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English:
I believe some Christians make their life as difficult as pulling themselves through a keyhole would be. They believe the Christian life is lived on sheer grit and determination. There is nothing new in this attitude. The old hermit monks and others literally tortured themselves to subdue the flesh and become more spiritual. Week long fast, flaggelation with switches and whips, hours on their knees in prayer, crawling hundreds of yards through the dirt on their stomachs, years of isolation in lonely cells in the desert or atop mountains, not cutting their hair, not bathing and in the end did they find what they sought? Peace with God. There is a place for fasting and long periods of prayer and even a certain amount of isolation. What so many dont seem to grasp is that we cannot coerce the Lord with any of these things. I dare say God looks at us the way we might look at a child that holds its breath to get its way. If I were mountain climbing, or running a marathon, or swimming the English channel grit and determination would be a neccesity. Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you for it is light and easy to bear." He also castigated the Pharisees for putting burdens on peoples backs they couldnt bear themselves. When we exercise our will our will becomes stronger. Our life in Christ is enhanced, deepened and grows richer by submission of our will in obedience to Him. "Nevertheless Father not my will but thine be done." This was the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion.
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