneasy Often they had so conformed to the world

that they appeared to have lost sight of Scripture’s warnings:

“Do not love the world” (1 John 2:15); “Do not be conformed to

this world” (Romans 12:2); “Do not be mismated with unbeliev-

ers” (2 Corinthians 6214). They seemed to have forgotten that the

Bible calls us as Christians to follow Jesus and go the way of the cross,

dying to self and doing without.

Still I wondered, What did God want? What was His way? At

all costs I wanted to walk In the way of the Lord After following

first the one path for several years and then the other, I still did

not feel that I had found His way. But eventually He did answer

my plea to lead me “in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”

(Psalm 23:3) that one dayI might reach the goal of heavenly glory.

First, though, He had to show me the truth about myself before

He could show me the right way. He had to bring me to the point

of spiritual bankruptcy so that I would weep over my sin and see

myself for the sinner I was. It was at a time when I had difliculty

in getting on with someone who made life extremely hard for me.

Resentful and bitter, I could see no way out We seemed to be

hopelessly at odds. I knew this was not right Yet I was helpless in

the situation, unable to resolve it, not knowing how to overcome.

Then the Lord showed me that I was to blame. Had I been

loving and merciful towards this woman, she would have been

won over. The Lord convicted me of my sin, giving me tears

of repentance. And this experience drove me into the arms of

Jesus, because Jesus and the penitent sinner belong together. Iesus

began to reveal Himself to me in His love. It was no longer a mat-

ter of any particular teaching-Jesus Himself was the answer. My

intellectual questions began to fade into the background All I

wanted was to love Him who had forgiven my sins, redeemed me

and loved me so dearly. He was now the great love of my life.

To me He had become the “fat rest of the sons of men” (Psalm

45:2). The Jewel of my heart, the joy of all joys, He was dearer to

me than anyone or anything else. With Paul Gerhardt, I could

raise my voice in song:
God is the greatest, the dearest and noblest,

Faithful and worthy, unchanging and true,

Best of all treasures, delight of my heart.

He is indeed the dearest of all-He of whom the psalmist

writes, “You give them drink from your river of delights” (Psalm

36:8 NIV). Having drunk from this river, I came to love Him more

and more.

My love for Him helped me find the answer to my ques-

tions. I had found the key-love for Jesus, first love, bridal love.

Love became my teacher. I saw that following Jesus had nothing

to do with asceticism; I saw that it did not mean renouncing and

forsaking the things of this world just for the sake of it. Suddenly

I was struck by the significance of the phrase used by Jesus when

calling someone to uncompromising discipleship: “for My sake”-

“for My name’s sake.” In other words, we are called to tread this

path of uncompromising discipleship out of love for Him. Walk-

ing in His steps, we draw very near to the One we love. And this

is what true bridal love is all about: being as close as possible to

the beloved.

Having shown me that uncompromising discipleship is a

free-will decision springing from love, He further revealed that

love is the key to Christian freedom. Being the very essence of

love, would Jesus not have relaxed at times with His disciples,

enjoying God’s good gifts? And did He not draw their attention

to the beauty of nature-"Consider the lilies of the field... even

Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”

(Matthew 6:28-29)? 80 I, too, was able to enjoy nature-not apart

from Him, but with Him, being joined to Him in love.

Now the gifts of the Creator were no longer remote from

me, nor were they to be avoided lest they divert me from true dis-

cipleship. Rather, they were tokens of the Father’s love. I could en-

joy them in the right spirit because they Inspired me with thanks-

giving and an even greater love for God. I could take pleasure in

the beauty of art and music, for instance, seeing the glory of God

reflected in them. I was no longer in danger of getting into bond-

age or being sidetracked from my commitment to Jesus. I could

make use of the things of the world insofar as they deepened my

love and commitment to Jesus, inspired me with thanksgiving to

the Father, or increased the effectiveness of my ministry.

Now everything took on a different appearance. Previously,

when I had been trying to lead an ascetic life, I scarcely dared to

travel, but now I felt free to do so. Now the motivation was dif-

ferent. In later years, in order to give the Creator glory, I made

“praise trips” to scenic spots where praise plaques with a Scrip-

ture or song verse would be set up as a pointer to God, inspiring

others to offer Him love, praise, and thanksgiving. Similarly, I was

blessed when I saw pictures of the marvels of creation or pictures

of the beautiful locations in various countries where God had

met with me in a special way. Previously, too, I scarcely dared to

admire religious art But now, when I saw pictures of Jesus, I was

filled with greater love and thanksgiving. And all this, in turn,

had an impact on my ministry, enabling me to glorify Him more.

No longer did I feel cut off from my fellow countrymen,

aware only of belonging to the Body of Christ. Now that I

shared in the concerns of God’s fatherly heart, I loved my peo-

ple and all other peoples, because each originates in the Crea-

tor’s heart, reflecting something of His love and glory. Now I
felt pain when my nation turned from God and rejected His

commandments, knowing how this grieved the Father’s heart.

According to Scripture, although Israel had a special place

in God’s heart, He was concerned at the prospect of having to

destroy pagan Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). And in the light of impend-

ing judgment, I came to feel deep concern for my people.

All my questions had been answered. More than that, now

I was free. In the past I had feared being trapped either in a life

that was too narrow and legalistic or in a life that too readily con-

formed to the world, neither of which seemed to be true disciple-

ship. Now I had entered the freedom of a child of God, because

love bound me to Him completely. Now I belonged unreserved-

ly to the One who is the centre of the universe and from whom

comes all that is good and noble on earth. In the fellowship of

His love I could share in everything that is His-the earth and

the whole universe. Though broadened, my love always remained

firmly anchored in Him, the focal point of the universe.

Just as I had been unhappy and torn with inner conflict be-

fore I found this answer, so I was happy and at peace afterward.

Joy had come into my life, because I had found the One who loves

me and whom I was privileged to love above all else, with all my

strength and being. And for many years now I have gone through

life with Jesus as the Bridegroom of my soul. I could never find

enough ways to tell Jesus how much I love Him and to praise Him

in song as the loveliest and purest of all, majestic and noble, the

joy of my heart, the One who brings true fulfilment to my life.

Jun 05, 2012Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved the emphasis in this book on simply learning to love Christ our Bridegroom. I was encouraged, challenged, and moved by the many beautiful portraits painted, the prayers and hymns and the heartfelt love of the Father expressed by Mother Basilea in the pages of this book.

