Great book.
I'm in the middle of Chapter 9 and there are so many things I would've liked to type in and process here, but I joined a small group at church that's reading another book ("A Better Way to Pray" A. Wommack) and I've spent my extra time reading and processing it. It's a great book, too! I highly recommend it.
So, here's another stream of consciousness post. Sorry.
We're less than a month away from going to Korea. This time the team has 12 members -- much more manageable size. My dear friend, Leslie is getting married the weekend before we leave. I'm looking for a dog sitter for the 2.5 weeks we're gone. I sprained my ankle 2 days ago playing soccer. (Ouch.) I'm heading up to my mom and dad's today so the kids and I can see the fireworks on the lake. (Barry has to work. He's such a wonderful man!) The kids leave for KidsCamp on Monday morning and I'd like to get them packed BEFORE Sunday night.
Back to the book...
So, I really felt drawn to read it. I'm just going to type in an excerpt from what I've just read. This is Jerry Bridges stuff. It's just so good and reminds me that we never outgrow the need to stay in God's word and hide it in our hearts. It's only by reading the Word and letting it sink in that we come to fear the Lord and avoid conforming to the patterns of this world.
Here Jerry has been talking about the fact that we each will always have a propensity toward sin. He explains in depth the fact that we are responsible for our own choices. Each time we sin it is because we choose to, but we cannot resist without the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. Here are his suggestions based on scripture to stay on the path of holiness:
"The crucial question then is, "How do we destroy the strength and vitality of sin?" If we are to work at this difficult task, we must first have conviction."
Okay, my words here. When you've walked with Christ for years, there are times when you may recognize a particular shortcoming in yourself. Maybe it's not something that seems even big enough to tackle, but when we step back and realize that we are always called to press on in our growth in Christ we know we need to address it. For example, you may find that you tend to be judgmental in your heart toward others. Even though you may not act on these thoughts, you know they are not right. This is what I like about this book. Jerry reminds us that the motivation for growing in holiness and godliness never comes from ourselves. He gives a clear explanation that we as believers MUST humble ourselves by staying in the Word and dependent on the Spirit or we will not progress.
Back to Jerry.
"We must be persuaded that a holy life of God's will for every Christian is important. We must believe that the pursuit of holiness is worth the effort and pain required to mortify the misdeeds of the body. We must be convinced that "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
"Not only must we develop conviction for living a holy life in general, but we must also develop conviction in specific areas of obedience.
"These convictions are developed through exposure to the Word of God. Our minds have far too long been accustomed to the world's values. Even after we become Christians, the world around us constantly seeks to conform us to tits value system. We are bombarded on every side by temptations to indulge our sinful natures. That is why Paul said, " Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remake you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed" (Romans 12:2).
"Only through God's Word are our minds remolded and our values renewed."
That's just good stuff, especially for those of us who have been in the church for a long time and who tend to forget that we are continually been pulled along by the world's current, even when we don't realize it. It's only when we look to the Word of God intently that we see how far we've drifted.
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