How To Know If God's the One Who's Speaking

Roger, you continue to be a blessing to me even after many years. Be blessed brother.

Jesus said his children would hear his voice and know his voice. But the problem with hearing God's voice is that we hear Him through the filter of our own minds. How much of what we think God says to us is His voice and how much is the voice of our own minds? Heaven forbid that we are listening to ourselves.

Dear B

I have printed below chapters 11 and 12 of my book, Got Guts! Get Godly! which may be obtained at amazon.com if you so desie. However, these two chapters deal with your question.

I hope this helps.
Love, Roger

Chapter 11



The Temple



Julie and I often pick a Bible subject to study when we have some time off. We were sitting in the car trapped in a construction zone in Pittsburgh and had yet to pick our study topic. Julie asked me, “Have you ever heard a sermon on the difference between the soul and the spirit?”

“No,” I replied. “The truth is that I have no idea what a soul is, much less a spirit. I’ve never heard any one preach or teach about it. I never saw a book on discerning or analyzing the spirit—or the soul. Let’s make that our study.”

At the book store I found a three volume work by Watchman Nee called, “The Spirit Man.” His book was a guide to understanding the spirit and the soul.39

We began with a Bible concordance and categorized all the verses containing the words, “body,” “soul,” “spirit,” and “heart,” We were utterly confused. We humbled our hearts and prayed, “God, there has to be something significant to this spirit and soul stuff. What is a spirit? What is man's soul? What is the difference between the Holy Spirit and our human spirit? How does the soul fit into all of this?” Grouped together, we began to notice certain patterns appear regarding the meaning and functions of each.

I need for you to bear with me in this chapter. It is a teaching chapter regarding essential foundations for building what makes a spiritual mother or father and for understanding the spiritual nature of mankind. It will not have as many illustration stories as usual.

The Greek words were intriguing. “Spirit” is the Greek word “pneuma” which means spirit, breath or wind. “Soul” is the Greek word “psyche” which is the root word for our word “psychology.” “Body” is the Greek word, “soma”. “Psychosomatic” is from the root words “psyche” and “soma “ and describes those whose minds tells them that something is wrong with their bodies when in fact there is not.



Dichotomy Or Trichotomy



Some argue that man only has two parts. This view describes man as a dichotomy. Julie and I found it hard to justify this theological position. Paul certainly believed that God designed man with three different and distinct parts: a spirit, a soul, and a body. This is called a “trichotomy”. Paul was concerned for the sanctification of all three parts: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body), be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

In addition the writer to the Hebrews not only identified all three parts but also revealed the power of the Word of God to make distinctions among the three. Understanding the divisions is critical for maturity and for helping us determine whether God, Ourselves, or Satan is speaking to us.



For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Soon we will see how the Word of God diving between soul and spirit enables us to discern and distinguish God’s voice from personal or Satanic counterfeits (Hebrews 4:12-13).



The term, “Word of God”, does not refer primarily to the Bible. More than likely the writer to the Hebrews is identifying Jesus as the “logos” (“Word”) Think of the Apostle John’s assertion in John 1:1-14 that Jesus is the “logos”, or the Greek philosophical term referring to the unrevealed wisdom of God. Jesus Christ sorts out what is going on in our spirits and souls. By the way, “joints and marrow” refers to the Greek words for bones and brain matter.

Obviously, the Bible is also the Word of God and comes into play in dividing among these three parts of mankind. As we mature we will discover how useful the Bible is in the dividing.

The word, “heart”, can be understood as either soul or spirit based on the context in which it’s used.

The creation story introduced the terms “spirit” and “soul”. Genesis 2:7 declared: "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and breathed (spirited) into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life and man became a living being (soul)." In simple terms, God fashioned a body out of clay and then breathed His Spirit into the body. Since the words “breath” and “spirit” are English translations of the same Hebrew word, one body plus one spirit equals a living soul. From this passage some teach that man is a two part being—a dichotomy. However, taking this concept a little farther indicates that there is more to man—a trichotomy.



When Breath Is Gone



Once upon a time people were assumed dead when they stopped breathing. But today, no one is really sure when the moment of death occurs. Some bodies are brain dead as measured by EEGs but still breathing. If there's no brain activity, we say they're dead even if they are still breathing.

Distinguishing between life and death were simpler in Biblical times. Moses used the same test I used when my daughter Jessie died. I put my cheek down to her little nostrils to see if I could feel any breath. There was none. I knew she was dead.

"Moses, how do you know when somebody is dead?"

Moses replies, "Is he breathing? If he's breathing, he's alive. If he's not breathing, he's dead." The Jews used the terms “breath,” “wind” and “spirit” interchangeably. As long as someone was breathing, there was a spirit inside. When the breath stopped, he or she was dead. The spirit had departed.

Through the years some Jewish cultures developed an idea that when the spirit left, it hovered around the body for three days before departing to the place of the dead. The TV series "Mash" (about a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital working just behind the front lines during the Korean Conflict) used this idea as the core for one particular episode. An American soldier died in the Mash unit as the doctors struggled to save his life. For three days his spirit hung around the unit. He could see and hear all the living people, but, none of the living could see or communicate him. Finally, after three days, in a strangely sobering scene, he unwillingly joined a long line of soldiers, American, Korean, Chinese, and Russian who were shuffling off together to the place of the dead.

This idea explains why Jesus waited around for four days after the call came that Lazarus was sick. He waited to dispel the notion that Lazarus’s spirit was anything less than long departed to the place of the dead. Then, and only then, was it time for this final resurrection sign before the crucifixion. After four days there was absolutely no doubt that Lazarus was totally dead.