Program for Men

http://www.kanaan.org/en/generation-hope/sommerprogramm-maenner/
Young men in discussion

Men working together in the garden

men eating together
ENQUIRY
Time

… alone with God
… together with like minded men
… to examine your life
… to make changes

For many years young men have benefited much from a stay on Kanaan. Life in our KanaanTeam offered them distance from the distractions of the world. In time alone with God, in fellowship with other men, in discussions about our daily Bible readings or the challenges facing young men today, they came to see their relationship to God in a new way. In confidential counseling and under prayer a break was made with the past and a fresh start could be made.

Young men who want to learn to live their lives according to God’s will and live responsibly in his presence are invited to come and spend time with us. We challenge them to examine their past and establish new goals. Mutter Basilea’s vision for Kanaan was, that Jesus command, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37), would become the guiding light in our lives. We want to help you see how that can happen in your life.

In August and September we spend time teaching about the basics of christian life and our community. The rest of the year allows for more personal prayer time for those who would like to live and work with us for a while. This can be from a few weeks to a year. One critical requirement is the ability to understand and speak English well.

Chris Welch was in a young people's Summer Jugend event in 1974 with Bruder Sylvestro while Basilea was away praying against Chairman Mao who had assembled his troops along the edges of China ready to swoop onto Europe. She returned charged in the Holy Spirit and gave two of her most blistering hot talksSeeking the Face of God like Jacob at Peniel   and
Go the Way of the Lamb it is a Way of Great Power

These messages contained the UNION WORD seed that was later confirmed through R.Edward Miller, and Norman P Grubb  and became the foundation of this wider third level message for individuals and whole churches which is the whole basis of this blog.  (Third level or third stage of growth in 1 John2)

Read more..............
Basilea Schlink could never have known some of the effects of her life

Mother Basilea Schlink crumples....

A fictional account of a true person by Chris Welch

Mother Basilea Schlink  founded the Sisters of Mary, which was  a Lutheran ,(and therefore very rare,) order of nuns, in Darmstadt,Germany. She herself died in 2001.
One of a handful of top shelf Christian authors she used to take people right through in God, and in her book Realities she showed the outstanding transformations in the visages of many in the community.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Basilea was astounded by the beauty and light, and fulness of joy of everyone in heaven. Everything was massive and so awe-inspiring, she like everyone else who arrived ,had an angel assigned to her to show her round. "What do you want to see?" the angel asked. "I want to see the courts of the Lord,"she said. "I'll take you through".

The courts of the Lord were so stunning and huge, and so filled with people of all tribes and tongues,Basilea thought that all the people who ever lived must be gathered there.

"Oh no," smiled the angel. " At all times people are all over heaven, and only a small part are gathered here."

"You know I used to talk about these places in my books, and in my talks to the sisters and visitors."
"I know," said the angel. " This is just the outer courts. Would you wish to go to the inner courts?"

"I would so love to see them. All my life i tried to imagine what they would be like. Take me."

The angel held Basilea as they appeared to half walk, half fly, across the amazing expanse of the outer court across to two tall and glistening doors. The doors seemed to open, but unlike the mechanisms on earth, the doors themselves seemed to have their own life and will, and be only too pleased to open themselves for whoever stood before them.

Basilea expected the light inside to be dimmer than outside, but in fact the opposite was true. The inside even appeared to be brighter. They both entered.

Then she had a further shock. A shock that affected her to the depths of her soul.
"Oh!" she exclaimed.
The angel watched her attentively and with caring and penetrating eyes.
The courts outside were brimful of all manner of people. Some rushing, some standing, some together, some alone gazing....but so many many people.

"I wrote so much about this," she faltered, "But there is nearly nobody here."
"I wrote how it was so easy to enter here because the Lord Jesus Christ opened all parts of heaven. I was expecting so many to be here." She paused, as she looked from right to left.
"I gave my life to telling people that not only could they enter heaven, but that they could live and breathe Jesus, they could go right to His side, share everything with Him. The Holy Spirit shared so much with me in my heart about this, beginning in the dark days when the Nazis ruled Germany. So many of my early choices were so hard to make humanly because I knew , again humanly, that I was closing all the doors to recognition in Universities, and even in many churches themselves. But each time the Holy Spirit would come with His powerful comfort right inside my breast and give me such unutterable reassurance that not only was I called to share the gospel, but that I was called to show people how they could eneter into the heart of God...."

"And.....there's ...there's hardly a soul here in this great expanse that looks toward the Great Throne of God."

She became very silent. And it was so hard for her.
It seemed that all she had ever tried to accomplish in her life had meant nothing. Had been futile. That the Holy Spirit had perhaps abandoned her in her task.
Here in heaven , where she had read that tears would be wiped away,  her eyes were beginning to well up. Not just for herself. Or her lost efforts. But because her one desire had been that everybody she met would know how wonderful Jesus was. That everybody, anybody could have a close relationship with Jesus and His Father by the Holy Spirit. She couldn't really look at the angel.
She was confused. So many thoughts.

The angel had observed her throughout.
"Basilea".
"Basilea".
She managed to turn and look into the face of the angel.
He looked a bit sad because she was sad.
" Come " he said firmly.



What Basilea had thought was an open glass palisade that looked upwards towards the great throne of Light actually had two more huge doors in.
"There's a good reason why there appears to be hardly anybody in here." said the angel, and as they approached the great doors, these two swung open, but somehow more magnificently.

Slowly Basilea became aware of many things. Too many things. Such a number of things, on earth they now called it a download, a mighty inrush into all her senses of things that she had never known nor could ever have known. But it all began to happen at once.

Firstly, the doors , although appearing to be totally transparent, couldn't have been. The effect had been caused by another extreme change in the level of Light. In the other room she hadn't been able to see what she now saw......

People. People. So many people. Angels. Beings beyond description. The unborn babies that had ever lived.
But all  were radiant with  brilliant brilliant internal Light.

Although  surroundimg the huge throne of God, suddenly they were all silent, and turned. Everyone fixed their eyes on the new entrants as if they had waited an age for this precise moment.

Basilea felt the force of the uplift of heaven, at the same time as the power of revelation  weighed down on her frame. She felt surging Life, but so weak at the same time. Her whole being was in overload.

