The Annointing of the Holy Spirit

For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit....but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you....(Acts 1).

What does it mean to "be baptized with the Holy Spirit?"  What kind of "power" do we receive with the annointing of the Holy Spirit?

By pondering the words of Proverbs 2, 3, and 4, we can begin to glimpse some practical applications of being annointed with the Spirit of Jesus.  Prov. 2: 6:

For the Lord gives wisdom,

and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

He holds victory in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those who walk is blameless,

for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand what is right and just

and fair---every good path.

For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Discretion will protect you,

and understanding will guard you.

....for they will prolong your life many years

and bring you prosperity.

....then you will win favor and a good name

in the sight of God and man (Prov.3:4).

...this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones (3:8).

...then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

and your vats will brim over with new wine (3:10).

[Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who embrace her;

those who lay hold of her will be blessed (3:18).

These chapters of Proverbs promise wisdom to those who seek it, and wisdom (or the annointing of the Holy Spirit, who is Wisdom) carries "in her right hand" many blessings:  prosperity, straight paths, protection, a good name, health, nourishment, longevity, riches and honor, peace, pleasant ways, a tree of life, etc.

This is the kind of power given with the annointing of the Spirit---the same kind of power Jesus Himself had on earth:  power to overcome evil, even while suffering from it; understanding of the ways of men; confidence in God as our shield and protector; freedom from worry about the future; peace for each day's tasks; the power to laugh in the face of adversity because of knowing that God cannot fail us..

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you..and so the disciples gathered together for nine days awaiting "the Gift of the Father" that Jesus had promised them.  What if when we gather together, we would be also waiting for the Promised Gift?

The First Missionary

While the Apostles of Jesus were still in training, while their spiritual minds were still being developed beyond the inclusiveness of Judaism, Jesus selected a Samaritan woman with 5 husbands to be His first missionary.  The Light of the World entered her heart, and she could not contain it.  Despite her experience of rejection by 5 husbands and by the village itself ("Something must be wrong with her to have been rejected 5 times in marriage," I can just hear them saying), this woman left behind her water jar in her haste to reach the village with "the good news:"  I have met the Messiah, and He has told me everything I have ever done! 

The very "sins" that brought her shame now unfolded to others the mystery of God's forgiveness and of making all things new again.  The sinner is now a saint--she is the one chosen to announce the Messiah to her own people.  I can imagine the villagers gathered around her to hear how she met this Man, what He said to her, etc.  Because of her, they left the village and went out to meet Jesus for themselves.  And presumably, their hearts were also set on fire--Jesus told His disciples that the harvest was ready for gathering.  Imagine that:  while the religious leaders were still in Jerusalem's Temple praying for the arrival of the Messiah, the villagers in the hills of Samaria were actually experiencing the arrival of the kingdom of God on earth---and all because of an outcast woman whose hope for a "normal" life had long ago been buried in disappointment and sorrow. 

Isaiah's vision in Chapter 41 (v. 17) is so appropriate here:

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the Lord, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the broad valleys;

I will turn the desert into a marshland,

and the dry ground into springs of water.

I will plant in the desert the cedar,

acacia, myrtle, and olive;

I will set in the wasteland the cypress,

together with the plane tree and the pine,

That all may see and know,

observe and understand,

That the hand of the Lord has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Samaritan woman was thirsty for love, for acceptance, for inclusion.  Her thirst made her jump at Jesus' offer of a spring of water leaping up to eternal life.  The minute she heard it, she knew that's what she had been thirsting for all her life---and the fountain He placed in her flowed out to all in the village.

As "missionaries," maybe we all need to be searching for those who are thirsty.

Emmanuel--God With Us

God in human history---God entering into my history---what wonderous news!

The Greeks had an inkling and a hope, with their laws of hospitality based on the hope and belief that the gods might appear in human form and show up at their door or campsite.  Not wanting to run the risk of offending the gods, they welcomed strangers and treated them as honored guests.

We, on the other hand, even though we know "all about" Jesus entering into human history 2000 years ago, can hardly bring ourselves to hope or believe that God might deign at this moment to appear at our door---to enter our history.  We struggle on in the same patterns, maybe crying out to God on High to hear us, but still do not know He is here with us, that He has heard our cry, and even now is moving on our behalf.

