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Back to Home Page Back to New Resources Page 3/29/2007 Greetings! Travel: I am flying to Calgary today, and then later traveling on to Vancouver, BC where I speak along with others at the ACTS Conference from April 5 to 8. ACTS is the Canadian version of what is known as GYC in the United States. I will be doing a vespers and speaking six times on practical Christianity. I would appreciate your prayers on behalf of all of us who traveling towards Vancouver, and for all who will attend and all who speak. These past few weeks I have been preparing for this conference, the conference with the students in New Zealand, meetings in Christchurch and Auckland, and for teaching one month at the Andrews Seminary on the topic of spiritual formation—practical Christianity down through the ages. The class will be particularly enjoyable since we will consider the way God worked through various people and compare that work to what we find in Scripture and in our own church—I get to talk about those old books I love so much! Path2Prayer.com I have also been adding resources and considerably reorganizing path2prayer.com. You will find a link in the menu for new resources. I am adding something virtually every day. There are three sections for quotations (prayer, devotions and victory, to which I add frequently), new menu titles that better conform to what people are actually searching for when they google (they query “fighting temptation” for example, but don’t seem to search for “victory and sanctification” for example), etc.. There are now internal links in the page on prayer for getting around faster, and all of the site will slowly be revamped for efficiency. In the future there will also be blogs in a couple of areas, as well as RSS feeds. It takes time, but it is well worth the effort. There is much there and I think you will be blessed. Keep encouraging me. Spiritual Thoughts: Needless to say, the great concern of my life, and I trust yours, is to daily surrender in such a way that the Holy Spirit can truly take over our lives in a great way. I love what Duncan Campbell said in this regard: “I would, however, point out that this life can only be entered through a full and uncalculated yielding of ourselves, without our yielding being hedged round by conditions. Is this the life you desire? If so, are you prepared to place every key in the hands of Christ? I know how possible it is to hand over every key but one, but it is that one held back which determines whether you accept the Lordship of Christ or not. Andrew Murray when addressing a meeting here in Scotland is reported to have said: "It is comparatively easy to win people to a cross, but to a cross that leaves them uncrucified." So I close by asking, are you conscious of failure? If so, will you come to the Saviour now and discover that He can make you again and organize glorious victory on the field of your defeat." Duncan Campbell
I can’t speak for you, but I trust you will join me in seeking this kind of experience. Granted the “dying to self” part isn’t easy, and I am learning that many understandings of the “higher life” doesn’t seem to include the need for a cross—in fact some of the things I am hearing these days are down right frightening. I may be an old fashion Christian, but I would rather follow Jesus’ down the narrow, but what I believe is His glorious, way, rather than the broad, seemingly successful, but ultimately failed way, that is touted so frequently today. The problem seems to be that we are willing to experience some “dying to self.” but don’t want to come to the point of being “dead” to self. The flesh does all it can to retain some life—not lose control—and therefore will suggest many many reasons why the narrow glorious way is too straight for the days we live in. In this regard, I think of Gerhard Tersteegen who said in one of his memorable poems: “We follow in His footsteps;
What if our feet be torn? Where He has marked the pathway, All hail the briar and thorn! Scarce seeing, scarce heard, unreckoned, Despised, defamed, unknown; Or heard but by our singing On, children! Ever on! I don’t have time to give you the entire poem at this moment but will try to post it. However, here is the first portion of a paragraph from his “True Godliness” which is posted at path2prayer.com “It is a very lamentable thing, that in these our last, dark, and corrupted times, godliness, piety, or the true service of God, and religion—for all these are one and the same thing—is become so rare, and so little known upon earth; nay, that even amongst Christians, or those whose profession or peculiar character it is—according to the Word of God—to let their godliness shine as lights in the eyes of all other nations upon earth—that amongst these, I say, true piety or godliness is so little known, that they universally manifest disgust at the very name of piety; or if they talk of godliness, they do not even know of what they are speaking; and where others form an idea of it, it is soon perceived, on close examination in the light of God, that their conceptions of it are far from being in accordance with the nature of the thing itself, and that not withstanding all the external appearance and form of godliness, its power is universally unknown, and is even rejected as mere imagination and error.” Gerhard Tersteegen, True Godliness
Paste the following in your browser to find the new resources page, where you will find a link to True Godliness: http://path2prayer.com/article.php?id=246&& There is also a new recipe listed there (polenta with sun-dried tomatoes) Thank you for you prayers and for letting others know about path2prayer.com. Please write if I can help in some way, and remain advised that the prayer request link remains very active. It would be great if you could list path2prayer.com on your web site. God bless you, Dan Top Home | New Resources | Prayer Request | Intercessory Prayer | Victory Overcoming Temptation | Practical Christianity | Revival | Christian Witnessing | Small Groups | Total Vegetarian Recipes | Path2Prayer Blog | Path2Prayer Seminars | Books, Links | Contact Me | Site Map |
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