The angel rushed forward and grabbed her in the same way he had had to grab so many before. This space was filled with an expectant hush,  but Basilea could sense that nearly everyone wanted to approach her, but none moved. The Spirit of the Lord simultaneously bade everyone not move for this moment belonged to the Greatest Lover.

Jesus, almost unnoticed, stepped forward swiftly from between the throngs of heaven.He stood before her fixing her directly with His eyes. Now she really did crumple.
" Basilea" He said slowly, quietly but very deliberately.
"The reason the first part of the inner courts is nearly empty...and the Throne Room is so full... is...
entirely BECAUSE OF YOU
and many throughout millennia like you."
"You ARE the reason."
His eyes were full of tears.
"You are a most precious  sister son of God."

"I....I don't understand. In the glory of heaven's Light I can see my teaching wasn't all right. It wasn't sufficient."
Jesus didn't say anything for a while, until this convulsive laughter beginning on His insides exploded suddenly.
"Basilea, you are so funny. You Germanic peoples. You always think perfect means having perfect logical thoughts. Knowing all truth. That's not even in the running! When I say perfect I mean you loved Me perfectly, as best you knew how. Through Hitler's Germany. Through all the troubles of the sisters as you established the community. Through all the mocking of nations as they saw you making a stand. Through all your own feelings of weakness and temperament. Many, so many are here in this very place because of you."
"How could so many have read or heard of me."
"Only a few read your books, but they in turn became Living Letters and thousands and millions READ THEM, READ THEIR LIVES as Living Letters."
" But not all my doctrine was correct?"
"Basilea....Basilea....that's not the infection they caught off you from Me.
It was....it was...."
Jesus wept openly and held her hands.
" It was.....FIRST LOVE....FOR ME."
"You see....it is a small thing for Me to correct how a person thinks if only that Person has Firstlove for Me. Truly, your book "Those Who Love Him" changed the Earth. He who has love for Me obeys Me. John 7.17 said " 'If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. ' That person will just know the doctrine about Me".
He added,"The Father and I commanded that people love us with all their being and others with the same love.....but people only CAUGHT the reality through you...and others."
Jesus continued " I give nations for that love."
"I don't know how.... I wasn't conscious....I never saw anything much...."

"Basilea. That's the point. You never knew. You never really knew what you were doing, what was really flowing out of you from the Father. Countless numbers fell in love with Me because of you, because of what they caught through you."

Jesus suddenly turned. Basilea was utterly speechless.
Jesus waved at all the multitude who had been trying to contain themselves all this time.
There was an explosion in heaven. Of praise to the Father for lives such as Basilea. They jumped. Some flew. Some grasped each other and hugged. But the noise and the joy and the thundering praise at the great story of God
from Noah, and Abraham's time,
through every story of every person  who just loved God with all his or her being...
and on earth the phrase would be
the joint was rocking
shaking
buzzing
with electricity
with glory in full force
thrusting many to the floor.

And this was how it often was in heaven as the sheer weight of glory IN INDIVIDUALS was felt in its raw
HOME ENVIRONMENT OF HEAVEN
where the INNER
IS THE OUTER.

Selah.

The Last

Continuing from the video.....

^{Romans 10:16} But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”^{[h] 17} Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.”^[i]

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”^[j]

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”^[k]

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”^[l]
 Ole,so I had a bit more yesterday.Romans clearly says that we get to make the Jews jealous...but that only happens by "a nation bearing the fruit thereof". The Kingdom is given to such a people. A people who are making things work big time because the've got the keys as consciousness...and not as theory. Yesterday's key was that the Eternal Now is not related to time...so when you had Abraham Isaac and Jacob one

·

• 
  

  Chris Welch After the other, all head over heels in love with God...the purposes of God moved forward very quickly in relative terms. The huge lulls...are waiting for people to connect with God as firstlove again. Firstlove is the only thing that actually pulls fresh stuff out of the God cupboard. Just loving the Lord a little bit..produces "sons of the prophets" who while they may not go backwards...they do not push the boundaries forward in their generation. Between Malachi and Jesus 400 years, nothing really happened!!!!
  

  about an hour ago · · 1
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  Ole Henrik Skjelstad I like this: "..the keys as consciousness...". That's being taken from theory to knowing, and consciousness is knowing and this knowing has to be personal, and it seems to be that it comes by tribulation, suffering and adversity through which the inner light is switched on, as it were.
  

  about an hour ago ·
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  Chris Welch So God time on earth is entirely related to relationship...or more than that...to fusion!!
  

  about an hour ago · · 1
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  Chris Welch People pray and wail, O God when is the time for Norway or England....the time is always NOW...but God requires a bunch of priests who "shoulder that Ark" forward...and don't just behave in separation by putting the Ark of the Lord on a new cart and hope for the best...as David did until he learned better.
  

  about an hour ago ·
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  Chris Welch The next key is this....everytime, the Jews or the Church say no to God....in the Spirit it works like a very polite English man saying " After You" at a doorway. Except God isn't English and takes no pleasure in the heart that shrinks back. However as far as church in its outer form goes we have come to the end of the road, and as the church seem to have said no to fusion and union, God is now throwing the whole party open to any non believers who want the John 4 message of " they who will worship me won't go here and there to church...but will worship me (nonstop) in spirit and truth. So the church has said "After you" to the world...and the world is saying now...in their desperate need ...well gee thanks...don't mind if I do!!!!
  

  about an hour ago ·
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  Chris Welch And it is THOSE who will bear the fruit of the Kingdom...and begin the reverse cycle as first the church get jealous, then the Jews will get jealous of the church....so it really will be...the first shall be last and the last first.... It's God's Jacob...Esau way of doing things....the least deserving becomes the head of the show!!! Remember apart from Mary, Jesus mother...it was Mary the prostitute or one who had 7 demons...who was the only one to be the FIRST to welcome Jesus back from the grave. Where were the disciples? The last shall be first!!!!

So Amersham,it's1973,how about some Kingdom?

Graham Pulkingham behind the lady in white. Max Dyer Cello. Tim? far left. Martha Keys who wrote "Seeds of Peace" behind Graham slightly right. People laugh now, those that can remember "If I were a Butterfly," or "Let us give thanks thatour names are written." or

Tim's song "Behold how good and pleasant it is from ps 133"....and I get confused because I wrote a song for this psalm too about the same time. It wasn't the songs.....that's not the point. It was the effusion of the love and Presence of God that then was expressed in the whole life. Later they produced a book that was called "Celebrate the whole of it".

