Simplicity

As I am about to write this article, I see a sparrow at the window-and I feel this hope arise in me. I love sparrows. And I am then reminded of the poem on Hope-By Emily Dickinson-which I love so much. Here it goes:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches-(To sit, or rest on an elevated place)-in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale-(a wind with a speed)-is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash-(to destroy the self confidence)-the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.  

Hope to me is like my sparrows. They come and fill my heart with joy.  They lift up my spirit. They are my sign of hope-they are the songs that I love to hear. Hope is like that. God uses signs to speak to people. Only God knows what comforts our hearts the most. God is all knowing, all compassionate. There is none like ‘You’ my God!

Do you know that the most deadly ache in the world is the one where an individual is striving to be oneself? Someone who is appreciated-someone who can measure up to someone else’s standard.

Our deepest longing will always be the one to be loved. Al-be-it we may have other desires too. But love is the strongest desire yet.

I know everybody at some time looses their temper. We utter mean words that hurt a persons feelings. We do these things out of our lack of control over our temper. If you sit to understand you will learn that we do what we do, because somewhere deep down we feel unloved and unappreciated.

Listen…… the people you know…… the people I know…… the world is hurting.

I don’t like seeing people hurt. My heart breaks to watch them cry. I often pray that maybe in someway, I could help. What the world needs is hope. What we all need to do is to love each other. We need to overlook our differences and appreciate each other for just being who we are meant to be. And not who we want them to be. We are people and so are they. Let’s just all remember that we all have a heart that’s meant to express our deepest longings. Let’s remove the masks we wear.

Lets be people motivated by LOVE. Let love be our guiding force. Lets be a people who can say to our loved ones – one thing that each person needs to hear – one thing that the heart longs to hear – one thing that keeps us waiting for a lifetime – lets be the ones to lift each other – So I am going to be the one who starts with it –

‘I love you just the way you are. I love you.’

“This is impossible,” you say to live a simple life in this world that demands one to achieve… to have more? It is not possible when your heart has not reached a place of surrender. It is not possible when you are the one in control of the desires of your heart and not GOD. But it is possible when your heart lets go of its own desires and seeks His will. Because His will is simple. His message is simple. His heart is simple. Love as He has loved you.

Simplicity comes from a heart that has been broken from its own selfishness, and given the grace to live selflessly. It is a grace bestowed by God. We cannot will ourselves to live selflessly and simply. It is a gift that we must receive from Him.

We can find His simplicity that liberates. ‘Whoever He sets free is free indeed.’John 8:36

‘All plenty which is not my God is poverty to me.’ St. Augustine

The Holy Spirit motivates and inspires us through simplicity to become more and more like Jesus each day. Jesus clearly taught that the disciple is not greater than the Master.

The heart is the place where God reveals himself to us, where he relates and converses with each of us intimately. It is in the depths of our hearts that this relationship with God is established, grows, and achieves its purpose. As we welcome God’s presence into the depths of our hearts, we are able to give ourselves to him wholly in love. With true simplicity of heart, we look at Him and also sense His gaze upon us. The heart, accepts that it is made for Him alone.

“We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths, that there is a God”

God is simple. The simplicity of God means God is goodness, mercy, justice, and power. God is righteousness in the same way He is love.

It is taught in Scripture (where God is called “light,” “life,” and “love”)

God in His very essence, within Himself and by Himself, is love, wisdom, and holiness. God is whatever He has, for He has nothing that He is not.

His attributes do not stick to Him; He is what they are.

What is simplicity?

The discipline of simplicity is the conscious act of not being tied to the things of this world.

Simplicity is to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God first, and then everything necessary will come in its proper order. God, first. Nothing must come before the kingdom of God.

• Simplicity is to not have anxiety about material things.

• Simplicity then is to keep the potentially sinful drive of wanting things in proper perspective.

• Simplicity accepts that everything you have is a gift from God.

• Simplicity accepts God’s care over what we have.

One who takes delight in simplicity will find their lives filled with a spirit of contentment. Like Paul, they can say with peace in their hearts and trust in God, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philliapians 4:12

The Spiritual Discipline of Simplicity

When we develop the spiritual discipline of simplicity we also gain certain abilities and lose other destructive needs:

• We speak simple truths that are easy for us to live by and others to understand.
• We lose the destructive need to constantly top or be better than others.
• We lose a need for material things.
• We start giving to others out of a place of joy and willingness in our hearts. We become more hospitable and kind.
• We develop a sense of gratitude for everything we do have.

The importance of simplicity

‘Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself taking the form of a slave.’ Philippians 2.6-7

Simplicity - to follow Christ

• Too many possessions keep us from God-the parable of the rich fool teaches us that a life of too much ease and luxury distracts us from God and tempts us to feel that true happiness can come from what we possess materially. Simplicity encourages us to trust more in God than in our personal capabilities.

• When we live simply, we are not attached to our own plans or ambitions. Change is not feared.

• If we are full of ourselves, for e.g.-our lives are choked by possessions, eating, drinking etc. etc. we will soon discover we have little time to pour out ourselves in generous service to others.

• We need to keep encouraging people to practise selflessness, justice and charity. It is also a constant reminder to people that this world is not our permanent abode.

