Meditations

Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Matthew 23:26

“The texts of the Philokalia are, then, guides to the practice of the contemplative life. They constitute, as St Nikodimos puts it in his introduction, ‘a mystical school of inward prayer’ where those who study may cultivate the divine seed implanted in their hearts at baptism and so grow in spirit that they become ‘sons of God’ (John 1:12), attaining through such deification ‘the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13).

The emphasis is therefore on inner work, on the cleansing of ‘the inside of the cup and plate, so that their outside may also be clean’ (Matthew 23:26). This does not mean that what one might call outer work – the keeping of the commandments and the practice of the moral virtues – is of no importance. On the contrary, such work is a pre-condition of that purification without which no real progress in inner work can be made.

Indeed, in this respect outer and inner complement one another. Atrophy or defeat follow only when outer work is practiced as an end in itself, and the one thing needful – the inner practice of guarding the intellect and of pure prayer – is neglected. St Nikodimos himself remarks that such neglect is only too common: many there are who wear their whole life away in outer work, with the result that grace diminishes in them and they fail to realize the illumination of consciousness and purity of heart which are the goal of the spiritual path that the Philokalia charts for us.”

E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer in the “Introduction” to The Philokalia: The Complete Text: Volume 1, compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarius of Corinth (London: Faber & Faber, 1979) 14.

I have shifted from Meister Eckhart to Nikodimos and Makarius in The Philokalia to gain insight and inspiration for my service in China and to equip and inspire you for your service wherever God has you.

Nikodimos reminds us that it is needful to give attention to “the inner practice of guarding the intellect and of pure prayer.” We tend to neglect these things. It’s like we say to God, “I can take it from here.”

If we want God’s grace to abound in and through us. If we want our good works and generosity to grow in strength and power and blessing, we must focus on the inside and the outside will take care of itself.

Thanks for your prayers for me ministering in Qingdao, China this week. May God bless you wherever He has you serving and as you “guard your intellect and pray” leaving the rest up to Jesus.

“I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Philippians 4:18

“St. Gregory writes of four things needful for a man who hears the word of God and keeps it.

The first is that he should have mortified himself to all stirrings of the flesh, and having slain all transient things in himself, should himself too be dead to all transient things. The second is that he should be wholly and entirely raised up in God with knowledge, with love and with true inwardness. The third is that he should never do to anyone what he would not like to have done to him. The fourth is that he should be bounteous both with material things and with spiritual goods, giving both generously.

Many a man appears to give, but in reality gives nothing at all. These are people who give their goods to those whose possessions are greater than their own, where their gift is perhaps not wanted, or they give it where they obtain some service for their gift, or where they are given something in return, or where they expect to be honored. Such people’s gifts can more properly be called begging than giving, for in truth they give nothing.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was free and poor in all the gifts that He bounteously gave us: in all his gifts He never sought His own: rather did He desire only the praise and glory of the Father and our salvation, and He continued suffering and giving himself for true love until his death.

If now a man wants to give for the love of God, let him thus give away material goods purely for God’s sake, with no eye to profit or exchange or any transitory honor, and let him seek nothing for himself, but only God’s honor and glory, and to help his neighbor in God’s name, if through need he lacks something.

And so too he should give spiritual goods, wherever he knows that his fellow Christian is willing to receive them in order to better his life for God’s sake – and for this he shall not seek any thanks or reward from that man or any advantage, nor should he want any reward from God for this service, but only that God may be glorified. In this way he should be free in his giving as Christ was free and poor in all the gifts He gave us. If a man gives thus, that is true giving. Whoever has these four things may truly have confidence that he has heard God’s word and kept it.”

Gregory of Sinai as cited by Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Eighty-Nine” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 432-433.

I am praying my service to Pastor John and the Chinese church in Qingdao, like Epaphroditus to Paul and the church in Philippi, is a “fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”

Read today’s post again. It’s so rich. So deep. So powerful.

I pray God helps you grasp the four things needful and serve as a conduit of true giving. I pray this for me today and for each one reading this wherever you are.