Bible house attempted to catch this kind of life here in Emsworth, but the inner reality that comes from "seeds falling into the Earth and dying, to be raised as fruiting plants"....only comes from the "reckoning stage" of Romans 6 and 7. Emsworth went a good deal alongthis roadhowever, and some of the late 70s early 80s meetings were extraordinary.

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It was Wednesday night in 1973 in the Christian Centre in Amersham on the hill outside London,just behind what is now a Talkback office which produces much TV watched here and Stateside. Graham Pulkingham had not long arrived with the Fisherfolk from Houston and been invited specially to speak. At 14 I was overawed.In the course of one year I'd seen Arthur Blessitt in Trafalgar Square where 20,000 had broken bread together courtesy of Hovis,Jean Darnall,Sergei Kourdakov fresh from a Russian Gulag....and now ,such a key figure in the charismatic renewal: Graham Pulkingham.We were Old Town Baptist Church and I could see him working very hard to choose his sentences. Its hard enough sharing what John's epistle calls Father level stuff with peers,but being asked to share what they were up to in language and concepts that us "children in the faith" (some as old as 70 were in that category,died in the wool country Baptists....spit through the grate types....in USA they'd be on a porch with a rifle) anyhow,that we would understand. This is what he had to face.
1.He was American.
This is a barrier. We Brits just couldn't and still many can't get why no small number of religious folk would want not to conform,up sticks and go to another country. Why is it important to have a conversion experience anyway? Freedom of worship? Now these pioneering people,having battled across wide open spaces and multiplied and established themselves, come back here where we've sat on our religious asses for centuries in Catholicism and Anglicanism, and the Americans ooze this largesse of expectation and general vision.Rather than come to any conclusion like perhaps Anglicanism isn't actually much of a Christian belief....we just assume it's something in the air mix in the States or something.
2 Well here, we were Baptists who at least preached regeneration and baptism, so as well as the basic diffidence to Yanks, this one of all things was an Anglican in all but name.Graham was Episcopalean.
3.He was darned intelligent.University trained.And yet a Pentecostal...how could that be?
4. Graham had been utterly broken by his own inabilities in the downtown Houston area.While bricks were often thrown through stained glass windows,for more or less 3 months he had sobbed in the crypt. Baptists don't do this kind of failure.I mean c'mon is this some kind of head case come to speak tonight? 1st and 2ndlevellers don't do brokenness on this scale.They have no concept of the depth of excavation by the Holy Spirit.So at best they wouldroll their eyes discreetly, thank God that this way they don't go, and muster up some attempt at giving the man a hearing.
6.If that wasn't bad enough Graham then says he has died with Christ and the life he now lives,he lives by the faith of the Son of God. That his life is now hidden/interleaved with Christ in God. The baptists didn't like where this was heading.Actually they didn't like where they had got to even,let alone where it was heading.
7 The seventh offense which stopped him being invited back was this. He said that we,us,were none other than the Body of Christ here on Earth. Many people demanded scriptures that Graham could support that. (He had a slightly furrowed brow here.Perhaps it was a more normal concept in Episcopalean Churches) Seems crazy to us now eh? Just 2-3 years later were the Lakes and Dales Bible weeks which were ALL about us being the BODY OF CHRIST on Earth.
8. But why do you all have to live together,asked one.Why community living? Again Graham was measured.That's possibly the wrong question.You see when the Holy Spirit fell ,we...er...fell in love with each other.We didn't want to be apart.
Sounds very selfish to me, all this love business.Sounds immoral. "Well,its not immoral, and we live within normal boundaries of respect one for the other,and each other's family units.Its just we love to love the Lord together."
9. Ahh yes.Meetings.I hope you have regular meetings?It sounds a rum do. "Well ofcourse we do have more formal meetings,"said Graham "and outsiders come too, or we travel to minister where people invite us. But a lot of the time,someone will pick up a guitar and sing and we'll join in. Others will share what Jesus has been speaking to them.Sometimes, if appropriate Ill share something."
"Errrm.It just seems too free and easy,like you've got no framework."
"Oh yes, we have a very firm framework indeed. It's our love and commitment to each other",said Graham.But already he knew what he'd known on entering the building....the futility of sharing the Kingdom with people who have no sense nor particular desire for Kingdom in their heart.
10."So you sing songs together then all of you?" "That's one of the things we do.And when we do many times we'll sense the Lord's Presence in incredible ways....so sometimes we may be silent before Him for an hour or more." "What? All of you? Why doesn't someone fill the time with something profitably? Say something.Study something?"
"At those times,when the Lord is present in that holy silence,it just is not appropriate."
"Oh Baptists are not like that!We'd never waste time like that." I could see Graham using all his wisdom to say nothing, though he was probably thinking something like...."No , I wasn't like that either before the Holy Spirit became real in my life".
11."Do you allow others to minister?"
"I am an ordained priest....but when anyone has something to share,sure they may share,and soon everyone's particular giftings are recognized by all"
"So you don't all take exams then?" The evening was getting tougher.One person's idea of the meaning of ministry was definitely not the other's. Graham said gently "A ministry is there to equip others so that all do ministry. It's the Body that is the ministry." Most of those asking questions had eyes that had glazed over completely. What a bizarre fellow this was? Baptists,even renewed Baptists knew their place in the world.They had regular meetings.Properly planned,set meetings with printed sermon agendas. They didn't live together. They didn't have any need to. Baptists had backbone,to face the world alone. Not for Baptists this soppy American sentimentalist tripe. We didn't mind stirring praise or a measured amount of quiet worship songs,even the odd gift of the Spirit at appropriate times with appropriate content, but the Pastor was the Pastor,and the elders and deacons were the elders and deacons, and that was how the Baptist Pyramid was, and listening to this man....well....episcopalean or no episcopalean, his ideas ,should they be tolerated,could break down all structure.So,no, Pulkingham must never be invited back.

Darin Hufford and Paul Anderson Walsh,Steve McVey and Frank Viola would have got on with Graham.