The child-like wonder of the creche is rapidly disappearing from our world, replaced with tinsel, shopping centers, and fake Santas.  But if we could find a quiet spot in which to gaze at the wondrous mystery of "God with us," we might begin to believe that He has indeed come into the world---into our world---and that He will never leave us or abandon us.

Lessons from the Saints

Thanks be to the Saints who gladly and joyfully accept us into their company and fellowship.  I have felt a kindred spirit with giants in the spiritual world---Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, C.S. Lewis, Karl Rahner, Edith Stein---and they do not reject or laugh at my presumption, but tutor me along the ways of the Spirit.  This shows their great humility and purity of heart, their absolute love of God, that for His sake they do not laugh at my ignorance and weakness, but encourage me to come along with them on the way to God. 

For their sake, in gratitude for their kindness to me, I will also encourage those around me on their journey.  May God forgive us our lack of patience and compassion for one another and teach us also the purity and humility of the saints.

and bearing gifts they came....

Working in the Parish Center yesterday, I saw an elderly grandmother arrive bearing the gift of shrimp for the priests.  Her son came with her, to carry the shrimp and to interpret for the priest, as his mother spoke only Vietnamese.  The family, generation after generation, were shrimpers, and they brought gifts from the work of their hands and the labor of their backs. 

The joy on her face was palpable; the beauty of her joy was unmistakable---she needed no English to convey her meaning.  It seemed to me that she was bringing her gift to Jesus Himself in the manger, with Mary and Joseph at His side.  The scene was more alive and more real than a Christmas pageant---

Peace on the earth to men of good will; Peace on the earth; good will toward men---

Either reading conveys what just happened in this one microcosm on earth.  Her face shone with peace and good will.  I once saw a photograph of a very elderly lady --in her late 80's or early 90's--whose face was radiant with joy.  The caption was If you want to steal my joy, come and get it in the hands of God.

It seems that only the very pure, the very simple---the shepherds and the shrimpers--come to the crib to worship.  But kings/astrologers/ wise men came too, bearing gifts.  This one simple Vietnamese woman combined in her person both shepherd and wise man; I am quite sure the kingdom of heaven has been given to such as these, and that they possess it even now.

Christmas Day

It is not the Jesus of history---the man who changed history---who saves us today; it is the Risen Jesus living in us today who changes our history. 

By a simple re-arrangement of molecules in the body, the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the mute speak.  We often forget that the Word of God, the Son of God, the exact image of the invisible God, has been sent to us to change our history.  In one moment, our direction is changed and we are set on a new path, the path to God.  In one moment, we are no longer "sinners" or "tax collectors" or "Pharisees," but children of the living God. 

God has sent to us a son, and the government is on His shoulder; He bears our burdens and sins and re-directs our paths.  Each day for us is Christmas Day, as the Savior comes to us.  Each day, our molecules are re-arranged, our history changes, and our life renewed.  Those sitting in darkness see a great light, and their hope is renewed.

The Gift of Knowledge

There is a kind of knowledge that is discursive---that is, it is reached by information + reasoning until we reach some conclusion.  But there is also another kind of Knowledge that comes through the Holy Spirit rather than from outside of us and rather than from our reasoning things out.  When Jesus met the woman at the well (Jn. 4), and said to her, "You have had five husbands, and the man you are now with is not your husband," that knowledge did not come from discursive knowledge, but through His communion with the Spirit of God within Him.  And since we know that Jesus "put down" His power as God to live as a human being on this earth, what was available to Him through the Spirit of God must also be available to us.

There will always be spiritual powers that mimic the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, so we can be deluded into thinking that spiritists, mediums, charletans, etc. have ESP or the gift of reading minds, or of seeing into another world, as in seances.  But the kind of knowledge given by the Holy Spirit is always for the building up and strengthening of those who love God and/or who are in need of His healing in their lives, as was the woman at the well.  The Gift of Knowledge is given to us for protection ---ie, warning us of a danger that may not be immediately obvious--or for healing, or for confidence in choosing a course of action. 