• When we live simple lives, we are in a better position to understand the plight of the poor. We are better able to help.

Only simplicity, of heart will let you see and understand what God sees and knows. Simplicity is what God is-God permits you to be a part of Him.

Simplicity and Sincerity

"For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world." 2 Corinthians 1:12

Simplicity implies that we are devoted to the Lord, and have by grace been enabled to choose Him, and to yield ourselves to Him.

So likewise He has a just claim to us that we should be wholly His: He has a redemption-title to us: He loved us, and bought us with His own blood. He did not hesitate when He engaged to redeem our souls from the power of Satan. He could, in the hour of His distress, have summoned legions of angels to his assistance, He could easily have saved himself; but how then could His people have been saved, or the promises of the Scripture have been fulfilled? Therefore He willingly endured the cross, He poured out his blood, He laid down His life. Here was an adorable simplicity of intention in Him!

We should be simply, and wholly of God’s.

Faith in the power and promises of God inspires simplicity, and casts every care upon Him.

Thus, when Abraham, at the Lord's call, forsook his country and his father's house, the Apostle observes, "he went out, not knowing where he went." It was enough that he knew whom he followed: the all-sufficient God was his guide, his shield, and his exceeding great reward. So, when exercised with long waiting for the accomplishment of a promise, he doubted not—he did not dispute or question—but simply depended upon God, who had spoken, and was able also to perform. So likewise, when he received that command to offer up his son, of whom it was said, "in Isaac shall your seed be called," he simply obeyed, and depended upon the Lord to make good his own word: Heb. 11:18-19.

In this spirit David went forth to meet Goliath, and overcame him.

And thus Elijah, in a time of famine, was preserved from concern and need, and supported by extraordinary methods; 1Kings. 31 1:14

How comfortable is it to us, to be able to trust the Lord, to believe that He will supply our needs, direct our steps, plead our cause, and control our enemies! Thus He has promised, and it belongs to Gospel simplicity to take His word against all discouragements. The Lord has commanded us to wait upon Him in them: but it will likewise inspire confidence and hope when all means seem to fail. Habakkuk 3:17-18

So think of someone like Paul and all that God actually did accomplish through him. God has a plan for each one of us and we want to fulfill that! We don’t want to find that we ourselves kept us from doing what we were called to do! We learn from the Lord, that a key to Paul’s life and finishing his race with joy was not “all he did”, but that he kept it simple.

Paul, among other things, was assigned to write much of the New Testament. As he walked with God, that’s what flowed out… much of it from a prison cell. Paul never thought – that he could be more effective if he was out of prison! We shouldn’t either.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:12 mentions “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God.”

We are to be composed of simple love and devotion for our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knew that these traits of simplicity and sincerity were by grace. You are here today at His bidding, called by His irresistible grace to come and worship Him and receive from Him.

Be sincere in your words, with family and friends-your conduct, your faith, your love, and especially in your spiritual life. Let it be said of you, “We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and Godly sincerity.” 2 Corinthians 1:12.

My prayer for you today is: live with nothing hidden, nothing faked, always sincere.

REMEMBER: St. Francis had no trouble making decisions because he allowed the will of God to be his will. He knew that self-will leads only to disobedience and self-exaltation "He who wishes to save his life, must lose it." Luke 9:24

This lack of ego freed him to truly see others, to respond to their needs, to see Christ in them.

As he grew closer and closer to Christ, St. Francis understood that many of the things the world puts a high value upon are worthless in the sight of God. St. Francis kept himself and his message very simple - he didn't get in God's way.

It seems that the simpler we are, the closer we can be to Christ. If we allow it to education can fill us with pride that only serves as an obstacle, separating us from Christ. St. Francis did not condemn knowledge; he condemned knowledge for its own sake saying, "If they know the words but do not have the Spirit, their knowledge is dead".

Let's not be impressed with our achievements. Rather, let's be aware of how little we know that will help us reach holiness. Let's use the things of this world, as St. Francis did, and try not to be too impressed with the world or with ourselves. A very effective way of doing this is to living a simple life in the style of St. Francis.

Simplicity is nothing but an act of charity pure and simple, which has but one sole end, that of gaining the love of God. Our soul is then truly simple, when we have no aim at all but this, in all we do. -----St. F. de Sales

God loves the simple, and converses with them willingly, and communicates to them the understanding of His truths, because He disposes of these at his pleasure. He does not deal thus with lofty and subtle spirits. -----St. F. de Sales.

CONCLUSION: Some people come to look for simple ways to please God. Some others when they ask and get the answer and it isn't with what they like, they make up something for themselves and figure what they think will be alright with God.

Then there are those that cannot believe that the answer can be that simple and there must be more and by digging deeper and (more of less) trying to figure out God's mind, they miss the way to come to God.

If someone is telling you the truth...don't fight against the truth because you won't win...your arms are too short to box with God.

PRAYER: St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that I may no so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Abba, Father! Keep me simple and wholly obedient to Your will. This prayer, I make in Jesus name. Amen.

Promise Date: 22^nd July, 2012.

I will be faithful and obedient to what You have asked of me. Amen.