Peripatetics: The Art of Walking
Friday, November 12, 2004
...I've been finding some quotes from some of the reading I've been doing and trying to foster some on-line iron-sharpening-iron stuff for us all by encouraging you to comment. So, here's today's quote, from Andrew Murray in "The Deeper Christian Life":
"I tell you, beloved, when the Holy Ghost comes upon a man he becomes a spiritual man, and instead of denying his Lord he denies himself, just remember that.
...You always must do one of hte two, you must deny self or you must deny Jesus, and alas, Peter denied his Lord rather than deny himself. On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit came upon him, he could not deny his Lord, but he could deny himself, and he praised God for the privilege of suffering for Christ...
Just as the Lord Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to Peter, He is willing to give the Holy Spirit to you. Are you willing to receive Him? Are you willing to give up yourself entirely as an empty, helpless vessel, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, to live, to dwell, and to work in you every day?
...I can tell you one thing that will help you. What helped Peter? Peter went out and wept bitterly. It must come with us to a conviction of sin; it must come with us to a real, downright earnest repentance, or we can never get into the better life. We must stop complaining and confessing, 'Yes my life is not what is should be and I will try to do better.' This won't help you. What will help you? This: that you go down in despair to lie at the feet of Jesus, and that you being with a very real and bitter shame to make confession..."
So today's question: How do we get to a point of a "real, downright earnest repentance?" Why is that so hard for us to do?
Brent 5:26 AM
Comments:
i kicked off yesterday with that question in mind. how, in our suburban culture, where we undeniably have more than we need (see 1 Timothy 6:8) come to a point of needing Jesus on a daily basis. so you have a great car, trophy wife, good kids that make good grades and an obedient dog. i still think you need Jesus. does a person have to lose all that in order to know christ. do kids have to get drunk every weekend, do drugs and have sex before they realize what a mess they are getting into and that a relationship with Christ is truly the abundant live. sometimes i think they do but i wish it didn't have to be that way. there's got to be a better way
Post a Comment