"By their fruits, you will know them."  If someone seems to "have" special knowledge of events to demonstrate their power, or to manipulate people, or to make money, there is immediate danger.  In Chapter 16 of the Acts of the Apostles, we read about a slave girl who had an "oracular spirit," who used to bring a large profit to her owners through her fortune-telling.  Paul commanded the evil spirit to come out of her, but the owners were understandably upset with Paul and Silas and had them publicly beaten with rods and then thrown into prison.

When we ourselves receive the Gift of Knowledge from the Holy Spirit, it is usually for the purpose of setting others free from some kind of bondage or evil.  Sometimes, too, we ourselves can be set free by a kind of knowledge of events that is given to us by the Spirit.  Paul tells us to "seek the greater gifts," but not to become "puffed up" or proud of what is given to us by the Spirit.  Parents, especially, need to be open to the Gift of Knowledge to know what is going on with their children.  When we find ourselves wondering, "How did I know that?" we might want to trust that God is giving us the Gift of Knowledge for some purpose and begin to pray for even more guidance from the Holy Spirit.

The Friends of God

There is a story of Teresa of Avila when she was traveling from one part of Spain to another in a rough horse-cart, over rough, muddy, washed-out roads.  At one point, in a driving rain storm, the cart overturned, and the nuns had to try to push or pull the cart out of the mud.  In frustration, Teresa asked God why He was making life so difficult for them, when they were trying to do His work.  "This is the way I treat all my friends," God reportedly told Teresa.  She shot  back at Him: "No wonder you have so few of them!"

Despite Teresa's estimation, the truth is that God has an invisible universe of His friends----they are drawn together by their love of Him, and they seem to recognize one another if their lives are truly centered on Him.  One might say they have the same Spirit that crosses all boundaries erected by doctrinal differences and cultures.

The famous Breastplate of St. Patrick could be the universal prayer of the "friends of God," no matter what church or denomination they adhere to:

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me. God’s might to uphold me. God’s wisdom to guide me. God’s eye to see before me. God’s ear to hear me. God’s word to speak for me. God’s hand to guard me. God’s way to lie before me. God’s shield to protect me. God’s host to secure me against the snares of devils -- against temptations and vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd …

Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me. Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me. Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit. Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me. Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me. Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Christ. May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.

Listen

What if our task on earth is to receive from the hand of God the blessings He wants to give to those around us?  What keeps us from purely receiving those gifts and passing them on?

Pride, inihibition, fear, carelessness (not caring), self-centeredness, lack of dedication to the kingdom of God and to those who need us.

Around the mountain of Sinai, the people said to Moses:  "We don't want to hear to hear the Voice of God, lest we die.  You listen to God and tell us what He says, and we will listen to you."  Of course, it did not always work out the way they said it would, for it is hard to sustain the belief that God is speaking to a man who has the same weaknesses we ourselves do. 

Most of us cannot sustain the discipline of always listening to the still, small voice of God.  There was One, however, Who allowed Himself to come to the end of His own human resources, His own strength, so that He might live wholly to hear the Voice of God for others:  This is my Beloved Son; listen to Him, said the Father of Jesus, Who was always listening to the Father. 

He speaks to us the very words of God, but we still do not hear and receive Him.  To those who will listen and receive, however, He gives the power to become the children/offspring/ seed of God Himself, in spirit and in truth.

A Prayer

Forgive us our sins against one another, O Lord:

our judgments, our annoyances, our impatience, our own unforgiveness;

Open our hearts tocompassion, O Lord, to understanding, to seeing one another as You see us.

Teach us to take up daily the cross You have borne for us---the cross of our misunderstandings, our loneliness, our despair.

Teach us to bear one another's burdens without fear, without defense, without striking back.

Create open space within us, O Lord, space where Your Holy Spirit can meet and touch the human spirit and where we can be healed.

To Love as Christ Loves

Edith Stein was a German philosopher, a university professor, and a mystic who, in her search for truth, converted from Judaism to Catholicism and eventually became a Carmelite nun who lost her life in the German concentration camp of Auschwitz. 

For her, the Christ Child in the manger is the beginning of a life that requires a "radical transformation of natural attitudes."  Even in the manger, she states, he confronts the world with the division between light and darkness:  "Follow Me," He says, and anyone who is not for Him is against Him.  She explained the difference between natural love and the supernatural, brought into the world by Christ:

Natural love extends only to individuals with whom we feel united by reason of blood, character, or common interest.  The rest of the world, as far as we are concerned, is made up of "strangers," "people who don't affect us" --- in other words, people who become increasingly hard to tolerate and whom we end up keeping as much at arm's length as possible.

