Encounter God Retreat Quotes

Now when the soul by its efforts to abandon outward objects and gather itself inwards, is brought into the influence of the central tendency, without any other exertion, it falls gradually by the weight of Divine Love into its proper centre; and the more passive and tranquil it remains, and the freer from self-motion and self-exertion, the more rapidly it advances, because the energy of the central attractive virtue is unobstructed and has full liberty for action. All our care and attention should, therefore, be to acquire inward recollection: nor let us be discouraged by the pains and difficulties we encounter in this exercise, which will soon be recompensed on the part of our God by such abundant supplies of grace as will render the exercise perfectly easy, provided we be faithful in meekly withdrawing our hearts from outward distractions and occupations, and returning to our centre with affections full of tenderness and serenity. When at any time the passions are turbulent, a gentle retreat inwards into a Present God easily deadens and pacifies them; and any other way of contending with them rather irritates than appeases them.

The undiscerning observer may think that this mixture of ideal and reality, of the human and spiritual, is most likely to be present where there are a number of levels in the structure of a community, as in marriage, the family, friendship, where the human element as such already assumes a central importance in the community’s coming into being at all, and where the spiritual is only something added to the physical and intellectual. According to this view, it is only in these relationships that there is a danger of confusing and mixing the two spheres, whereas there can be no such danger in a purely spiritual fellowship. This idea, however, is a great delusion. According to all experience the truth is just the opposite. A marriage, a family, a friendship is quite conscious of the limitations of its community-building power; such relationships know very well, if they are sound, where the human element stops and the spiritual begins. They know the difference between physical-intellectual and spiritual community. On the contrary, when a community of a purely spiritual kind is established, it always encounters the danger that everything human will be carried into and intermixed with this fellowship. A purely spiritual relationship is not only dangerous but also an altogether abnormal thing. When physical and family relationships or ordinary associations, that is, those arising from everyday life with all its claims upon people who are working together, are not projected into the spiritual community, then we must be especially careful. That is why, as experience has shown, it is precisely in retreats of short duration that the human element develops most easily. Nothing is easier than to stimulate the glow of fellowship in a few days of life together, but nothing is more fatal to the sound, sober, brotherly fellowship of everyday life. There is probably no Christian to whom God has not given the uplifting experience of genuine Christian community at least once in his life. But in this world such experiences can be no more than a gracious extra beyond the daily bread of Christian community life. We have no claim upon such experiences, and we do not live with other Christians for the sake of acquiring them. It is not the experience of Christian brotherhood, but solid and certain faith in brotherhood that holds us together. That God has acted and wants to act upon us all, this we see in faith as God’s greatest gift, this makes us glad and happy, but it also makes us ready to forego all such experiences when God at times does not grant them. We are bound together by faith, not by experience. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity’—this is the Scripture’s praise of life together under the Word. But now we can rightly interpret the words ‘in unity’ and say, ‘for brethren to dwell together through Christ’. For Jesus Christ alone is our unity. ‘He is our peace’. Through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, and fellowship with one another.

Later on, the man who humbly wondered why God had chosen him to be king erected monuments to himself. His successes, his inflated sense of self, the myth that he had built up the kingdom in his own strength became strongholds that he retreated into—driving him mad with power, insecurity, and jealousy. The insecure leader can rapidly turn into an arrogant leader as they find solace, identity, and direction in the flattery of others. The voice of the crowd then drowns out the still small voice of God encountered in the wilderness.

the enemy tried to steal our joy through our brother Musa. He had been suspicious of our camping trip and through other people in the community had learned what it entailed. The following Sunday he went to church to find us. The service that day was a real celebration as we gave testimonies of what God had done in our lives at the retreat. Adila and I were in the choir, so an usher came to tell Malika that our brother was in the building looking for us. Malika dared not turn around. She knew what was coming. Musa would not come into the sanctuary, not wanting to defile himself, but stayed in the corridor. At the end of the service Adila, Malika, Iman and I went out to meet him. When I saw the anger in his face, I knew we were in for another beating. “Why are you not obeying me? I told you not to go,” he hissed, spitting with rage.

the Bible teacher asked me about my plans for the future, and I told him about my dreams for further education. He listened to me intently, and then to my surprise said he wanted to make a way for me to continue my studies. He offered to pay all my tuition fees. I was amazed, and tears came to my eyes. It was such a generous gift, revealing God’s faithfulness to me once more. My sisters and I came home from the retreat on a spiritual high.

began to realize, as my health and happiness deteriorated, that this was not a both-and kind of situation. It was either-or. Every hour I spent online was not spent in the physical world. Every minute I was engrossed in a virtual interaction I was not involved in a human encounter. Every second absorbed in some sort of trivia was a second less for any form

Hope is the result of a transformation in awareness springing from the encounter with Jesus,