“Being listened to is so close to being loved that most people cannot tell the difference.? (David of Augsburg) A truly good listener is hard to find. ?Have you ever been with someone, and as they listened to you, you felt as though you were the only person in the room?? The person listening had […]
Preparing for the Advent Season
Tomorrow?is the first Sunday of Advent,?the first day of the Christian calendar for many Christian churches. Advent simply?means ?coming.? Christ came to make Himself at home among us. He took on a human life like ours. We remember Christ?s coming as Immanuel, God with us. As a practical suggestion for living Advent in the next […]
Come and See. Come and Know.
Here is a remarkable quotation from Carlo Carretto (1910-1988). He went into the Sahara desert in 1954 to live among and serve the poor and so draw closer to Christ. He was a member of the ?Little Brothers of Jesus?, a group who sought to live out of the lifestyle of Charles de Foucault. Brennan […]
Because He Cares for You
During my morning devotion, I reflected on something that George MacDonald said in Creation in Christ. ?But I do not know how to awake and arise!? I will tell you. ?Get up, and do something the Master tells you; so make yourself his disciple at once. ?Instead of asking yourself whether you believe or not, […]
Being Present in Every Activity…Even Worship
Brother Lawrence (of the Resurrection) was a 17th?century Carmelite lay brother in Paris. He is best known for his ?practicing of God?s presence.? Below is one of his wise counsels: ?During our work and other activities, even during our reading and writing, no matter how spiritual?and, I emphasize, even during our religious exercises and vocal […]
Knowing Jesus
One morning I spent some time meditating on the following words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount? ?On that day many will say to me, ?Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?? Then I will […]
Practicing the Presence of God
Here is a wonderful quotation?from Frank Laubach, who was the last century?s Brother Lawrence in modeling a lifestyle of practicing the presence of God. ?Last year, as you know, I decided to try to keep God in mind all the time. That was rather easy for a lonesome man in a strange land. It has […]