Reading Gregory of Sinai, directs me to see what is ‘needful’ in The Philokalia next. His writing are found there.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

“This is the word of St. Paul. He says, “All that I am, I am by the grace of God.” Now this sermon seems to rise above grace and being and understanding and will and all desire – so how can St. Paul’s words be true? The answer is that St. Paul’s words are true: it was needful for the grace of God to be in him, for the grace of God effected in him that the accidental in him was perfected as essence. When grace had ended and finished its work, Paul remained that which he was.”

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Sixty-Two” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 424.

Each of us, like St. Paul, are what we are by the grace of God.

This word ‘grace’ means by the undeserving favor of God lavished on us through Jesus Christ, we are what we are. We are tools in His hand. We are conduits of His matchless love. We are messengers of divine hope. We are teachers of life-giving truth.

We are what we are because of Him. So, let us pause to worship.

Father in heaven, thanks for what you have made each of us by Your grace. Through Your Holy Spirit cause Your mercy, generosity, and love to flow through us. Make it so for me in China and readers everywhere. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

“To be poor in spirit, a man must be poor of all his own knowledge: not knowing anything, not God, nor creature nor himself. For this it is needful that a man should desire to know and understand nothing of the works of God. In this way a man can be poor of his own knowledge.”

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Sixty-Two” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 423.

This post contains a profound paradox that is needful for all of us to grasp.

We must not try to figure God out. We must only trust Him. In so doing, His generosity of spirit replaces our poverty of spirit. We get the kingdom!

I have traveled halfway around the world to teach people about a God we cannot even begin to understand.

Someone said to me, “I am praying for the safety of the people you serve after you leave, Qingdao.” This is what those I will served have told me in advance.

“Gary, don’t worry about what will happen to us. Give thanks for what you will teach us. It will make what time God gives us more productive for the kingdom.” Pray with and for me that God will do His best work and convey living truth through me.

He wants to do it through you too. Surrender yourself in poverty of spirit. Watch His generosity work!

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

“Note the wondrous work that God performs in the soul, as it says, “What wonders shall come of this child?” It is needful that every tool is adequate to the work the craftsman performs, if that work is to be perfect: for man is God’s instrument, and the tool works according to the nobility of the craftsman.”

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Sixty-Two” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 316.

It is remarkable that God works through people.

I am sure when He looks at each of us, He says, “What wonders shall come of this child?” Today we hear that it is needful that every tool is adequate for the work God has for us.

Think of the meaning of this. I am an adequate in the hand of God.

This tells me that I can do whatever He sets before me because I am but a tool in His hand. He is the Master Craftsman doing good through each of us. Doing things that He has prepared us to do.

I traveled to China today to do good work He has prepared for me. I did the next seven posts in advance because I will not have access to post until 4 February 2026.

The iconic Qingdao cityscape is pictured above in a stock photo.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

“Now let me instruct you about virtue. Virtuous living depends in three points on the will. One thing is to resign one’s will to God, for it is needful to do fully what one then knows, whether in taking or in leaving. There are three kinds of will.

The first is sensible will, the second is rational will, the third is eternal will. The sensible will seeks guidance, so that one needs a proper teacher. The rational will means following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and the saints, that is, so that words, deeds and way of life are alike directed to the highest end. When all this is accomplished, God will give something more in the ground of the soul, that is, an eternal will consonant with the loving commands of the Holy Ghost.

Then the soul says, ‘Lord, tell me what thy eternal will is.’ And then, if the soul has satisfied the condition we have just mentioned, and if God so pleases, the Father will speak His eternal Word into the soul.”

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Nine” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 88.

Two days ago, surrender. Yesterday, orderly, understanding, and mindful service. Today, the path of virtue depends on resigning my sensible, rational, and eternal will to God.

I must seek guidance from God alone, walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and I figure it out as I live it out that I am here not to advance temporal but rather eternal purposes.

I think I am ready. I have had strategic meetings in Vietnam and head into China tomorrow. Are you ready for whatever next steps God has for you? Readiness links to resigning the will.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

“Three things especially are needful in our works: to be orderly, understanding, and mindful. ‘Orderly’ I call that which corresponds in all points to the highest. ‘Understanding’ I call knowing nothing temporal that is better. ‘Mindful’ I call feeling living truth joyously present in good works.”

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Nine” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 87.

