idolatry

  • consider ... our ways, the great cloud of witnesses, Susanna Anthony

    As I alluded to in my last post, "What kind of racer are you? ..., as Christians, we constantly need to examine how we're running the race set before us, and in order to run effectively, we need to look unto and to consider Jesus:

    Hebrews 12:1  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

    3  Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

    Jesus Himself is our primary and ultimate example, but not only our example – for Jesus Himself provides us with the supernatural power to run the race, through the gift of His Holy Spirit who dwells in believers to work in us to will and to do God's good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-18).

    However, in addition to looking to Jesus, we're also commanded to look to the great cloud of witnesses God has set before us. That's emphasized in the preceding chapter of Hebrews, and these men and women are also referenced in the first verse of chapter 12. (We're also to take heed to the negative examples in Scripture ~ e.g. - see Hebrews 3-4, I Cor. 10, and please see my previous post for more about that.) In other words, as he arrives at chapter 12, the author of Hebrews is exhorting his readers, those Jewish converts who were on the verge of become sluggish in the race set before them: "Yes, look to these men and women who have gone before you as examples – but now, here's your ultimate and highest example: the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate, the God-man who lived a life of holiness by the power of God at work in Him." God has set before us not only the Lord Jesus but also such men and women of faith who were commended, as examples for us. Now, to be clear about it: these men and women are not be worshiped, yet such burning and shining lamps are to be followed, as they follow Christ... much like the apostle Paul wrote:

    I Corinthians 11:1: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
    It's true that any and all writings outside and apart from the Bible are not God-breathed and not inspired like the Bible and are not on a par with the Bible, so we must be judicious as we chose what to read, and we must be extra cautious as we read, for we are commanded to test all things because the devil is a liar and a deceiver, and he is prowling, looking for a way to get a foothold and to distract or hinder us in the race set before us. However, keeping in mind those cautions, studying Church history and reading Christian biography remain two wonderful means of grace God has provided for us to run the race set before us so we obtain the glorious prize.


    For over two weeks many of our eyes were glued to our television screens to watch the 2012 London Olympics.

    Now that the Olympics are past ...

    Consider how much time, energy, and effort we put forth to follow and to watch our favorite athletes and competitions over the 17 days of the Olympics...


    And now, in contrast, consider how much time, energy, and effort we put forth over the course of 17 average days to consider Jesus and the great cloud of witnesses...

    May God give each of us grace to consider our ways!


    I'd encourage you to open your Bible to Hebrews 11, and ask God to put it in your heart to study the life of one of those men or women listed there (or another Bible figure), so you might grow in your desire and love for Christ and His Kingdom, and be spurred on and fortified to run the race set before you, to see that we are just like those men and women, that we too are strangers and exiles on this fallen earth, dwelling in our fleshly, sinful tents, batting against the temptations of the world and the wiles of the devil, and we are looking to and longing for that heavenly country. And, all the while, just like those saints, we're called to fight the good fight of faith and to run with perseverance and joy in our pilgrimage here so we might obtain the glorious prize that is set before us, and not become sluggish or slothful – or, as David Brainerd prayed:

    "O that I may feel this continual hunger, and not be retarded, but rather animated by every cluster from Canaan, to reach forward in the narrow way, for the full enjoyment and possession of the heavenly inheritance! O that I may never loiter in my heavenly journey!"

    If you come back to me and tell me, "Karen, you are nuts? Do you live in the real world? I simply don't have that much time to study the Bible!" – then I'll ask you how you managed to find hour upon hour to watch the Olympic competitions and to read about your favorite athletes and to watch the replays of their performances over those 17 days... (Or – if you weren't watching the Olympics, consider how much time you spend in leisure activities, including surfing the web, playing online games, checking facebook, shopping, etc., etc. over the period of a couple weeks...)