According to Psalm 49, the reason that man is separate and distinct from all other animals is because he alone has an eternal spirit. Animals have bodies and souls. But man is different. He has a body, soul, and a spirit.

Oftentimes the Bible refers to men and women as living beings or souls. The term “soul” is used two ways. It is used in a restrictive sense as in body, soul and spirit. It is also used in a broader sense to refer to the whole being of a man or woman by gathering body, soul, and spirit into one unified entity. Peter describes eight souls being saved from the Flood in 1 Peter 3:20. The primary example occurs when God breathed (spirited) into Adam’s nostrils and he became a living soul.

Let’s develop a Biblical model to help us understand our inner spiritual workings. In Galatians 4:24, Paul used an allegory to teach spiritual truth about two mountains, Mount Sinai, and Mount Zion. He declared that Hagar was Mount Sinai who represented slavery to the Law. Sara was Mount Zion who represented the grace of freedom in Christ.



An Allegory



In First Corinthians 6:19 Paul used another allegory to help us better understand the inner spiritual workings of mankind: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you?" Paul never compared the body to a house of the Holy Spirit. Each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Temple had three parts. The outer courts surrounded the temple building itself. Inside, the Temple was divided into two main parts. The Holy Place occupied the front two-thirds of the building. Here the priests ministered daily in worship to God. The Holy of Holies, which made up the back third of the Temple, was behind the curtain separating the two sections. Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, with the mercy seat under the shadowing wings of two Cherubim. If we were to ask any Israelite in Biblical times, "Where does God live?" The answer was simple—and always the same: “He inhabits the universe and He manifests His presence on the mercy seat deep inside the Holy of Holies.”

Most any one could have access to the courts outside the Temple. Only some of the priests could come into the Holy Place. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement.

When Paul wrote that the human body is like the Temple he used an allegory to describe the internal nature of mankind. The following picture summarizes our entire beings. Use it as a reference as I describe each part.





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The outer courts correspond to the human body (“soma”) which is our organ for world consciousness. Our bodies are the outside part of us that utilizes the five senses to put us in touch with the world. We see each other, touch, feel, sense each other, and communicate with each other through our bodies.

The next deeper level is the soul (“psyche”). This part of the temple model corresponds to our “Holy Place” which is our organ for self consciousness. Our souls are the essence of who we are. This is the mind, “me,” my personality, my self. The Bible ascribes three functions to the soul. It is the source of our intellect, will, and emotions. By definition any Psychology textbook will describe intellect, will, and emotions as the definition of personhood.

The most inner part of our being is our human spirit (“pneuma”) which is our organ for God consciousness. When Christ enters our lives at the moment of salvation, He does not come to live in our souls. He comes to live in our inner-most human spirits. This is our “Holy of Holies.” A cursory study of the Bible verses on spirit reveals that the human spirit also has three main functions. It is the source of our intuition, conscience and communion with God.

In the days before Christ the Ten Commandments were placed in the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies. God revealed His will and intentions through the law. Today, God reveals His will and intentions in our own Holy of holies which is often manifests as godly intuition. We find an example of this in Mark 2:8: “Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit what they were thinking in their hearts.”

In the days before Christ God received man’s worship in the Holy of Holies on the mercy seat which was sprinkled with blood once a year by the High Priest to bring forgiveness of sin. At the moment of Christ’s resurrection the curtain between the Holies of Holies and the Holy Place was ripped in two from top to bottom. We now have full access into the throne room of God. We no longer need a priest to approach God for us. Our communion with God takes place in our inner most spirits—our Holy of Holies if you please. This activity is confirmed by Jesus in John 4:23-24: “Yet a time is coming and now has come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the father seeks. God is spirit and His worshippers must worship in spirit and truth.”

In the days before Christ the Ten Commandments inside the Ark in the Temple accused or excused the Israelites’ behaviors. Today our consciences guide our conduct based on what we have learned is right or wrong. Paul illuminated this aspect of the human spirit in Romans 9:1: “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying—my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit.”

The deeper one moved into the Temple, the fewer the people who were allowed there. Let’s follow Paul’s Temple allegory. The Outer Courts (body) was an open place. People could come and go as they pleased. In the same way, we communicate with others mostly through our bodies. We talk, smile and gesture in numerous ways to share our inner thoughts and feelings with others. The Holy Place (soul) was open only to a few priests at a time. In the same way, the only people who can gain access to our inner souls are the people we let in. With selected others we can communicate on a deeper level of soul to soul. The Holy of Holies was most inaccessible and secret. Only the high priest entered there and only once a year.

Our human spirit is one place deep within us where no one but God is allowed to enter. Just as the average person could not go from the outside courts into the Holy of Holies, and just as most of the priests could not go from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies, no one can enter into our inner-most spirit except God Himself. Here is where we meet with God, to listen to Him, to gain guidance and wisdom and forgiveness and where our communion and worship really occur.

By the way, according to this Biblical model of truth, Satan can never enter into our inner human spirits This is where we are indwelt by God. But, he can surely attack our souls and bodies. The struggle with Satan is always for control of the intellect, will and emotions.

Remember that models are not the real thing. Nor are they perfect in representing every detail. They simply allow us to get a handle on understanding rather complex truths. Other models help us to understand the nature of the God-designed structure of mankind. Think in terms of three concentric circles. The outside circle represents our bodies. The next inner circle represents our souls. Our souls are the essence of who we are. The inner most circle within the other two represents our human spirits. God usually moves from the inside out. Satan usually attacks from the outside in.





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Now think of another model utilizing three interconnecting circles. The top circle intersects partly with the middle circle. The middle circle intersects partly with both the top and bottom circles. The top circle is the human spirit. The interconnecting circle right below it is the soul. The bottom circle which interconnects with the soul represents the body. The intersection between spirit and body is the conscience which we will detail shortly.





