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Living the Sermon on the Mount (by Rolland Baker)

By Anita Mathias

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I love this passage, Rolland Baker’s introduction to Heidi Baker’s book, There is Always Enough.I find it a beautiful and inspiring description of the kind of Christian life which is possible to us, if we but believe.
I (Rolland) always wanted to believe and live the Sermon on the Mount. I would read the Scriptures longingly, trying to imagine how wonderful it would be not to worry about anything, safe and secure in the presence of Jesus all the time. Miracles would be normal. Love would be natural. We could always give and never lose. We could be lied to, cheated and stolen from, and yet always come out ahead. We would never have to take advantage of anyone, or have any motive but to bless people. Rather than always making contingency plans in case Jesus didn’t do anything, we could count on him continually. We, our lives and all that we preach and provide would not be for sale, but would be given freely, just as we have received freely. Our hearts would be carefree in the love of our Father in heaven, who always knows what we need, and we could get on with the glorious business of seeking first His Kingdom, and His righteousness. There would always be enough.”

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Comments

  1. Tim Sloan says

    May 2, 2012 at 9:52 am

    Thanks Anita, I think that's good advice.

    Sorry for the duplicate comment – I posted from my phone and it must have introduced a technological gremlin somehow 🙂

  2. Anita says

    May 1, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Thank you, Ian, and blessings to you as God continues to lead and bless you on your road full of difficulty and blessings.

    You write well. Each of us has our own unique writing style given us in accordance with the readers God wishes us to reach!

  3. Anita says

    May 1, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    @ Tim, sometimes one needs to feed oneself, and follow a private path of spiritual nourishment which is not the one promoted from the pulpit and by the church. My current church is not charismatic, but I find myself excited and stirred by writers such as Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker, John Arnott, Patricia Bootsma etc. So I am reading them, privately,and praying for a renewed filling of the spirit. I co-lead a group, and I am sure it will all overflow there eventually.

    Perhaps you can deepen contemplatively privately, and thus enrich your church with another spiritual stream?

  4. Ian Dunford says

    May 1, 2012 at 9:33 am

    Hi Anita

    WOW! I do love Your Blog so! I wish I was able to write like you do.

    I just Love reading through your Blog and though some of the posts I choose to read have been from last year, He(Love) The Father has spoken to me through them.

    This one and the other one about Heidi Baker's book, I like very much.

    I have been held in the book Matthew Chapters 5,6,7 for quite some time, with the odd brief visit else where.

    I'm sure this is true of us all, I keep hearing it seems a voice (Not audible) calling me.

    Yesterday as I read your Blog and what you said about Heidi, these word's entered my heart, Deep calls unto deep? I know now it's a Psalms.

    My small efforts to help my Homeless family do at times seem like I'm passing them an empty cup saying here you go use this for when it rains and you get thirsty. Pretty much of little help.

    Though to be fair, I know I am being used in a small way.

    My heart aches for them and I feel God is going to do something significant with the UK's Homeless. I think I'm being invited to by Him (Love) God to participate with Full life engagement and surrender.

    I could go on and share what I believe about that, however reading your blog has confirmed that I'm being led down a certain preplanned route.

    I like too, that on your blog you mention whispers, as I often refer to Him(Love)God whispering to my heart too.

    Anyway Just wanted to say I like visiting with you at your blog home here.

    Oh and I have ordered the Book from Heidi.

    Every Blessing to you, your Family, and to your readers.

    Ian

  5. Tim Sloan says

    May 1, 2012 at 7:31 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  6. Tim Sloan says

    May 1, 2012 at 7:30 am

    That does make sense. Two of my favourite writers are St John of the cross and madame Guyon. They describe that contemplative spiritual path which isn't often discussed in my church setting (pentecostal). The profound inner surrender is very much a response to a steady revelation of divine love, and often seems to come through inner pain and even perceived or felt distance from God.

  7. Anita says

    April 30, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    Tim, I am far from reaching this myself–and so it spoke to me as a beautiful vision.

    Of course, it is a process. Everything in the spiritual life is. A mustard seed slowly grows into a tree.

    Absolute surrender and obedience hasten the process; but yes, we only grow into happy faith slowly–and since few of us surrender as deeply as Rolland and Heidi, few of us perhaps experience their level of spiritual happiness!

  8. Tim Sloan says

    April 30, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    Hi Anita,

    I appreciated reading this – thanks for posting. I'm certain this is a true description of how God intends us to live however I wonder; to what extent are we just a step away from this “if we but believe” and to what extent is there process involved?

    What this description brings home to me is that the barriers to this life have nothing to do with circumstance – they are all inside us. Pride, doubt or fear, if allowed to take control, would very quickly wreck this kind of existence so I wonder… if someone were living like this, where did they go? Do they rise up and get dealt with quickly or were they so completely flattened to begin with that such a person isn't struggling with them any more (I can't really imagine this could be the case, could it?)

    I am challenged to search for this level of abandonment to the love of God but I'm aware that all of the doubts and fears that cause me to stop resting and trusting are, and will be, continually tested.

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Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
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  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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