For the Christian, there is no such thing as a "stranger."  There is only the neighbor---the person who happens to be next to us, the person most in need of our help.  Whether he is related to us or not, whether we "like" him or not, doesn't make any difference.  Christ's love knows no boundaries, stops at no limits, doesn't turn away from ugliness and filth.  It was for sinners He came, not for the righteous.

According to Stein, "Natural love aims at possession, at owning the beloved as completely as possible.  But anyone who loves with the love of Christ must win others for God instead of himself, as Christ did when he came to restore lost humanity to the Father.  Actually, this is the one sure way to possess someone forever.  Whenever we entrust a person to God, we find ourselves united to him; whereas, sooner or later, the lust for conquest usually----no, always---ends in loss."

Ribbons of Love

Winter sky at sunrise

Given as gift

to those who see.

Beauty in souls

Rising at dawn

Given as gift

To those who see.

The hand of God

Eternally at work

in lives and life

to those who see.

This day, tomorrow, and the next:

The work of God

to those who see.

The Babe in Bethlehem

Can I believe that the Son of God would dwell in ME?

The One who was humble enough to be born in a dark, cold cave at Bethlehem, the smallest of Judah's cities to the smallest of the twelve tribes, would certainly be humble enough to dwell in the darkened caverns of my mind and soul.

The One humble enough to live a life hidden in the backwater town of Nazareth for 30 years as a carpenter is certainly humble enough to rmain hidden in me, constructing all the while a dwelling place fit for God Himself.

The One who made Himself a Friend to sinners and a Healer of lepers and outcasts would certainly be humble and gracious enough to heal my leprous and encrusted soul and to make it shine with the glory for which God created it.

The One who welcomed little children into His arms would certainly hide my ignorance and weakness in the arms of His strength and His truth.

He is; I am not----Is this not why He came into the world?

Purity of Heart 2

Purity of heart is to desire one thing (Kirkegaard).

What is the "one thing" we desire above all else?  Asking this question allows us to see how cluttered our lives have become, how "impure" we are.  If we analyze where we spend most of our time, energy, emotion, preoccupation, judgment, blame, and resentment, we soon see the places where we are stuck, areas where we are not free to pursue the one thing we most desire.

Capturing all of the sun's rays into the single focus of a magnifying glass allows us to ignite the spark of a great fire.  Channeling all of our multiple energies into purity of heart---into one desire---does the same.  Suddenly, everything we do is focused and intentional: preparing a highway in our lives for the arrival of Jesus Christ, Who bears within His own Person the kingdom of God, the peace that passes all understanding, and joy without shadow.  

Purity of heart allows us to "travel lightly," to be unencumbered by the opinions and demands of others if those demands do not fit into the "one thing" necessary for our lives.  It allows us the freedom not to worry about the outcome of our efforts, if our work is directed to the thing most important to us. 

Abraham found that leaving his father's house and his culture meant choosing the one thing necessary for him--to keep following the Yahweh Who called him "to a land I will show you."  He could not know ahead of time where that would be, nor how he would get there, nor when he would arrive.  Nor did he know ahead of time how he would sustain himself in a strange land, as an outsider.  The one thing necessary for him was to trust the God Who had spoken to him, to believe that God would not abandon or fail him, though he himself might fail along the way.

Abraham's purity of heart and trust in Yahweh allowed him to give his nephew Lot first choice of where to live in the land.  Lot chose the fertile plain near the Jordan River, leaving Abraham the more remote and drier regions without water.  However, rather than resent Lot's choice, Abraham went on his way, knowing that God would provide what he needed.

Everything in Abraham's life took second place to adhering to the Voice of God as it spoke to him.  Because of his purity of heart, he is known as the father of those who trust God.

Humility and Space/Grace

Reading Crossing the Desert by Robert J. Wicks, I came across this anonymous poem:

I had a dream that death

Came the other night,

And Heaven's gate swung wide open.