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What happens in the soul is crucial because the soul is where we make choices. When we choose to follow the promptings and guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit we live as spiritual men and women. On the other hand, the soul, the seat of our personhood, can also choose to suppress our spirit and the Holy Spirit within and live on the basis of its own wants and desires. We are now operating no longer as spiritual but as what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 as “soul” (psyche) men and women who are without the spirit. It is possible to be indwelt by the Spirit of God and not live like it at all. It is only when the soul submits to the promptings of God that the spirit can lead as God designed.

Let’s imagine for a moment what living in the spirit or soul or body might look like. I struggle with the sin of gluttony. I know all about diets since I have tried them all. I know that weight is 70% genetic. I know that the number of amino acids, hormones, endocrine secretions, metabolism rates, thyroid problems, and neurotransmitters which combine to produce body size is complex. I know that there are enzymes at the top and bottom of our stomachs which tell us when we need to eat more and when to stop. I also know that for most of us, we choose how much to eat. I mean, after all, I have never eaten an accidental bite of food in my life. When food is so plentiful, smells so good, looks so inviting and my body is enticing me, I succumb too often. This is an example of living by the promptings of my body.

My colon disease was debilitating before an ileostomy operation brought things under control. The pain, bleeding, and gastritis were made life miserable. I had to resist focusing on my bodily problems to the exclusion of focusing my internal human spirit where God lives. A vast difference exists between focusing on the body and being miserable versus focusing on the spirit and watching God use the experience to make me more like Jesus.

“The Bible says that Christians are not to be unequally yoked to nonChristians,” I said to the young lady sitting before me. Her fiancé was not a Christian and she wanted to know if God would bless their marriage. I explained that God has a plan for life and marriage and some one who has not received Christ is working from a different set of marriage blueprints. God was not “spoiling her life” by denying her the opportunity to marry the man she loved. He was looking out for her long-term spiritual health and well being. But the promptings of her soul were too strong for her. Her intellect and emotions were more powerful that the leadership of the Spirit of God within her spirit. By an act of her will, she married him anyway. Two years later she was again in my office weeping as she detailed her recent divorce.

William Borden was heir to the Borden family fortune. Think Borden dairy products. Think rich! Shortly after being graduated from Yale University, he sensed the prompting of the Holy Spirit Deep in his inner spirit to give away his life advancing the Kingdom in China. When he made his decision many of his friends thought he was crazy: “Why are you going to throw your life away in some foreign country,” they asked, “when you can have such an enjoyable and worthwhile life here?” But, Borden was responding to the voice of God. While in Egypt, on the way to China, he became sick. Soon it was evident to everyone, including himself, that he would die. At this point he could have said, “What a waste. My friends were right. I should have stayed home.” But, he chose to respond otherwise. As he lay on his deathbed in Egypt, he scribbled a farewell note to his family and friends that became his epitaph: “No reserve, no retreat, and no regrets.” 40

So, Julie is communing with God quietly in prayer. She looks up at me and says, “Brie,” our daughter who lives 980 miles away, “is in trouble. Let’s pray for her. Moments later her husband calls. Brie was in the hospital struggling for her life. She had arrived by ambulance moments earlier. Julie was already packing for the flight to Dallas.

God originally designed Adam with all three parts in perfect balance. Think of Adam as being like a three story building. The lower floor was his body. The middle floor was his soul where he lived. The upper floor was his spirit where God lived. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:1-6) a spiritual bomb exploded inside Adam’s spirit and decimated the third floor. Cracks opened up down into the second and on down into the third. Adam was also going to die—both physically and spiritually.

The bomb of self-willed disobedience wrecked great havoc on Adam's entire being. Genesis 2:8-17 recorded God’s planting of two critical trees in the Garden of Eden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Genesis 2:16-17 God gave Adam specific instructions regarding the trees: “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the Garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die’”

Let's not miss spiritual principle. The Tree of Life represents life in the spirit. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents life lived out of the soul—which is the seat of the human intellect, will, and emotions.

The real issue in the Garden revolved around how Adam would live. They could to choose to live by the promptings of God in their inner human spirits; or, they could choose to live by their own self promptings in their souls. A careful examination of Genesis 3:1-6 reveals that the serpentine attack was aimed directly at Adam’s and Eve’s souls:



Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat of any tree in the garden.” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that's in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die” (Genesis 3:1-3).



Note the attack on Eve’s intellect. Satan did not accurately represent God’s instructions. Eve was vulnerable because she was unable to correctly repeat God's instructions. God said nothing about touching the fruit. The struggle between Satan and Eve was for her soul because her soul is where she will decide her future. Satan attacked in three areas. He confused her intellect, appealed to her emotions and then seduced her will.

No one knows the duration of her temptation experience. The struggle may have continued for years, for months, or perhaps for minutes. However, it continued long enough for Satan to get her confused and to entice her with the look and smell of the fruit. Then, Satan convinced her that she could by like God! She surrendered her will and ate the fruit.



“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and she ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 3:4-6).



Satan was unable to confuse Adam's intellect. Perhaps he confused Eve but not Adam because Adam heard God’s commands about the trees first hand. Eve’s information came second-hand as repeated to her by Adam. It may well be that Satan got to Adam's emotions through his emotional attachment for Eve. On the other hand, it may well be that Adam was caught up in the emotional moment of thinking what it would be like to be like God. He did not see that in his desire to be like God he was instead becoming like Satan. Subsequently, Adam surrendered his will, ate the forbidden fruit and the spiritual bomb exploded.

