C.S. Lewis Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.
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from Oswald Chambers The answer to the question “How can a man be born when he is old?” is – When he is old enough to die – die right out of his “rag rights,” to his virtues, to his religion, to everything, and to receive into himself the life which never was there before. The new life manifests itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness. Is my knowledge of Jesus born of internal spiritual perception, or is it only what I have learned by listening to others? by John Calvin Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. …In the first place, no one can look upon himself without immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom he “lives and moves.” Each of us must, then, be so stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness as to attain at least some knowledge of God. Thus, from the feeling of our own ignorance, vanity, poverty, infirmity, and – what is more – depravity and corruption, we recognize that the true light of wisdom, sound virtue, full abundance of every good, and purity of righteousness, rest in the Lord alone. To this extent we are prompted by our own ills to contemplate the good things of God; and we cannot seriously aspire to him before we begin to become displeased with ourselves. Accordingly, the knowledge of ourselves not only arouses us to seek God, but also as it were, leads us by the hand to find him. Blaise Pascal Year of Grace 1654 From about half past ten at night to about half an hour after midnight, FIRE “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6), not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude, heartfelt joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. “My God and Your God” (John 20:17). “Your God shall be my God” (Ruth 1:16). The world forgotten, everything except God. He can only be found by the ways that have been taught in the Gospels. Greatness of the human soul. “O righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You” (John 17:25). Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy. I have separated myself from him. “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water” (Jeremiah 2:13) “My God, will you leave me?” (cf. Matthew 2746). Let me not be cut off from him forever! “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. I am separated from him; for I have shunned him, denied him, crucified him. May I never be separated from him. He can only be kept by the ways taught in the gospel. Complete and sweet renunciation. Total submission to Jesus Christ and to my director. Everlasting joy in return for one day’s striving upon earth. “I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119:16) Amen. by Blaise Pascal – Discovered on a piece of parchment on which Pascal recorded the decisive experience of 1654 when he was converted. This testimony was found sewn into his clothing after his death. It appears that he carried it with him at all times. (Os Guinness) by Oswald Chambers We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, it may be so in the initial stages; but we do not earn anything by faith, faith brings us into right relationship with God and gives God his opportunity. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of sentimental enjoyment of his blessings. Your earlier life of faith was narrow and intense, settled around a little sun-spot of experience that as much of sense as of faith in it, full of light and sweetness; then God withdrew his conscious blessings in order to teach you to walk by faith. You are worth far more to him now than you were in your days of conscious delight and thrilling testimony. …Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts him – I will remain true to God’s character whatever he may do. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him” (Job 13:15) - this is the most sublime utterance of faith in the whole of the Bible. by Thomas a Kempis Every man naturally wants to know, but what is the good of knowledge without the fear of God? …He who knows himself well becomes cheap in his own eyes, and takes no pleasure in the praises of men. And foolish indeed is he who gives his attention to other things than those which make for his salvation. The greater and better your knowledge, so much the more severely will you be judged, unless you have lived a more holy life. This is the highest knowledge and the most useful lesson – to have true understanding and small opinion of oneself. To hold no high opinion of oneself, and always to judge well and highly of others, is great wisdom and high perfection. from A.W. Tozer There seems to be a great throng of professing Christians in our churches today whose total and amazing testimony sounds like this: "I am thankful for God's plan of sending Christ to the cross to save me from hell. ...Surely we know the Bible well enough to be able to answer that: God's highest purpose in the redemption of sinful humanity was based in his hope that we would allow him to reproduce the likeness of Jesus Christ in our once-sinful lives!" "I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored or turned off by worship is not ready for heaven." from John Wesley The [new] Society [in Portarlington] now contained above one hundred members, full of zeal and good desires; and in one week the face of the whole town is changed: open wickedness is not seen; the fear of God is on every side; and rich and poor ask, “What must I do to be saved?” How long (I thought with myself) will this continue? In most only till the fowls of the air come, and devour the good seed. Many of the rest, when persecution or reproach begins, will immediately be offended. And in the small remainder, some will fall off, either through other desires, or the cares of the world, or the deceitfulness of riches. A.W. Tozer As for myself, I have learned to talk back to [the devil] on this score. I say, “Yes, Devil, sin is terrible – but I remind you that I got it from you! And I remind you, Devil, that everything good – forgiveness and cleansing and blessing – everything that is good I have freely received from Jesus Christ!” Brethren, we have been declared “Not guilty!” by the highest court in all the universe. It is good to know that on the basis of grace as taught in the Word of God, when God forgives a man, he trusts him as though he had never sinned. John Bunyan God is the only desirable good; nothing without him is worthy of our hearts. Right thoughts of God are able to ravish the heart; how much more happy is the man that has interest in God. God alone is able by himself to put the soul into a more blessed, comfortable, and happy condition than can the whole world; yes, and more than if all the created happiness of all the angels of heaven did dwell in one man’s bosom. |
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