    In addition to that challenge, I'd like to put before you an excerpt from the life of one of the great cloud of witnesses from Church history, a woman from Rhode Island – Miss Susanna Anthony (1726-1791). I first became acquainted with Susanna Anthony through a single diary entry of Edward Griffin (from "Memoir of the Rev. Edward D. Griffin, D.D., Compiled Chiefly from His Own Writings" by Edward D. Griffin & William Buell Sprague (New York: Taylor & Dodd, 1839), reprinted in 1987 by Banner of Truth Trust, 30. HT for the text: http://books.google.com/books?id=JbAEAAAAYAAJ)


    Wednesday, Oct. 4 [1797]. In consequence of reading the prayers of Miss Anthony, and discovering her intense desire to obtain more clear and transforming views of God, I have been led to reflect on the great difference between her prayers and mine. I have been, for the most part, asking for particular exercises of divine power, to produce effects in regard to me, my friends, my people, and Zion at large. And in prayer my mind has been more on the desired effects, than on that fulness and glorious sufficiency of wisdom, power, goodness, majesty, condescension, patience, faithfulness and truth, which there is in God. Thus I have stopped at the threshold, without getting into the temple. Had I in prayer been more intent to gaze into God, and had I exercised myself more in adoration and praise, I believe my acquaintance with God would have been vastly greater, and my mind more transformed into his likeness. Let it in future be the burden of my prayer, "Lord, show me thy glory."
    As way of brief introduction, suffice it to say – Miss Anthony was a Christian hedonist long, long before John Piper was born!

    The sure fire way to make war against the flesh, to mortify sin, and to combat any and all passions, desires, and love for all that is worldly and fleshly is to ask the Holy Spirit to infuse into us a greater passion, desire, and love for Christ, i.e. - to come to know Jesus Christ experientially as THE LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVES EXCELLING (as Charles Wesley wrote).

    Writing here at age 17, Miss Anthony sets the bar very, very high for us. It's evident that she'd begun tasting Canaan's clusters here on earth. But, let us remember, it is God Himself who made Susanna Anthony willing in the day of His power, and it is God who can do the same in any of His children. The God of the 21st century is the same today as He was 18th century Rhode Island! Just as the leopard cannot change its spots, neither can we change our spiritual tastebuds or our appetites – however, God Himself can! Has our Heavenly Father not promised to pour out His Holy Spirit on those who ask?

    May the Holy Spirit increase your love and passion and desire for God and for His Kingdom, and draw you into His courts as you read and consider the example of Susanna Anthony.

    * * *
    From: "The Life and Character of Miss Susanna Anthony. Who Died, in Newport, (R I.) June 23, 1791, in the 65th year of her age. Consisting Chiefly in Extracts from Her Writings, with Some Brief Observations on Them." Complied by Samuel Hopkins, Second Edition. (Portland, Maine: Lyman, Hall & Co. 1810), 49-51. (HT for the text: http://books.google.com/books?id=YO0QAAAAYAAJ)

    SECTION III.

    Containing extracts from her Diary, of different dates.

       THE following paper is transcribed and inserted here, as it was written in her youth, when she was but seventeen years old, and expresses the views and exercises which she then had; and affords admonition and instruction, especially to those young persons who shall read it.

       Oct. 25, 1743. I am just now entering into the eighteenth year of my age. And does the tempter tell me, that I chose religion when I was a child, and knew no better; when I knew nothing of the pleasures of this world: and that it may be, when these enjoyments and pleasures appear delightful, I shall forsake strict and solid religion, and run with the young, giddy  multitude, into the excesses of vanity? Then, O my soul, sit down again, and make another deliberate choice; even now I am entering the prime of all my days: and let me picture the world with its brightest side outmost; and religion in a solitary dress; and then choose my portion. If my former choice has not been free and noble enough; come now, my soul, and make one. Let there be nothing in it mean and low; but let it be great, noble and free.

       As to religion: can I sacrifice my name, and all that the world calls delightful, now in the prime of my age; and be accounted a fool and mad, by the wise, rich, and polite world? Can I withstand a thousand temptations to mirth and pleasure; and be a despised outcast among men? Now, if I conform to the world, I shall be a pleasing object to many, and a delight to them, who now despise me. What pleasure that the world can afford shall be withheld from me, if I once give myself up to sensual pleasure, and the gratification of my whole inclination; allowing myself all that mirth and jollity, that my youthful age will now admit of? If I now give a loose to my youthful appetites, and satisfy my carnal desires; what can then deprive me of pleasure, now I am free from pain and the infirmities of old age, which might give a disgust to these pleasures. Now I have life, health and liberty. If I yield to these desires, and seek to satisfy them by a thousand new and fresh delights; take my swing in the world; cast away sorrow, and indulge self in ten thousand new pleasures: what then can cross me?