Satan’s goal is always to seize the will. Spiritual battles always occur in the mind or on the body. The battle for the mind is for control of the will. The personal dimension of the battle is, “Who will be in charge of my life: God, Satan, or Me?” By the way, technically, God will never take charge or control of our minds. He wants us free to choose His way by an act of our own free will. He will never coerce or manipulate us. On the other hand, Satan doesn’t hesitate to take control of anything in our lives that he can get his hands on: “… and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26).

As we move into the realm of spiritual young men and women we need to keep in mind the three classes of Christians: Jessie Penn Lewis in her book, “War On The Saints,” warns us to keep alert in order to avoid the sneaky deceptions of the Evil One—especially the moment that we decide to go on to maturity at any price.



Class One: Unsurrendered and Deceived Class

Class One describes Christians who have yet to surrender fully to Christ. For example, a Christian who fails to tithe is by definition Unsurrendered. He is deceived because he thinks that all things spiritual come from God.



Class Two: Surrendered and Deceived

Class Two describes Christians who are maturing into spiritual young women and men. They are surrendered but deceived, still thinking that all spiritual thing are from God.



Class Three: Surrendered and Undeceived

Class Three describes Christians who are fully surrendered and who understand that Satan is alive and well and not everything spiritual come from God.



The most dangerous moment in the life of a spiritual child may well be the moment that he or she decides to go on to maturity at any price—to move from Category One to Category Two. Guaranteed, Satan will offer a counterfeit at that moment. He offered one in the Garden; he will offer one to us.

“Do you want to be like Jesus?” Satan asks.

“Yes, that is the desire of my heart—the target of my maturity! I want to be like Jesus.”

Be careful. Sometimes we start out to look like Jesus and end up looking like Satan—think spiritual pride.

“Do you want to be like God?” he asked the first duo. Of course they did. “Here,” he said, “Eat the fruit and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” But, he omitted the part about becoming like Satan in rebellion and isolation.

Would you like to be a spiritual man or woman at any price? Then, beware, the battle is enjoined. Counterfeits are not all alike—because we are not all alike—but their purpose is the same. They are intended to seduce us into a kind of life that is not the Life at all.

The explosion during Adam’s and Eve’s head-long fall into sin distorted God’s balanced design horribly out of proportion. Let’s use our model of three interlocking circles to understand a simple schematic of fallen mankind.





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When they ate the forbidden fruit Adam’s and Eve’s intellects soared. They became quite intelligent. After all, they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When their knowledge increased, “they became like God, knowing good and evil.” Since the soul is our organ for knowledge or intellect, the comparative size of the human soul swelled into a dominate state never intended by God. The body shriveled and would die. The spirit shriveled and was “darkened.” It was no longer God-responsive. It was unable to hear the voice of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Fallen man’s human spirit is now dead toward God and toward godly spiritual things. Fallen mankind is far removed from the time when God said, “Let us make man in our image.”

Fortunately, God provided a plan through Jesus Christ, the Seed of woman, for rebuilding the human spirit so that mankind can once again commune with God and live forever. The process of salvation makes the spirit of man alive toward God and to spiritual things. The gospels make clear that Jesus suffered to redeem all three parts of mankind: ody, soul, and spirit.

Matthew 26:67 recorded sufferings of His body: “Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him…”

Matthew 26:38 documented suffering of His soul: “Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.’”

Finally, Matthew 27:46 detailed separation from His Father in His inner-spirit: “… Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’"

Since Christ died in body, soul, and spirit the door to cleansing and restoration swings wide open. The salvation experience continues with the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration. Regeneration (making something alive again) brings life to the spiritually dead human spirit and cleansing for the soul and body. Jesus explained to Nicodemus how the Holy Spirit gives birth to the human spirit.



In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:3-5).



Let’s use the three interlocking circle model to imagine how God intends for spiritual growth to progress.

In our early years we were fortunate if our parents were godly Christians deeply concerned with our spiritual development. If so, there is a good chance that our spiritual maturity proceeded hand-in-hand with our growing mental acuity. As they taught us to pray, exposed us to Christian fellowship, explained the Bible and took us to relevant, Holy Spirit-anointed churches they persistently enhanced our spiritual development. Notice in the diagram below how the soul and spirit mature at both a constant and balanced rate. Neither is dominating the other. Note how the body grows until the age of twenty or so and then hopefully maintains that same size (or close to it) during the following decades. We see here the development of a solidly growing spiritual man or woman.

Our interlocking-circle model demonstrates how God intends for spiritual growth to proceed. Body, soul and spirit develop in balance and mature right along with each other.





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Unfortunately, not all Christians grow according to God’s plan! My observation is that as most Christians age, their human spirits shrivel under the domination of an over-developed soul. Like the insidious choice in Genesis many Christians still choose the Tree of Knowledge over the Tree of the Spirit of Life.





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We have here a schematic of what Paul often identified as a carnal, fleshly or worldly Christian. Worldly Christians are dominated their souls and inundated by their selves. Notice how spirit, soul and body begin in balanced proportion, but, soon after receiving Christ, the soul grows dramatically in knowledge during the school-age years; unfortunately there is not a corresponding spiritual development. By the early twenties, the body is stabilized in size (hopefully), but personal desires crowd out spiritual ones. Mental smartness outstrips spiritual acuity. Personal experience and accumulated knowledge are more attractive than godly wisdom. Worldly Christians are so used to following their own wishes and desires that the voice of God is increasingly muffled.

Carnal Christians in their fifties, sixties and seventies have less spiritual insight than some fifteen and sixteen-year-olds. Too many churches are led by men and women who are much more likely to lead out of their souls than out of the inner promptings of God’s Holy Spirit.