Coming after the call to surrender yesterday, I feel I get the needful perspective for serving today: be orderly, understanding, and mindful.

By orderly, I must have my proverbial attachments in order and attach to God as highest. By understanding, I do well to detach from the temporal. And by mindful, if I am paying attention, I get to experience the living truth joyously present in my good works.

If I look closely into my heart, I see that sometimes my heart and mind can be disordered, I can lack understanding, and I can appear not at all mindful. God help me. God help other like me.

It seems to be orderly I must keep my focus on God. To grow in understanding, I must discern what God desires in every situation. And to be mindful, I must generously serve as the conduit of living truth.

This rings true for me in Asia and you too, wherever you are.

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” Matthew 3:3

“This above all else is needful: you must lay claim to nothing! Let go of yourself and let God act with you and in you as He will. This work is His, this Word is His, this birth is His, in fact every single thing that you are. For you have abandoned self and have gone out of your (soul’s) powers and their activities, and your personal nature. Therefore God must enter into your being and powers, because you have bereft yourself of all possessions, and become as a desert, as it is written, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Matt. 3:3). Let this eternal voice cry out in you as it listeth, and be as a desert in respect of yourself and all things.”

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328) in “Sermon Three” in The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart, translated and edited by Maurice O’C. Walshe (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 51-52.

Today I return to my word for the year – needful – in the writings of Meister Eckhart.

I have arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (pictured above) and asking God to prepare my heart for service. I feel him telling me that before I can tell others to make way for the Lord, it is needful for me to do it.

Absolute surrender is needful. It is needful to give God every portion of my being.

All of us can do this. Not just me sitting here in Asia. Before embarking on whatever is happening in your, it is needful to surrender yourself and everything to God.

Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you. Take care of everything. Amen.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

“I shall never forget a man giving to me many years ago when I was in financial difficulties. I needed help and a business man said to me, ‘The Lord has told me to give to you, but before I do I want to show you how to give to others.’ It revolutionized my life… One of the passions of my life is to turn getters into givers.”

Selwyn Hughes in Divine Mathematics: A Biblical Perspective on Investing in God’s Kingdom (Surrey, UK: CWR, 2004) 79-80.

What a fitting way to end this three-week exploration of this book! We have learned that the greatest form of helping people is to turn getters into givers.

How can you do this where God has placed you? It might mean teaching your children or grandchildren to give in tangible and basic ways. Can you think of others you can teach to give?

When this posts, I will still be in en route to Vietnam. Thanks for your prayers for my safe travel and spiritual growth spending time with the persecuted church and special people.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

“Many years ago a Jewish Rabbi by the name of Moses Maimonides listed the 8 degrees of giving.

1. Giving grudgingly.
2. Giving willingly but less than one should.
3. Giving only when asked.
4. Giving what one should give without being asked.
5. Giving when the recipients know who gave but the giver doesn’t know who receives.
6. Giving when the giver knows who the recipients are but the recipients don’t know who the giver is.
7. Giving when neither the giver nor the recipient know each other.
8. When the giver helps the receiver give to others.

The last he called ‘service in the eighth degree’.”

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) as cited by Selwyn Hughes in Divine Mathematics: A Biblical Perspective on Investing in God’s Kingdom (Surrey, UK: CWR, 2004) 79.

Where do you see yourself on the scale? I find that lists like this challenge us and stretch us. Sit with the Holy Spirit and think of ways you can practice service up to the eighth degree.

And take a minute to pray for me. I will travel and serve in Vietnam, China, and the Philippines from 22 January to 5 February 2026 as part of my sabbatical growth to deepen my faith.

I can think of no way to grow deeper in my faith than to spend time with the persecuted church. So, when I got invited, I prayed and discerned that I should go.

This is not a GTP trip. I have had affiliate faculty status at Kairos University for a decade. I go as Professor of New Testament. I wrote a paper in 2024 which has been translated into Chinese.

It is entitled “Advice from the Apostolic Fathers on Christian Social Engagement in a Hostile World”. Click here to download it English and here for Chinese.

Pray this paper, written at the request of Chinese brothers and sisters two years ago, and my physical presence encourages those I serve. I appreciate your prayers for my safety and spiritual growth.