1 Pet. 2:1-10. “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking. . . . Coming to Him as to a living stone . . . .”

To whom was this said? Who was to lay aside these things? Was it the world? No, it was said to the people who had come to the living stone.

We understand that things are not going very well among us. There is a lack of fruit, even though people have heard the truth for so many years. There is vanity, evil speaking, complaining, and dissatisfaction. When we meet again after an absence of some time, it is painful, because there has not been faithfulness in the Spirit in the interval—faithfulness in the hidden where no one sees us or knows about us. Why is it this way? You have not come often enough to the living stone. You do not have the right attitude of mind. God leads you to your enemies, but you admire them instead of fighting against them. You admire worldly greatness, the pride of life. If you see someone come into the meeting who is well dressed, refined, and with a superior air, you admire them. You cannot bear to cut that connection. You cut yourself off from fellowship with the apostles and with the holy men and women who have lived down through the ages, and those who are alive now.

Madame Guyon writes that, unfortunately, she had to let go of most of her spiritual children. Not because she did not have the love and patience to work with them any longer, but because she realized that they did not have the mind to give up everything for Jesus’ sake. Only a few had the attitude to continue deeper into Christ.

The Spirit tells us about each person’s condition. The Spirit tells us about people who are God-fearing. If someone is vain, we are well aware of it; if someone backbites, we are aware of that too. However, with the soul who has lived faithfully for God, there is an aroma, a beautiful fragrance. That is noble. I admire nothing more than such souls. Our connection is above, through Jesus Christ. Any bond that is merely between people and not in the Spirit is worth nothing.

Our attitude of mind is vitally important. Let us make sure that we have a good attitude of mind. Let us pray for that.

2 Cor. 4:6; 1 Kings 8:11-12; Job 33:15-30; Gen. 1:2-3.

God commanded light to shine out of darkness. It is also written that unto the upright there arises light in the darkness. Who comes into darkness? Ungodly people? No, this happens to the upright—those who are trying to do God’s will. They come to the point of saying, “I cannot see the way anymore; everything is completely dark.” In this darkness God lets a tiny little light shine, and a person sees the true light. God allows this to happen so that people can see the true light. Most people never come into darkness. (They are in darkness, but they say that they are in the light.) In 1 Kings 8:11-12 it is written: “So that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon spoke: ‘The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud.’”

Most priests continue to minister—in the midst of their darkness. Thauler, a God-fearing man, was once such a priest, a Pharisee. He gathered huge crowds of people to listen to him. Then an old farmer came to him and told him that he was a Pharisee. Thauler, an upright man, did not just let him go, but asked him to prove it. The farmer stayed for three days and convinced him that he was a Pharisee. Then Thauler came into such darkness that he confessed from the pulpit that he could not continue there and minister to them. In that darkness God let light arise for him. When he started to preach again, it had such an effect on the listeners that they fell down and cried to God that they might be saved as the priest had been saved.

God does this to man in order to turn him from his deed and to remove pride from man. Job 33:17.

Behold, God works all these things twice, in fact, three times with a man. Job 33:29.