Some of the most attractive Christians I know are in their senior years and filled with enormous souls of great knowledge and wise experiences—guided by equally well-cultivated, well developed and mature human spirits.

Please understand carefully: knowledge, education and experience are essential. Paul encouraged Timothy to study hard as he prepared for the ministry. I love to study and learn. I deeply appreciate the solid educational foundation I received both as a child and as an adult. I am just saying that as we go about the work of increasing our knowledge and intellect, we must have a corresponding increase in our innermost spirit. We never want to be in a position where our spirits are less important than our souls.

I wonder sometimes if too much emphasis is placed in Bible colleges and seminaries on books and learning and not enough on maturing, cultivating and utilizing the inner-most human spirit where God dwells.



Now, take a moment as we conclude this lesson and consider what your three-interlocking circles look like. Have you increased and waxed strong in soul—to the neglect and detriment of your spirit? Are you a spiritual man or woman in good spiritual balance? Is your soul in humble submission to your spirit? Or, is grotesquely misshapen and grown oversized all out of proportion to your spirit? Do you live by the promptings of your soul or your spirit?

The real question is: “We will we live by the spirit or by the soul”? The drama of Adam and Eve is acted out every day in our lives. Which tree will we choose? Can you imagine the delight in God’s heart when His plan for our lives life is once again on track and Jesus is on display for people to see?



Dear Lord Jesus,

I want to hear you speak. I desire time with you communing in my inner Holy of Holies. Help me overcome the driving voices of soul and body which assault me at times. I want to hear you so I can choose You and your will for me life.

Amen.

Chapter 12



Cultivation



Spiritual Maturity Is Carefully Cultivated.



Let’s now take our understanding of the structure of our inner spirits lives a little further. The human spirit must mature since it does not come ready to operate. At the time of conversion the spirit is cold, darkened and shrunken. At the moment of conversion it awakens and begins to grow. But, it does not blossom immediately. Think about Jesus’ early growth as Luke recorded in Luke 2:40: “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” He was not born spouting spiritual truth! He could not add two plus two. As fully human He had to learn and mature just like us! Joseph and Mary obviously helped Him understand His mission on earth. Can you imagine Mary putting Jesus on her knee and reading Psalm 22 (the Psalm of the cross): “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? … I thirst!...They have pierced my hands and feet … “I thirst.”

Mary whispered, “Jesus, this is all about you.”

The early years of John the Baptist are described in Luke 1:80 as years of maturing his inner human spirit: “And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

Man is body, soul and spirit. Cultivating the innermost human spirit is critical because this is where God the Holy Spirit indwells and speaks. Cultivating the soul and body are critical because with these two we personally decide to follow Christ—or not—as we present our bodies as “living sacrifices, renew our minds, and express our inner transformations as sacrifices of worship” (Romans 12:1-2).

I will illustrate several ways of cultivating our spirits, souls, and bodies. My list is not exhaustive. It is designed only to share some helpful thoughts to stimulate your thinking. You will add to the list as you grow in your own spiritual life.



Praying In The Spirit As Well As In The Mind



Paul makes a rather intriguing statement in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” Paul is referring here to more than the spiritual gift of praying in tongues.

When I think of praying in my mind I think of using a prayer list. I have people and things I pray for every day. Often times I actually have a list in hand. I often use the ACTS acrostic to guide my prayers: Adoration; Confession; Thanksgiving; and Supplication (requests). These prayers come from my mind. On the other hand, praying in my spirit proceeds from my inner human spirit that leads me into the presence of God and helps me to pray from the heart of God. Here I pray for people and things and issues as God reveals them to me: Holy Spirit to human spirit.

Think of a prayer model with God at the top and us at the bottom. We might have an arrow pointing down from God to us labeled: “God speaks to us in the Bible.” Another arrow points up from us to God labeled: “We speak to God in prayer.” We might describe this process as “praying in the mind. But there is more to prayer than this. Think of another arrow pointing down from God to us labeled: “God speaks to us, Holy Spirit to human spirit.” A arrow points up from us to God labeled: “We speak to God, human spirit to Holy Spirit”.

Sometimes, I use the word “knower” to describe communing and communicating with God in my spirit. Sometimes I say to others, “It is like I sense God speaking to me down deep in my ‘Knower’. Have you ever felt God talking to you deep inside and you just knew it was God? You’ve experienced this deep sense of what He wanted you to do or not do?”

Shortly after graduating from seminary, my wife, Julie, and I prayed for an opportunity to pastor in a place with many non-Christians and not many churches. Since there were over thirty-five churches within a three-mile radius of my own home church in Dallas, we sensed that we were needed elsewhere. One Sunday afternoon the phone rang as I was leaving to fly to Denver to candidate for a church. The caller was from Tucson. “We have your resume. Could you fly out and interview with our church next week?” she asked. We talked for several moments until I had to excuse myself. I had to catch the plane to Denver.

While talking on the phone with Doris, I felt God tell me that I would become pastor of that church. I hung up and turned to Julie: “I am going on to Denver; but, God just told me that we are going to pastor in Tucson.”

Julie’s smiled, “I know. While you were talking, He told me the same thing.”

It was snowing when I arrived in Denver. The deacon who met me at the airport slipped on the ice and cursed as he dropped my suitcase. This would not be the place (and Denver is one of my favorite cities in the world!)! A week later Julie and I were on the airplane to Tucson. We have pastored that church for over twenty years now with never a doubt that Tucson was the place God called us.

People sometimes ask, “How did you know for sure Tucson was where God wanted you?”

I don’t try to explain all about the human soul and spirit. I usually say, “Have you ever had that experience when deep down inside you just know what to do? It seems that God Himself gives you impressions, encouragement and advice?”