With kindly grace

An angel ushered me inside;

Adn there to my astonishment

Stood folks I had known on earth

And some I had judged

And labeled unfit and of little worth.

Indignant words rose to my lips,

But were never set free;

for every face showed stunned surprise,

Not one expected me.

Wicks includes the poem in his chapter on humility, which is a knowledge of ourselves that is transformed into wisdom.  Humility, he says, leads us to open new space within ourselves where we and others can experience true freedom and love.  Again, he tells the story of a Desert Father, a monk, to whom the Devil appeared in the guise of an angel.  The Devil said, "I am the angel Gabriel and I have been sent to you."  The Desert Father replied, "See if you are not being sent to someone else.  I certainly do not deserve to have an angel sent to me."  Immediately, the Devil disappeared.

I love Wick's idea that humility opens space in our lives:

• space for simplicity
• space for solitude
• space for pacing ourselves
• space for gratefulness and giftedness
• space for honesty and clarity
• space for real relationships
• space for restraint
• space for doubt and deeper questions
• space for reflection
• space for generosity
• space for transparency
• space for forgiveness
• space for truth
• space for courage

There is more, but you'll have to read the book for yourself.....although I may include a bit more tomorrow.

Energy Now and Forever!

Energy of stars,
of sunlight glistening on water,
the waves of the sea,
the breath of life,
of matter and anti-matter:
                                                 Energy of God

Energy of Truth,
Energy of Beauty,
Energy of Love:                       Energy of God

Friendship with God 2

It is imperative that each one of us cultivate friendship with God: 

Some friends bring ruin on us, but a true friend is more loyal than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

God Himself will "fix" our situations if we only allow Him the freedom to do so.  We have chained the Holy Spirit so that He is not free in our lives to do what He wills in us and for us.  But as we give Him freedom and permission to act in us, He also unbinds us from our chains of ignorance, stupidity, blindness and hard-heartedness. 

We must allow the Holy Spirit freedom to pray in us and for us, for we ourselves hardly know how to pray.  But He prays for us with greater love and friendship than we have for ourselves, much less for others.  He is TRUTH, and of His own essence, He pours out into our hearts and minds.  He leads us into all truth, leaving behind the falsehoods we have told ourselves and others.  As one unties difficult knots, so the Holy Spirit gradually frees our souls from from the chains of darkness, fear, and evil.  To be friends with God is to be free at last!

Jesus said, "If you knew the Gift of God (by which He meant the Gift of the Holy Spirit), and who it is that speaks with you, you would ask Him, and He would give you a fountain of living water springing up to eternal life."  Let us ask for the Gift of Friendship with God, for He can never fail or disappoint us in this life or in the next.

What Are We Waiting For?

Every year, the Catholic Church celebrates Advent as a time of waiting for the Savior of the world.  As a child, I never "got" this:  why were we playing this  game of pretense, when we knew the Savior had already come?  I knew we were supposed to be "re-living" the 4000 years of Jewish history, of waiting for the Messiah, but I just could not get into that---in my mind, we were no longer waiting, yearning, hungering to be saved.  The cave of Bethlehem was an obvious reminded that Jesus had already arrived!

Now that I can better see the world around me and the world within me, I know for sure that Jesus has not  yet come into all the dark, evil, cruel, empty, hollow spaces that man creates for himself and for others.  People I know are still hungering for peace, for joy, for fulfillment; there are dark spaces in my own soul that need to be filled with the Light of the world.  There are countries where the entire population is desperate for the freedom of the Savior, countries where cruel leaders and cultures are keeping people chained and enslaved, where women cannot be educated, where children are kidnapped and forced to serve as terrorists and assassins.  There are countries where children die of starvation and from cruelty; there are homes where fathers still beat their children and wives.  In our own country, teens are routinely introduced to gangs and drugs, completely cutting off the possibility of any future but death or prison for them. 

Has the Savior of the world truly come?  Has the Light of the world reached into all the dark places where evil, neglect, and ignorance rule?  Has each one of us experienced "Peace on the earth, good will to men?"  Has the Babe of Bethlehem truly been born in all of our hearts? 

Today, I celebrate Advent with every fiber of my being---it no longer seems a game we play, but a hunger, a yearning, a waiting for the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God:  Come, Lord Jesus into each heart, into each home, into each nation, until the whole world knows the Savior, until his rule, as Isaiah says, extends from sea to sea, and the whole world knows the coming of the Lord!