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Or was this only a glimpse into the future, a first fruit thing, which is actally the meaning of Pentecost. Reading between the lines of the gospel, we see a firstfruit thing among the disciples, who moved in power but , boy, all sorts of things were coming up in their lives. certainly those three years of training were incredibly intense and full-on, to get them to what would be "their Tabernacles" as forerunners, and everyone else's Feast of Pentecost see Acts 2 , the birth of the church. here is a later , very subdued glimpse of the community, followed by quite a negative report of the sorts of things happening behind the scenes.

While You're Waiting by Brian Coatney

 from  Brian's blog

Posted on November 17, 2010 by briancoatney

photo by Tandy of Diane Gillooly with delicious rolls to serve
Tandy took this photo of Diane with the rolls Diane baked in her kitchen for Thanksgiving dinner she hosted several years ago. Diane is Sylvia and Scott Pearce’s daughter, and Diane keeps serving others all the time, non stop. We love her enduring spirit of faith, and the photo fits with a Gospel lesson.

I like to keep a Gospel going at all times in my reading. The past couple of days, I’ve found Matthew 24-25 intriguing in that this section of scripture reminds me of a sandwich. Jesus tells of future apocalyptic events with powerful description of the heavens’ violent shaking, and then later mentions His glorious coming with attending hosts to sit on His throne. In between comes an interlude similar in reckless tone to the times of Noah, a time of living as if things will always continue as they have, with feasting, marriage, work, etc.

This interlude is the middle of the sandwich, and Jesus tells three parables. The first is about the servant whose master delays returning from a journey, and so the servant, responsible for the well being of the estate personnel, begins to abuse them and to consort with the inebriated crowd. The lesson here is that the servant was only conditioned to be for others if supervised to do so; he did not know the spirit of his master.

The second parable is about the ten virgins, and who can find fault with five virgins? Yet the parable does, because they didn’t know the bridegroom well enough to know his ways and that he rarely does things on the timing that we prefer. This is a familiar script to anyone who’s ever believed God for anything: expect to wait and toss your time tables in the trash – maybe more than once.

God, however, is always a God of supply, even in the direst times, but not necessarily in external ways. An external remedy of supply would have meant the bridegroom’s arrival according to the schedule of a lamp filled with oil once. An internal remedy of supply means a mentality of enough oil to last around the clock. Without that mentality, one thinks, “I’ll not bother beyond a certain time.” Faith, however, says, “I believe for oil to get all the way through no matter what!”

The third parable is the parable of the talents, and the point is intolerance of waste. All of life is directional; we move forward or we move backwards. Things tend to reproduction or they tend to atrophy. Ultimate atrophy means giving up and dying. Life is energy and expansion, not corruption and death. Some say, “Woo hoo, here’s my chance”; other say, “I’ll never get anything out of this for just myself, so forget it.”

Life is “like vine, like branch: like master, like servant.” So when Jesus returns, he says to the faithful one in waiting, “I couldn’t have done better Myself.” The one in waiting says, “No Lord, you sure couldn’t have.”

Process Spirituality: Being Versus Doing- By: Kenneth Boa

Justin Patton on Facebook kindly passed this on.
My whole blog is about the secret behind this entire article. In a way, this article is skirting around the issue from the outside, rather than picking it up by the teeth and getting involved with the meat. But MANY MANY of the issues listed here will be confronted on a daily basis as soon as you take this on board:
Namely, there actually is no "independent" you trying to get on well with God...be it by being contemplative, or by too much busyness. The only reason for slowing down is to catch hold of this awkward fact, that we really don't want to know. No I mean, REALLY don't want to know. It is at our core. And we love being gods. And we don't want any blog disturbing that notion thanks!

Genesis 3 was an exercise in lying from the start of the devil's speech to the end.But by far the biggest was that we could somehow "do" something to make us like gods and from there we would rule our own lives. We would work out how to live. Underneath that hand motion that Adam made was a "spirit" swap. He was powered by God's life, and now...in that little independent action that Adam made, and was told specifically not to make, he now became empowered, driven,powered by a false spirit masquerading through his soul and body as him.But it was the spirit of death, that when it had come to fruition brought the condition of death into the whole of mankind.

When we asked Jesus into our heart. That's where He came in. To the core of our being. Our spirit became born again. The previous spirit of error was completely ousted. We are not some of one spirit and some of God's Spirit. That is spiritual schizophrenia. But in practice, every time the devil can get us to forget who we now are, we slip back into independent thinking, and by default fall back into our previous way of operating temporarily. I say temporarily, because WE ARE NOT HAPPY THERE. With Christ at our centre now, how are we going to be happy remaining in sin, though temporarily enticed? So the battle begins. To us it looks like a battle with specific behaviours. From a Spirit point of view, it is a battle with one FALSE BEHAVIOUR.
Wrong believing. Did God say?
Yes He did say. He said you died with Christ. It is now nolonger you who live but Christ in you.In your soul with its quirky originality, and in your body, fat,thin or middling.
St Paul said mature people are those that are trained in exercising discernment as to their senses, according to righteousness.

The below article is the sort of thing we encounter as we discover this life of God has a different way of operating. It's not the same type of life with a different label on it. It is totally different.

When we buy a new car, we have to spend a time getting used to its feel. After a while it becomes second nature to us (Hmmmmm....where did that phrase 2nd nature come from?Interesting)..
The scriptures say we put on Christ. Now if we just had that scripture we could be forgiven for behaving as an "independant being" putting on an external Christ. But sorry...you can't get away with that....I just spotted you.....
No, putting on Christ is something like the external bits....aligning them to our new internal reality. But it's a belief - powered thing....not a rule book. How do I know that? Well not only because this stuff works..But that's no good for you. You need a scripture.John 6:28-29
Jesus said...in reply to What must I be doing to do the works of God?
This is the work of God, that ye may believe in him whom He did send.'

What is this believing? This ordinary looking man in front of them, was actually God the Father in His form. That He was in God and that God was in Him. The first of a new line - in the likeness of the first line of Adam- yet born of God, direct!!! And this is what we believe about ourselves. Not in the unique manifestation that was the 2nd Person of the Trinity begotten as a man. But yes, our lives are now hidden/wrapped up(think drizzled chocolate in layers in a Viennetta) in Christ in God, Col3:3and the lives we live in the flesh, we live BY THE FAITH OF CHRIST Gal 2:20. And this fact leads to.............