“Sure, I’ve felt that!”

“That is what I call my ‘Knower’. My “Knower” is my human spirit.”

“Oh, I get it now.”

I have discovered that God delights to communicate with me deep down in my inner spirit—in my ‘knower.’ Do you know what I mean?” Most Christians indicate they have had similar experiences of sensing the promptings of the Spirit deep within. They just did not know what to call it.

I have a three-point checklist I use before every sermon. First, I check that my microphone is turned on. Second, I pray, “Dear Lord, I pray that my words will move directly from my spirit, into my soul, out my mouth, into the ears of my listeners, then into their souls, and into their innermost spirits. Dear, Lord, help me communicate spirit to spirit with the folks today. Amen.” Then, I check my zipper and walk to the pulpit.

One of the first things I do in cultivating my spirit is to quiet down my mind. We live in a society of frantic activity. God has a hard time speaking to busy people who never take time to sit and be still. Frantic activity, racing thoughts, and media bombardment demand our energy and attention. God says: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

The word, “still,” can mean, “abate, cease, forsake” and “let alone”. There is a time for ceasing from the frenzy of daily activity to rest in the presence of the Lord. It is only then that we will hear the “gentle whisper” of the still small voice of God (1 Kings 19:11-13). The whirlwind blew by Elijah, but God was not in the storm. The earth shook; God was not in the quaking. Thunder and lightning flashed and roared; God was not in the storm. Then, when all was still and quiet, God spoke to Elijah.

Current American society encourages us to oscillate between frenzy and collapse. The principle of listening quietly to the promptings of the Spirit is a lost art in our media-saturated culture teeming with radio waves, television waves, computers, internets, cell phones, blackberries, I-phones, “X” boxes and Droids, just to name a few.

“Taking every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5) begins the critical path that leads to the proper mental, spiritual and emotional state for hearing from God. Try to sit quietly and refuse to let you mind run away in uncontrolled thinking for five minutes. Most can’t do it! When your mind wanders into today’s upcoming activities, or yesterday’s failures, stop it! Don’t go there. Instead, stay in the present and anticipate the upcoming moments communing with God.

I like to meditate on favorite Scripture passages to keep my mind from wandering. For example, I like to imagine that I am on my hands and knees looking up at the Shepherd in Psalm 23. The Lord looks so simultaneously tall and rugged and gentle. I picture Him picking me up in his arms and hugging me. The sense of peace and security is incredible.

Once I felt like all Hell was breaking loose around me. I remember getting quiet before God and thinking about the last Israelite in line when Moses led the people through the Red Sea. What would it be like to see the Egyptian armies coming up rapidly from the rear and wondering whether I would reach the other side in time? I see Moses far ahead with the Rod of God lifted high. I am hurrying. I am embarrassed to run past the women and children so I hang back to help them along all the while keeping an eye out behind on the rapidly closing chariots. It seems like I will get to Moses none too soon—maybe not soon enough. Then, finally, I pass Moses as the Rod descends. The waters close cataclysmically. I am safe. This Red Sea meditation of deliverance has remained with me for years. When the enemy armies surround me, Jesus stands with arms outstretched. At that moment, I am mentally and spiritually prepared to meet in my human spirit with God the Holy Spirit.

Practice quieting your mind. Don’t allow it to wander. Keep your mind focused. Be still and take every thought captive. Meditate on a Bible verse or passage that draws you into the heart of God. A quiet mind is the foundation for special times in your spiritual throne room.

A godly person, the Bible says, is like a tree planted by rivers of living waters (Psalm 1). Trees are not frenzied or frantic. They do not consume vast amounts of caffeine to keep adrenaline flowing. Trees are unhurried. They do not wander from their source. They quietly produce fruit.



Keeping The Temporal And Eternal In Perspective



The art of spiritual maturity is learning to transition from the temporal to the eternal. Our human nature leads us most naturally to focus on the temporary things of earth like material possessions, human relationships, physical health, and so forth. Our spiritual nature has an eternal focus in mind.

The weeping woman beside me at the casket was disconsolate. Her best friend’s son drowned after riding his tricycle into a swimming pool. “Why?” she pleaded. “Why did this have to happen? Where was his Guardian Angel? Why didn't God prompt some adult walk out just in time to stop him?

She was hurting, so I first took some time to comfort her. But, that was not enough to calm her raging heart. She wanted some sort of answer to make some sort of sense to this tragedy. At what seemed like the right moment I quietly asked her, "What is God's ultimate plan for believers?"

"To be with Jesus," she replied.

"Where is that little boy?"

“With Jesus!"

We will never sustain an eternal prayer life unless we determine to develop an eternal perspective. We must never allow temporal discomforts to destroy our view of God as He proceeds with His sanctifying, and maturing work.

In the midst of difficult times our humanity cries out, "God heal my body,” or “God fix these circumstances,” or perhaps, “God turn around this tragedy....” However, sometimes God whispers 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:



Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.



Transitioning from the temporal to the eternal is accomplished by learning to pray from the inside out.41 Let’s use our three concentric circle model. Remember that the human spirit is the innermost circle. The next outer circle represents the soul (the “psyche, the mind, the place where I myself live) and the outer circle is the body.

Paul’s prayers reveal his deep concern for the maturing of the internal-eternal-human spirit. He seldom prayed for anyone’s body to get well—he never stopped praying for the development of the inner person. Here are two examples:



For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:15-19).



For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19).



By the way, putting your name or one of your friends or loved one’s name in those verses will bless your heart. Only one of Paul’s recorded prayers show him praying for the healing of someone’s bodily infirmity. Three times he prayed for his “thorn” to be removed; but, after Jesus said, “No,” he accepted his thorn as part of God’s plan and stopped praying for healing. I am certain that he prayed for others to be healed; however, those requests are most likely not recorded because they were so insignificant compared to his prayers for maturing the inner spirits of his readers.

