Devotion...

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lesterb
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Devotion...

Post by lesterb »

William Law wrote:Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God.

He, therefore, is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will,
or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who
considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes
all the parts of his common life parts of piety, by doing everything in
the Name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.
I was looking up some old quotes and ran across this. I must admit that these old sages knew more about living a life of devotion than I do.

I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
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Soloist
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Re: Devotion...

Post by Soloist »

lesterb wrote: I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
I'd like to be living like that and maybe I just don't care enough... I feel like I lack power to do that though... For what its worth, I want to live like that.
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MaxPC
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Re: Devotion...

Post by MaxPC »

Soloist wrote:
lesterb wrote: I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
I'd like to be living like that and maybe I just don't care enough... I feel like I lack power to do that though... For what its worth, I want to live like that.
I think that those of us who love God would love to achieve that kind of focus in our devotion to Him but for everyone it's difficult. As to why so few Christians come up to that standard: in any era, today or in ancient times I think the number one obstacle to that kind of devotional focus would be the worldly distractions in our lives.
[bible]Luke 10, 38-42[/bible]
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Valerie
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Re: Devotion...

Post by Valerie »

MaxPC wrote:
Soloist wrote:
lesterb wrote: I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
I'd like to be living like that and maybe I just don't care enough... I feel like I lack power to do that though... For what its worth, I want to live like that.
I think that those of us who love God would love to achieve that kind of focus in our devotion to Him but for everyone it's difficult. As to why so few Christians come up to that standard: in any era, today or in ancient times I think the number one obstacle to that kind of devotional focus would be the worldly distractions in our lives.
[bible]Luke 10, 38-42[/bible]
That & choosing 'our will'. EACH day is full of choices- decisions to make, my will or Thy will- if we are led away by distractions, we have chosen our will. Jesus rose early in the morning, way before daylight to spend time with the Father- I have a feeling that if we all followed His example in this, this type of devotion we would rise to without much getting in the way- I thought of so many passages after I read this quote but don't have time to share them now- (work!) but if we went throughout the day, led by the Spirit as we are to "walk in the Spirit" can you imagine as we "pray without ceasing" how differently my life would look? How many more lives might be bless or touched or how many times I'd say no to this 'thing' to buy or this 'interest' or fill in the blanks.....
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Wade
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Re: Devotion...

Post by Wade »

lesterb wrote:
William Law wrote:Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God.

He, therefore, is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will,
or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who
considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes
all the parts of his common life parts of piety, by doing everything in
the Name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.
I was looking up some old quotes and ran across this. I must admit that these old sages knew more about living a life of devotion than I do.

I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
I think a lot of it for me comes down to trust. When non-believers try to deny the existence of God I try to explain to them that everyone has a god that they serve because a god is whatever motivates them, makes them happy, whatever drives them to do what they do, and therefore whatever then controls them. When circumstances or other people skew my response away from God's example then I have let circumstances control me and therefore become my god. This has startled more than a few people that have anger and don't want to be under the power of another person who has done wrong. Me included.

I don't trust God enough with circumstances and therefore become frustrated when rather He needs to control my heart, words, thoughts, and actions while I suffer or not, while trusting that He is working out His perfect will...

I need His grace in this each moment.
Thank you for the quote!
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cmbl
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Re: Devotion...

Post by cmbl »

lesterb wrote: I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
It's worth noting that William Law said that few Christians of his day came up to that standard. But let the discussion continue...
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Sudsy
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Re: Devotion...

Post by Sudsy »

lesterb wrote:
William Law wrote:Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God.

He, therefore, is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will,
or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who
considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes
all the parts of his common life parts of piety, by doing everything in
the Name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.
I was looking up some old quotes and ran across this. I must admit that these old sages knew more about living a life of devotion than I do.

I'd be interested in some discussion about what is implied by being devoted to God to this degree. I'd also be interested in discussing why so few Christians of today come up to this standard.
I doubt any believer lives a life of this kind of devotion. The apostle Paul admitted he didn‘t as seen in Romans 7. In our reborn spirit we desire to be this devoted but we are in a battle with that old fleshly nature that although it does not have the same controls it had before we were reborn, it still battles us moment by moment to live a devoted or surrendred life. We also have an on-going battle with the satanic forces that, although they have been defeated by Jesus, they still wage guerrilla warfare on us to keep us from pursuing full devotion. I think one of the most deceiving thoughts one can have is to think one is fully devoted. Those, like Paul, who do appear fully devoted, recognize just how far they live from that goal.

How do we experience more devotion ? Well, not to make excuses, but if Paul realized it was a battle in his time, imo, we are surrounded by more fleshly distractions than ever before. I think the first step is realizing we are still in a battle. The war is won but non-flesh and blood terrorists are still out to get us. Then putting on the full armour of God, denying the flesh, having our minds more transformed to know what conforming to the world means, prayer, being constantly filled with the Spirit, obedience, and various other means of spiritual growth need pursuing.

Some days are better than others but if one is born again, there will be this desire to fight on.
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Hats Off
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Re: Devotion...

Post by Hats Off »

If the war is won, what is the point of armour?
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cmbl
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Re: Devotion...

Post by cmbl »

It's also worth noting that Law did think the early Christians came up to this standard--or at least that the Christians of his day compared unfavorably to the primitive Christians.
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Sudsy
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Re: Devotion...

Post by Sudsy »

Hats Off wrote:If the war is won, what is the point of armour?
We were held captive by evil spirits before we were born again. By dying for our sins, however, Jesus released us from our captivity. Their “armaments,” as it were, were pointed, not at Christ, but at us. Jesus, however, “disarmed” them. They can’t keep us captive any longer. Colossians 2:13-15 says -
You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.
At the cross Jesus took away the power of satan. He does not have that same power over the believer that he once had. We no longer need to fear satan or death. So, in that sense satan and all his forces have been defeated. But, satan and his forces will keep fighting for the souls of mankind. Satan and his demons strategize to keep God's creation in bondage through deception. Satan's kingdom of darkness is working overtime to keep the blinders on lost souls and if we allow him to, he will put blinders on us on what he is doing.

Here is a fellow I appreciate speaking on this subject -

You may want to skip to the 22 minute point.

Anyway, yes, we need to beware of satan and his wiles. In the physical realm an Anabaptist will stand against physical violence and warring but should never withdraw from warring against satan and his demons. We are at war, just not with flesh and blood.
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