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Being Versus Doing by Kenneth Boa
This is taken from this very useful site
Perhaps the greatest threat to applying these truths about process spirituality is the busyness that stems from the way we define ourselves in terms of achievements and accomplishments. We live in a future-oriented culture that relates time largely to efficiency and productivity. We are more inclined than ever to use time to accomplish results than to enhance relationships.

The Problem of BusynessThe civil religion of America worships the god of progress and inspires us to compete, achieve, and win for the sake of competing, achieving, and winning. Life for many people in
the business world has been colorfully described as a matter of “blowing & going, plotting & planning, ducking & diving, running & gunning, slamming & jamming, moving & shaking, shucking & jiving.”

Longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote, “We are warned not to waste time, but we are brought up to waste our lives.” This is evident in the tragedy of many people who in the first half of their lives spend their health looking for wealth, and in the last half spend their wealth looking for health.

My associate Len Sykes relates the problem of busyness to five areas:

In our home. We miss out on relational opportunities when we are dominated by excessive activities. Consider taking an inventory of activities like television, children’s lessons and sports, meetings, time on the computer, etc., and see how some of these can and should be pared down. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 exhorts parents to know and love God and to teach their children about Him “when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” God intended the home to be a sanctuary for spiritual and personal development in a relational setting of love and acceptance. This requires an ongoing process involving both formal and spontaneous times together.

In our work. The mistake of looking to work rather than God for security and significance coupled with the pressured quest for more of this world’s goods—these are forces that drive us to the idolatry of materialism and busyness. If we don’t have enough time to cultivate a quality relationship with God, our spouse, and our children, we are working too long and too hard. As Gordon Dahl put it, “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship.”

In our recreation. Hard-charging approaches to recreation and vacations can devitalize us and keep us from enjoying personal and relational renewal. The Sabbath principle of restoration through “being-time” provides a balanced rhythm of work and rest.

In our church work/ministry. This can become another arena of busyness and frustration, especially when we take on activities and responsibilities in order to please people and meet their expectations. Not every need and request is a calling from God.


In our walk with God. Excessive activity draws us away from the time it takes to cultivate intimacy with God. We are often inclined to define our relationship with God in terms of doing things for Him rather than spending time with Him.

Here are just a few suggestions that will enhance the daily process of living before the Lord:

Like Jesus, you must develop a clear sense of your mission so that you can invest your time with God’s calling in mind. You should also develop an understanding of your limits so that you will budget time with the Father for restoring your inner resources. There are many good things you could do, but the good can become the enemy of the best.
Free yourself from bondage to the opinions, agendas, and expectations of others. Learn to say no to invitations and requests that may flatter you but could drain your time and energy.
Seek a balance between rest and work, recharging and discharging, depth and breadth, inward and outward, reflection and practice, thinking and application, contentment and accomplishment.
Ask yourself how much is enough. Unbridled wants kill contentment and drive us to greater busyness.
Resist the temptation to allow work to invade rest.
Look for ways to reduce your commitments so that you will not do a shoddy job on numerous tasks instead of an excellent job on a few. There is a tension between the desires to please God and to pursue success, and we will be tempted to resolve this tension by putting a spiritual veneer over the quest for success. It is better to pursue excellence in what we do for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) rather than success to receive honor from people.
Realize that rest requires faith, because it seems non-productive from the world’s point of view. Since you cannot measure the “product” of time spent in developing your relationships with God and people, it takes a risk to invest a significant amount of time in these ways.
Budget time in advance for the important things that could get swept away in the daily grind. If you do not learn to make the urgent things flow around the important, the important will be overwhelmed by the urgent.
Be aware of the human tendency to avoid an honest examination of ourselves in the presence of God. Many people seek diversions, distractions, and busyness to elude this encounter.
Try to live from moment to moment and hold a looser grip on your long-term plans. “Our great business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand” (Thomas Carlyle).
Be aware of the distinction between chronos (chronological, everyday events) and kairos (special opportunities and occurrences). Seek to be available to make the most of the opportunities or kairos moments God providentially gives you (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5), since the most significant thing you do in the course of a day may not be in your daily calendar. Be ready “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2) to redeem the special moments God sends your way. Seek to manage time loosely enough to enhance relationships rather than tightly to accomplish results.
“Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt any situation you believe to be the will of God” (Jim Elliott).
Causes Versus Christ
All of us have a built-in hunger for security, significance, and satisfaction, but our world teaches us to pursue these things in the wrong places. It should come as no surprise, then, that the dreams and goals promoted by the culture have also infected our whole approach to the spiritual life. There are Christian books, seminars, and churches that have baptized the media agenda of self-orientation, success, and ambition with a spiritual veneer. Many believers are encouraged to set their heart on goals that actually distance them from Christ. By contrast, Scripture teaches that our meaning is not found in a quest for self, but in a calling to know God.

Intimacy Versus Activity
Any dead fish can float downstream—to swim against the current of our times, we must be spiritually alive. As the New Testament portrays it, real life in Christ is countercultural. The world defines who we are by what we do, but the Word centers on who we are in Christ and tells us to express that new identity in what we do. Being and doing are clearly interrelated, but the biblical order is critical: what we do should flow out of who we are, not the other way around. Otherwise, our worth and identity are determined by achievements and accomplishments, and when we stop performing, we cease to be valuable. When people answer the question “Who are you?” by what they do, the world has a way of responding, “So what have you done lately?”

In Christ we have a secure and stable basis for worth and dignity, because these are founded on what God Himself has done for us and in us. Having been re-created and incorporated into the glorified life of the ascended Christ, God has penetrated to the very roots of our being and given us a new nature. Thus, being should have priority over doing, but it should also be expressed in doing. This balanced interplay would be lost if we disconnected the two. My friend Skip Kazmarek warns against this disjunction and illustrates this concern with a cartoon that shows a man laying on a couch, with a “Gangster Psychologist” (according to the diploma on the wall) sitting next to him. The psychologist says, “Well, just because you rob, murder, and rape doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.” We are not disjointed, disconnected, severed entities. Mind, body, and spirit exist in an integrated whole. How we act affects how we think, and how we think affects our relationship with God. There is a very dangerous construct that we sometimes serve up in which we can think of ourselves as “being” one way, while we continue to “do” exactly the opposite.