For example, when Timothy was sick with various stomach ailments Paul did not pray for his healing or send him to the local faith healer. He advised him that a little wine would be good for his stomach (1 Timothy 5:23).

God often allows or creates circumstances so that we may know Him better. He wants to sensitize our God consciousness. Satan wants to focus our minds on our bodies or circumstances in order to desensitize our God consciousness. Too often we are obsessed with removing pain and problems. God, on the other hand, is obsessed with divinely sensitizing our inner spirits. Our bodies are temporal and decaying. God will sacrifice the body every time if that is what it takes to mature the eternal!

We can pray seven times to be healed of cancer; nevertheless, we will eventually succumb to death. Praying for healing is not eternally effective. Life is a terminal disease. There are no Biblical verses which describe angels rejoicing when bodies are healed! On the other hand, the angels rejoice when lost sheep enter into eternal life.



Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, … Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1-7).



Too many Christians beg for God to change their situations and heal their bodies while not having the slightest idea of God’s eternal intentions. Praying from the inside out allows us to see things from God's perspective and interpret the circumstances surrounding our lives in light of how our requests affect our inner spirits.



Three Times Is Enough



I think we should follow Paul’s example when we pray for healing. Three times is enough. If we aren’t healed after three prayers we can assume that God has other things in mind. Let’s start praying for wisdom to understand His intentions and get with His plan.

Let’s look a little more carefully at Paul’s own physical-healing journey in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9:



To keep me from becoming conceited, because of these surpassing great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But, He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”



“Thorn" is the Greek word describing a “tent stake” that is driven into the ground to stabilize and secure a tent. The Babylonians used the word to describe sharpened trees used for impaling people. “Torment” is a Greek boxing term meaning, “to beat, to strike with the fist.” Paul had a stake impaled in his body tormenting him to keep him humble.

There are four main guesses as to the nature of Paul's thorn. First, he was ugly—probably a result of his five beatings with rods, three whippings, and one stoning (2 Corinthians 10:10). Second, he was often incapacitated with malaria contracted in the marshy areas of the southern coast of Turkey. Third, he struggled with epilepsy which was considered in the ancient world to be caused by demons (Galatians 4:3-14). Finally, and most probable, he had some sort of debilitating eye trouble. Think about the blind scales falling off of his eyes at his bright-light conversion in the desert (Galatians 4:15; 6:11; and Acts 23). As he finished the letter to the Galatians Paul took the pen from his amanuensis and wrote a greeting with his own hand. The implication here is that he couldn’t see well enough to write an entire letter on his own.

To one degree or other, we are all like Paul in our weaknesses. Pray three times for healing and if the answer is “no” then consider that God wants you to live with it and find grace and strength to handle it accordingly.

I was invited to a healing service for an American missionary serving in a Middle Eastern country. People had prayed for his healing for over ten years. He was at his wits end. As we prayed it became increasingly obvious to me that he was struggling with brain-chemistry-neurotransmitter imbalances.

When the prayer time ended I gently told him that it was time to stop praying for healing: “If God hasn’t healed you after ten years of praying then another year will probably not do it either. God’s answer is, ‘“Stop asking Me. My grace is sufficient for you.’”

I continued, “You get to ask three times, maybe four; then, it is time to stop praying and figure out how to live for God’s glory while the “stake” twists in your body. Consider that up to this point my friends’ prayer was for the Holy Sprit’s healing oil to bring supernatural healing as mentioned in James five. But, oil was often used as medicine in the Biblical world. It was time to find a good doctor.

After the meeting we discussed the genetic implications of his disorder. We shook his family tree and all sorts of ancestors with the same malady fell out. “There is medical treatment available that can give you great relief,” I said. “Go see the right doctor.” The next morning the missionary came by the table where I was eating breakfast and said, “Thanks, I needed those insights about Paul and his thorn. I’d forgotten that His grace is sufficient.”

By the way, praying without considering eternal perspectives can be dangerous. If you pray without being enlightened, without knowing His will, God will sometimes give you what you request with devastating results.

Let me illustrate. Tired of waiting for God’s provision, the Israelites in the wilderness began to murmur and complain about God’s seeming lack of care. They prayed for meat to eat. They were sick of the manna. So God answered their prayers. They soon wished that He had not. God provided quail. It was poisonally diseased.



But they soon forgot what he had done

and did not wait for his counsel.

In the desert they gave in to their craving;

in the wasteland they put God to the test.

So he gave them what they asked for,

but sent a wasting disease upon them (Psalm 106:13-15).



An awareness of God’s will is essential in intelligent praying. Dr. L. Taylor Daniel told me a story about a pastor who received a late night call from a mother whose baby was dying. She pleaded with him to, “Pray for my baby to be healed.” He replied, “First, Let’s get on our knees and see how God wants us to pray.”

“No, I want to pray for healing now,” she demanded.

“I would be glad to pray for your baby; but, first let’s kneel and try to get God’s insight.”

“No, she screamed, “If you won’t pray for God to heal my baby, then I will.” So she did. The pastor opened the door and left. Dr. Daniel shared the end of the matter: “Eighteen years later she lived to watch her son mount the stairs of village gallows to be hanged for murdering the family of six next door. 42



Making Intimacy with God a Priority.



Quality time and consistent effort provide for a close relationship with God (or anyone else for that matter). Therefore, Jesus withdrew often to pray:



When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place (Matthew 14:13a).



Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35).



One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God (Luke 6:12).



