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The Magnificent Mystery of Us
A couple of years ago I awoke in the middle of the night and, for some inexplicable reason, found myself pondering the story of Cinderella. As I did, I felt a distinct impression, “That’s you.” As when God speaks, it created delight in me. The glass slipper speaks of a beautiful realm that Cinderella was made… Continue reading
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Molly’s Mystical Smile
Henri Nouwen writes, “For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required.” This is true of everyone, not just leaders. By moral he means the human attempt to do the right thing on one’s own. While such an effort may evoke our admiration, eventually it saps… Continue reading
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An Everyday Wonder!
Recently we were driving Highway 21, the road that skirts the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron. As we drove along, we passed dozens and dozens of wind turbines. The questions of whether these things produce energy efficiently or destroy the beauty of the countryside, as many contend, didn’t occupy my mental landscape. I’ll leave such… Continue reading
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Desire and the Spirit-Led Life (Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT)
Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT–Copyright © 2008 Andrew T. Hawkins Passion must at times animate our prayer and if we do not get our hearts’ longings into our prayer closet, our devotional life is finished. Fenelon claims that to pray is to desire. Without it, he says, we do not really pray, but merely go… Continue reading
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Love, a Simple Secret for Hearing God (Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT)
Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT–Copyright © 2008 Andrew T. Hawkins Hearing that God can speak directly to us can feel intimidating because of our seeming inability to tune into his voice. I certainly do not hear him so plainly in everyday experience. However, I find that most of the time my problem comes from not… Continue reading
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Primal Yearning and Prayer (Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT)
Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT–Copyright © 2008 Andrew T. Hawkins Sometimes we think we must obliterate all other desires and somehow progress to a state of wanting nothing but God. However, things do not normally work that way. We cannot just cut the principle of desire out of our lives nor instantly do away with… Continue reading
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Confession–Relief from Deafening Pain (Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT)
Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT–Copyright © 2008 Andrew T. Hawkins After lifting our minds in praise to our Heavenly Father, self-examination and confession flow rather naturally. Having glanced toward his beauty and grace, our thoughts inevitably drift back to how unfortunately different we are. Two frightening consequences of the Fall make this attention shift unavoidable,… Continue reading
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Are All My Thoughts & Feelings My Own? (Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT)
Excerpt from WHISPERS THAT DELIGHT–Copyright © 2008 Andrew T. Hawkins For God to communicate with us, we must sense him in some way and he normally chooses such commonplace means as thinking or feeling. Christians have long recognized that, just as the Evil One can put “fiery darts” in our minds (Eph. 6:16 NKJ), so… Continue reading
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A Lesson When God Spoke Peace to Me
Recently in prayer I imagined that God was saying something like the following: “Whatever you do, do in peace. In a peaceful state of mind you will have the opportunity to look to God for confirmation that you’re on the right track. A hurried, hectic spirit is distracted by the pressures. It cannot hear. The… Continue reading