Will the world end tomorrow?

What if we knew for sure that the world would end in 2012, as people fear the Mayan calendar tells us?  Martin Luther said in the 16th century, "Even if I knew for sure the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree today." 

I think he had it exactly right.  Even if we knew....which we don't....we need to "be about our Father's business" today, finishing the work at hand.  The Book of Ecclesiates says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your heart." 

That is the only way we continue to have joy and gladness---not worrying about the future, or even tomorrow, but gladly embracing today with all of its tasks and joys and challenges.  If we are studying today, then let us study well and long.  If we are creating a scene of beauty today, then let us continue to create to satisfy the beauty of our souls.  If we are busy saving the world today, it is still worth saving today, even if it ends tomorrow.

I guess then the question becomes, "What are we doing today?" rather than "Will the world end tomorrow?"

Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him (John 14:21).

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him (14:23).

On that day, you will realize that I am in the Father and you are in me and I in you (14:20)

People who hear God speaking within them are often called "mystics," as if it were some strange phenomenon to communicate with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  But Jesus was not the sort of guy to blow smoke and talk nonsense.  If he said He (and the Father and the Spirit) would come and make their dwelling in us and reveal truth to us, then this should not be a "mystical" but a "normal" part of the Christian life.

We are as sceptical as were the Pharisees that God would deign to be with us and speak with us throughout our whole lives, so even when it seems that God might be directing us, we don't want to believe it.  Here is what Teresa of Avila says about God dwelling within us:

Here all three Persons communicate themselves to it (the soul), speak to it, and explain those words of the Lord in the Gospel: that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit will come to dwell with the soul that loves Him and keeps His commandments.

Oh, God help me!  How different is hearing and believing these words from understanding their truth in this way!  Each day this soul becomes more amazed, for these Persons never seem to leave it any more, but it clearly beholds, in the way that was mentioned, that they are within it.  In the extreme interior, in some place very deep within itself, the nature of which it doesn't know how to explain, because of a lack of learning, it perceives this divine company.

I wonder if we could turn inwards often enough to perceive the indwelling Presence of God within us.  I wonder if we could seek His explanation of the things we need to know.  I wonder if we could seek His direction for our next step in life.  I wonder.....if this would not be, as Watchman Nee called it, "the normal Christian life."

Who are the blind and the deaf and the poor?

I love my young students so much that I often wish I could just open them up and pour life-giving strength and spirit into each one of them.  I'm sure this is how Jesus felt about us while He walked the earth, and continues to this day to feel about us.  Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way--we ourselves have to reach out for the strength and spirit of God, but most of us are not willing to do that until we experience our own weakness and fear and inability to manage our lives.  Then, out of the darkness, we cry for help.

Fortunately, Scripture tells us that "God hears the cry of the poor, and those bowed down in spirit He saves."  Years ago, I read a book by Watchman Nee, a man who spent the last 25 years of his life in a Chinese prison for preaching the Gospel.  His books written from that prison cell are among the most beautiful I have ever read.  In A Normal Christian Life, Nee writes the story of a group of young monks swimming in a deep river.  On the shore is an older monk who is a strong swimmer.  As he watches, one of the young men begins to drown and calls for help.  The older monk on shore does not immediately go to the rescue of the young man, and someone questions why.  The older monk replies, "I must wait until he stops trying to save himself, because he would pull both of us under.  When he stops struggling, I can pull him safely to shore." 

Nee says that's the way it is with us and God.  When we finally come to the realization that we are powerless to save ourselves, we are open to God's action in our lives.  As long as we think there might be some hope to save ourselves by our own efforts, He has to let us continue to drown.  We must finally "give up" and let Him do His work in our lives.  Then we cannot pat ourselves on the back, thinking that we finally succeeded in our efforts.  We are all poor and lonely, all weak and ineffectual, all blind and deaf and in need of having our eyes and ears opened. 

Some people like to say that God helps those who help themselves.  I like to say that God helps those who cannot help themselves.  Isaiah says, "Let the poor man say, 'I am rich,' and the rich man say, 'I am poor.'"  Lots to think about there.