In Exodus 33:9-11 God met with Moses face to face. In Genesis 3:8 Adam was intimate with God in the Garden. In Genesis 5:23-24 Enoch was so close with God that God took him on up to Heaven. James 2:23 tells us that Abraham was the "friend of God".



Jeanne Guyon reminds us of Christ’s lovely invitation:



All who are thirsty, come.

All who are starving, come.

You who are poor, come.

You who are afflicted, come.

You who are weighted down with a load of pain, come and be comforted.

You who are sick and need a physician, come.

You may think that you are simple or uneducated or inexperienced in the ways of the Lord or that you are very far from a deep experience from the Lord. If that is your case, the Lord has especially chosen you. You are the one most suited to know Him well. 43



The Lord searches for men and women who will commune with Him. What does it do to your heart to hear His entreating pleading in the opening pages of the Book of Revelation?



Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20).



Practicing Spiritual Disciplines



The spiritual disciplines are Biblically-based activities recognized throughout Christian history as essential for reaching spiritual maturity. The disciplines produce humility, brokenness, and a corresponding increase in God-dependence with a corresponding decrease in self-reliance, self-centeredness, and self-condemnation. God’s strength is what we want to experience—not our own. The victory belongs to God and not to us.

Properly used, spiritual disciplines not only move us swiftly along our spiritual journeys, they often minister strength and grace to others.

I once performed a wedding ceremony for a young groom who was at the beginning of his spiritual journey. His bride was much further along than he. He came to Christ and I baptized him several months later. The morning after the wedding his mother shared that one Saturday during the hot month of July, her son was working at a gasoline service station when a woman drove up, hopped out of her car, and announced, “Hi, I am a Christian and I love Jesus and I want to clean your bathrooms.” He was shocked. We all know how dirty service station bathrooms can be! Besides, one of his jobs was to clean the bathrooms. When she finished cleaning she said to him, “I did this because I love Jesus and Jesus loves you.”

The very next day, sitting in church with his wife, he was shocked to see the bathroom cleaning lady. She was at the microphone singing a worship song before I preached my sermon. What she did is an example of the spiritual discipline of service.

Spiritual Disciplines are special tools in the hands of God. Depending on how we classify them, there are fourteen to nineteen Spiritual Disciplines.

They include such activities as:

Celebration—I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 15:11).



Community—Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:1-2).



Confession—Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed (James 5:16).



Fasting—When you fast, … put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:16-18).



Fellowship—They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer….All the believers were together and held everything in common…. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people…. (Acts 2:42-47).



Guidance—Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:19-20).



Meditation—Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).



Prayer—This is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name …” (Matthew 6:9).



Simplicity—Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you (Psalm 73:25).



Service—After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:5, 34-35).



Solitude—Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).



Study—Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:16 KJV).



Submission—We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live (Hebrews 12:9-10)!



Worship—Yet, a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (John 4:23-24).



I want to make one thing clear. The Disciplines are NOT spiritual hurdles that we jump over in order to earn a deeper relationship with God. Instead, they are profitable activities though which we can experience God’s revelation of Himself to us by His grace.

Spiritual disciplines often result in a strong outpouring of God’s power—especially in combination with several other disciplines.

Spiritual disciplines are not only for our benefit. Most of the disciplines, directly or indirectly, bring care, comfort, encouragement, acceptance, respect, and security to others.



Throwing Up In Church

Not too many people have had the privilege of throwing up during a church service like I had when I was seven. I spent most of the afternoon and early evening eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon. When Dad announced, “Time to go to church,” I was feeling rather rumbly. We took our seats to the pastor’s right on the second row. Several moments into the sermon I felt the peanut butter on the way up and told my mom so. She said, “Just sit still and it will all go away.” I couldn’t and it didn’t.

I have several seemingly simultaneous memories. First, I remember looking at the pastor as he announced to the congregation that there was a little boy having some problems on the front row and that it was all under control and that they didn’t need to look and that they would go on with the service. I never heard anyone communicate so much information in so little time. Second, I remember my mother scooting away from the onslaught as she said, “Oh, so that’s where all the peanut butter went. Third, I remember the strong arms of Dick Dickens picking me up from behind as he said, “I’ll take care of him.” Fourth, I remember the astonishment of being cleaned up by a man I hardly knew and I wasn’t even his son. Fifth, I remember my mother bringing a mop into the bathroom to clean up. Mr. Dickens said to mom, “You take him while I clean up.” Six years later Mr. Dickens donated a pint of his blood for my open heart surgery.

I also remember two types of people; those who didn’t want to look at the peanut butter rolls, smell the smell, or get touched by the onslaught. They scooted away. Some people were like the pastor: “Don’t look! The little boy had a accident. Let’s not let him be a distraction. We will keep on with the service. These people saw me as a problem.

Mr. Dickens was of the other type. He saw a little boy in need, ignored the pastor, and gently carried me to the bathroom, then got a mop and cleaned up my mess. He saw a person to be cared for and not a problem to be avoided. He exercised several disciplines on my behalf—disciplines like community, fellowship, service, simplicity, and submission.

How we see people affects our levels of compassion and determines how willing we are to draw near to care for those who’ve have made a mess of their lives. The spiritual disciplines produce the maturity to see the needs and pains of others—and do something about it.



Take a moment and think of some of the spiritual disciplines you’ve used. Imagine yourself growing big spiritual muscles as you utilize the disciplines for both your own benefit as well as for the benefits of others. Choose one or two that you’ve never experienced and decide right now to practice them this next week. Remember that the disciplines are designed to increase our God dependence while decreasing our self-dependence.



Dear Father,

I grant you the freedom to use whatever you consider necessary to mature me to be a spiritual mother/father.

Amen