The First & Second Letters (pp. 25-28)

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>For The Believers In The Body Of Christ</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="For The Believers In The Body Of Christ"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id112.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The First Second Conversations (pp. 714"><U>The First & Second Conversations (pp. 7-14)</U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id462.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Third Fourth Conversations (pp. 151"><U>The Third & Fourth Conversations (pp. 15-18)</U></A><B>   |   </B><B>The First & Second Letters (pp. 25-28)</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id559.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Third Fourth Letters (pp. 3134)"><U>The Third & Fourth Letters (pp. 31-34)</U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id620.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Fifth Through Seventh Letters (pp. "><U>The Fifth Through Seventh Letters  (pp. 35-42)</U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id621.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Eighth through Tenth Letters (pp. 43"><U>The Eighth through Tenth Letters (pp. 43-48)</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spiritual Food"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Spiritual Food</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Psalms, Hymns Spiritual Songs"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gospel Outreach"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Gospel Outreach</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">"About Us"</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id186.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id187.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Related Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id639.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JESUS IS LORD!"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">JESUS IS LORD!</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  </div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>The First & Second Letters (pp. 25-28)</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The First Letter (pp. 25-28)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For more than forty years, this brother's principal endeavor has been to stay as close as possible to God, doing, saying, and thinking nothing that might displease Him.  He has no reason for doing this, except to show his gratitude for God's pure love.   </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Brother Lawrence became so accustomed to God's Divine presence that he relied on it for help on all sorts of occasions. </B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Whenever he sometimes strayed from this Divine presence, God immediately recalls him by communicating with him through the Holy Spirit.  He responded faithfully to God's calling, either by offering his heart to God, by a tender, loving look, or by some affectionate words, such as, "My God, I am all Yours; do what You will with me." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Imagine what contentment and satisfaction he enjoyed, possessing such an ever-present treasure!  Compared to "blind men" who are content with too little.  God has infinite treasures to give us.  Why should we be satisfied with a brief moment of worship?  With such meager devotion, we restrain the flow of God's abundant grace.  If God can find a soul filled with a lively faith, He pours His grace into it in a torrent which, having found an open channel, gushes out exuberantly. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We must continually walk in God's Spirit, since in the spirit-life not to advance is to fall back.  </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The Second Letter (pp. 29-32)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It is necessary for the heart to be emptied of everything that would offend God.  He wants to possess our heart completely.  Before any work can be done in our soul, God must be totally in control.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God.  Only those who have experienced it can understand.  However, we should not practice this for the sole purpose of gaining consolation from our problems.  Rather, we should seek it because God wills it and out of love for Him.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Make a commitment never to deliberately stray from Him, to live the rest of your life in His holy presence.  Don't do this in expectation of receiving heavenly comforts; simply do it out of love for Him.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Quotes from Church History"><U><B>MORE QUOTES FROM OUR HERITAGE</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>