Thus, external action should be derived from internal reality, and this requires a rhythm of solitude and engagement, restoration and application, intimacy with Christ and activity in the world. The life of Jesus illustrates this pattern of seeking significant amount of time to be alone with the Father (Luke 5:16; Mark 1:35; 6:31) so that He would have the inner power and poise to deal with the outward pressures imposed upon Him by His friends and enemies. People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in a stress-filled world. It is during the quiet times of the devotional life that we gain the perspective and power we need to live with character and composure in the context of daily demands. “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).

BeingDoing

Intimacy with ChristActivity in the World

SolitudeEngagement

AbidingServing

InteriorExterior

Relational callingDominion calling

CallingCharacter

InvisibleVisible

Real LifeReflected Life

Restoration of Spiritual EnergyApplication of Spiritual Energy

Perspective Practice

RestWork



In this chart, the real life of the red should energize the reflected life of the black. The problem is that people typically approach the spiritual life in terms of the black, supposing that their actions and service will lead to intimacy in their relationship with God. While the greatest commandment exhorts us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), we tend to reverse the order, thinking we can go from the outside-in rather than the inside-out. Instead of ministry flowing out of our relationship with God, many people suppose, in effect, that ministry will determine their relationship with God.

The perennial problems of perfectionism and legalism stem from this vision of the spiritual life as a series of duties and tasks to be accomplished. Legalism is a spiritual disease that has afflicted the church since its inception. I cannot recall having met a legalistic Christian who is characterized by deep joy. This is because legalists attempt to achieve, through their own efforts, an externally imposed standard of performance in the hope that this will somehow earn them merit in the sight of God and others. This produces insecurity, frustration, denial, and failure for several reasons:

The Scriptures tell us that there is nothing we can do to earn favor before God, since all of our own efforts fall short of His character and righteousness (Romans 3:23; Titus 3:5-7).

Just as none of our actions will make God love us more, it is equally true that there is nothing we can think, say, or do that will make God love us less than He does (Romans 5:6-10).

Spiritual growth is accomplished by Christ’s life in us, not by our own attempts to create life. Our responsibility is to walk in the power of the Spirit and not in dependence on the flesh (Galatians 2:20; 5:16-25).

The focus of the Christian life should not be deeds and actions, but a relationship; it is not centered on a product, but on a Person. It is a matter of abiding in Christ Jesus (John 15:1-10) rather than fulfilling a set of religious formulae.

The New Testament teaches that allegiance to Christ has displaced devotion to a code (Romans 7:3-4), but there is a human tendency to avoid God through religious substitutes. Many miss the point that while intimacy with Christ leads to holiness, attempts to be holy do not necessarily lead to intimacy. Sanctification is not generated by moral behavior but by the grace of a relationship with Christ. If we miss this, we will be driven to causes rather than called to Christ, and activity will take precedence over intimacy. People who are driven eventually burn out. “If I am devoted to the cause of humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door-mat.” (Oswald Chambers).

Joshua and JoashThe lives of Joshua and Joash poignantly illustrate the contrast between being called and being driven. Four scenes from the life of Joshua capture the heart of this faithful man. In the first scene, Joshua is present with Moses at the tent of meeting. When Moses entered this tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses (Exodus 33:7-10). The key to the life of Joshua is revealed in Exodus 33:11: “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.” Joshua remained in the tent of meeting because he had a passion to know and be with God. This personal knowledge of God served him well in the second scene when he and Caleb were two of the twelve spies who were sent from Kadesh to view the land of Canaan (Numbers 13-14). Although all twelve spies saw the same things, ten of them interpreted what they saw from a human perspective and were overwhelmed by the size and number of the people. Only Joshua and Caleb saw the opposition through a divine perspective, and they encouraged the people to trust in the Lord: “Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them” (Numbers 14:9). Tragically, the people believed the fearful conclusions of the majority of the spies, and the Israelites were consigned to wander in the wilderness, literally killing time for 38 years until the generation of the exodus perished in the wilderness.

In the third scene, the Lord prepares Joshua to lead the generation of the conquest into the land of Canaan. In Joshua 1:1-9, the Lord encourages him to be a courageous and obedient man of the Word who meditates on it day and night. Because he knew and loved God and renewed his mind with the book of God’s law, Joshua finished well. In the fourth scene, Joshua is nearing the end of his earthly sojourn when he gathers and exhorts the people of Israel to serve the Lord only and to put away all forms of idolatry. He concludes his exhortation with this famous stance: “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). As Bob Warren puts it, “Because [Joshua] spent more time being a friend to God than a friend to others he avoided the pitfall of becoming enslaved to unproductive activity. But because he understood the necessity of intimacy over activity, his activity was energized beyond anything he could have imagined.”

By contrast, King Joash (2 Chronicles 22:10-24:27) was a man who appeared to start well but finished poorly. He was the only one of the royal offspring of the house of Judah who escaped Athaliah’s murderous plot to take the throne for herself. After Joash was protected and raised in the temple by Jehoiada the priest, Athaliah was put to death and the seven-year-old Joash became Judah’s king. “Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (24:2), and he championed the project of restoring the temple in Jerusalem. But when Jehoiada died, Joash listened to foolish counsel, abandoned the house of the Lord, and gave himself over to idolatry. He even murdered Jehoiada’s son when he rebuked him for forsaking the Lord.

Joash was involved with “religious” activities (the temple restoration project), but he never developed a relationship with the God of Jehoiada. He was driven by causes, but avoided the more fundamental calling to know the Lord. Because the “godly activity” of his younger years was never energized by intimacy with the Lord, he failed miserably in the end.

It is easy to become more concerned with good causes than with knowing Christ. As Oswald Chambers notes, “Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. . . . The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him. . . . We count as service what we do in the way of Christian work; Jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him. . . . The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God, not a call to do something for Him.” Our primary purpose is not to do something for Christ, but to know Him; our activities and abilities are useless for the kingdom unless He energizes them, and this will not happen if they take precedence over intimacy with Him. We become weary and exhausted when we attempt more public ministry than we can cover in private growth.

Even worthy causes—raising godly children, building a company for Christ, knowing the Scriptures, leading people to the Lord, discipleship ministry—will not sustain us if we are not cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus. Many believers fall into the trap of striving for goals that are inferior to their purpose of knowing and enjoying God. When this happens, we attempt to do God’s work in our own power and get on the treadmill of outward activities without an interior life.

It is crucial for us to form the habit of holy leisure, of quiet places and times alone with the Lord, so that we will restore our passion and intimacy with Christ. In this way, service will flow out of our life with Him and our activities and abilities will be animated by dependence upon His indwelling power. This restoration and renewal is especially important after periods of intense activity. When we seek and treasure God’s intentions and calling, our personal knowledge of Him (knowing) shapes our character (being) and conduct (doing). Although we are more inclined to follow Jesus into service than into solitude, it is really the time we spend in “secluded places” with Him (Mark 1:35; 6:31) that will energize our outward service.

Practicing His Presence
Our times of solitude with Jesus should not be limited to secluded places—we can choose to enjoy solitude with Him even in the midst of the outward activities of everyday living. Private prayer consists of mental prayer (meditation and contemplation; discussed in devotional spirituality), colloquy (conversational prayer with God; discussed in disciplined spirituality), and the prayer of recollection (practicing the presence of God). This recollection of God can be habitual or actual. Habitual recollection is analogous to a man’s or a woman’s love for a spouse or children, and does not require an ongoing consciousness. Just as we can form a habitual identity as being a husband, a wife, or a parent, so we can ask for the grace to form a habitual state of mind as a follower of Jesus Christ. Actual recollection involves the developing habit of turning to God at regular times throughout the course of the day. This is more along the lines of what Brother Lawrence, Frank Laubach, and Thomas Kelly pursued in their quest for a more conscious awareness of God in the routines of everyday life.

Note the process imagery in Scripture that stresses an ongoing awareness of the presence of Christ: abide in Jesus and let His words abide in you (John 15:4-7); set your mind on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6); walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25); keep seeking the things above where Christ is (Colossians 3:1-2); rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18); run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). The spiritual life is not a measurable product, but a dynamic process.

Here are some suggestions for practicing the presence of Jesus:

Send up “flash prayers” at various times during the day. These are very brief prayers or mental notes that acknowledge God’s presence or lift up others. They can be offered when waking, sitting down for a meal, walking, driving, waiting, listening, and so forth.
Try using the same short prayer throughout the course of a day, such as the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or another brief prayer (e.g., “I love You, Lord”; “I thank You in all things”; “By Your grace, Lord”; “Thank You, Jesus”).
Pray and work (ora et labora). Do your work with a listening ear that is cocked to the voice of God. When you combine prayer and action, even trivial tasks can be spiritualized through a divine orientation. Invite the Lord to animate your work so that the ordinary is translated into the eternal.
Play to an Audience of One; live coram deo (before the heart of God). Seek obscurity and anonymity rather than public accolades so that you will desire to please God rather than impress people.
Ask Jesus to energize your activities and cultivate an attitude of dependence on Him, even in areas where you have knowledge and skill.
Monitor your temptations as they arise (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life) and turn these moments into opportunities to turn your eyes to Jesus. We do not overcome sin by trying to avoid it, but by focusing on Jesus.
Experiment with prayer. For instance, try praying for strangers you see while you are walking or waiting or driving. Ask the Lord to direct your prayers and listen for His promptings and impressions. Reach beyond your own concerns and become a channel of God’s grace and mercy to others.
Develop an eye that looks for God’s beauty and handiwork in nature when you are walking and driving: plants, flowers, birds, trees, the wind, clouds, the color of the sky, and so forth. Learn to savor the wonders of the created order, since they point beyond themselves to the presence and awesome mind of the Creator.
Turn the other pleasures of this life (times with close friends, enjoyment of great music and food, etc.) into sources of adoration for the One who made these things possible. Cultivate a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life and the tender mercies of God that are often overlooked.
Ask for the grace to see every person you meet and every circumstance you face today as a gift of God. Whether these experiences are bitter or sweet, acknowledge them as coming from His hand for a purpose. Look for the sacred in all things, and notice the unlovely and those who are usually overlooked. Remember that the EGRs (extra grace required) in our lives are there for a purpose.
Since we tend to live ahead of ourselves by dwelling in the future, try occasional time-stopping exercises by standing in and relishing the present moment. Realize that Jesus is with you and in you at this very moment and thank Him for never leaving or forsaking you even in the smallest of things (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).
Intimacy and activity, solitude and engagement, interior and exterior, calling and character, rest and work—both sides of each of these spectra are important. A balanced life of being and doing will nourish both restoration and application. End of article.
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Tweaks to this article
By the time we are rearranging the furniture of our insides with the above practices......it is almost too late. This is why the first commandment was given

1. Love God
2. with all your heart
3. then your soul
4. then your mind
5. then your strength

So realigning lines two ,three, and four is pointless if line one isn't in operation. Line one isn't loving God alongside all the other things we love, spouse,family,possessions , activities.
Love God is a whole different quality of love. It's not even a human first love as say for a spouse.
Often the old style of church leader will be jumping up and down in his/her pulpit trying to get people to love God first. But it is a received love. It is a fire love. It is a holy love. It jumps off every page of Mother Basilea Schlink's book "Those who love Him"
We have inside us a fire -love/ God containing box. No human even fits there. If we allow a human or humans to occupy a position of love...it isn't there... it's in our affections, in our emotions. The phrase "godly affections" of the former divines is not just a nice phrase. It's a drive that comes from a totally unique place.
Get that right, and a lot else falls into place.
I mean think of Cain and Abel. If Cain was reading the above article, working through it step by step....d'you think things would have been that different?
Somewhere in the depths of Abel was a love working that motivated his
choice of job
choice of activity for every single day of his life
he chose to be a shepherd, and then from that
he chose his best and fattest sheep that he had individually reared and cared for and sacrificed those. Cane's offering was detached. Was a bit on the side. Was like a "religious activity". It did not represent the central core of his life.
So, if God hasn't been my first love does that mean that I've permanently blown things....I might as well give up? No , "first love" is a timeless place in the heart of God.
It is NEVER too late to step into it. It is a place outside of all previous choices. The fact that you are even reading this means this is for you to know.
It's like all the best fairy tales you ever knew....but hey hey....it's for real. You CAN pinch yourself and you won't wake up.
This "first love" relationship , this fire-love thing between you and God, this consuming fire that sorts you out from the inside out,
is the place where like Rahab, you suddenly see God step into your "prostitute" life with a purpose and a plan, steps of obedience you risk your life for....
then you turn round and see God has only written your name into the central plan of Christ's lineage in the earth! And what about your former life? Haha...it's all gone up in smoke....and never referred to again. As though you never spent each of your days in this role.