       And, on the other hand, if I choose strict religion now, I may expect reproach, disdain and contempt, from the world, as not fit for common society, or scarce to live. I shall be accounted a poor, mean, ignorant, despicable creature, unworthy the notice of mortals: and, it, may be, despised by formal professors, as being religious overmuch: they watching for my halting, and rejoicing at my falls. And besides, I must expect many dark and doubting hours, filled with bitter sighs and groans; denying myself, and taking up my cross; plucking out a right eye, and cutting off a right hand; daily meeting with crosses, and losses, and afflictions; and it may be, with persecutions, imprisonment and death, with the utmost distress. While the sensual libertine lives in pleasure, flourishing like a green bay tree, and has no bands in his death.

       What a wide difference is here, between the strictly religious, and the sensual worldling! Come, then, my soul, and view them both as far as death; and now make a solemn and deliberate choice, either religion, or carnal pleasure. Come, my soul, and choose for eternity.

       Soul. Upon considering the nature and properties of each, I am brought to a free and full choice. I see nothing in this pleasure that can satisfy an immortal soul; nothing worthy my notice; nothing but an empty sound. Nor can it have any part in my affections, for a portion. They are but mean trifles, unfit to attract and busy an immortal soul. But religion, though it have its troubles with it; yet it hath a sacred sweetness in all. I feel an inward pleasure and satisfaction, which gives a relish, as it were, to this kind of religious pain and sorrow.

       Objector. Come, Soul, lay aside prejudice. What! nothing in all this pleasure, to delight thee. Search a little deeper. Or what can be in this melancholy religion, to allure thee to choose its ways?

       Soul. I have found what it is. For in all these pleasures, the soul has no God, and no happiness, suited to its immortal nature; without which, all is but a sickening trifle. Wherefore, the soul which hath God for its portion, attended with ever so much sorrow, is unspeakably more happy.

       Objector. But if you indulge yourself in pleasures, and strive to divert your company with mirth and jollity, you will gain the esteem of many, and they will greatly prize you, and seek your company.

       Soul. I value the approbation of the most high God, before all the esteem of poor mortals; and deliberately make choice of him, and his way of strict religion, for my portion, pleasure and happiness.

       I do now, with my whole soul and all my powers, choose God for my portion; taking his cross as well as his crown; esteeming the sorrows of religion greater riches than the pleasures of sin; looking on it a pleasure to be crucified with Christ. I despise every worldly enjoyment, compared with one smile from the lovely Jesus. I do, with my whole heart and soul, choose God and religion, though it may be through a sea of sorrow and distress, rather than the world in all its pomp and splendor, with ten thousand enjoyments. O most great and gracious God, I now choose thee as my sufficient, and every way suitable portion. I solemnly take God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for my all, in life, death and eternity; and resign myself, soul and body, into thy hands. And I take all the holy angels in heaven; and even the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, himself, to witness that I DO.

       And now, Lord, I am thine. Do with me as thou wilt. I am thy clay, feeble, helpless, and hopeless. I throw myself, soul and body, life and health, liberty and pleasure, on thee, the boundless, infinite fulness of heaven, the immutable God. Lord, God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I this day and minute subscribe with my heart and hand, to be the Lord's. Even, so, Lord Jesus, Amen and Amen.

    SUSANNA ANTHONY.

    * * *

    Miss Anthony was one of the great cloud of witnesses who was an extravagant lover of the Lord Jesus Christ because she had begun to taste and see and know the breadth, length, height and depth of the love of God. Therefore, she remained jealous and zealous for her soul, and she was adamant and would not permit mean, worldly trifles to come between the Lover of her soul and herself. Her soul's appetite was transformed. She hungered and thirsted for righteousness. She had tasted and seen the goodness and glory of God, and accordingly, she rejected and cast off all earthly treasures, and embraced Christ and held onto Him and onto Zion, for she had come to know Christ as the pearl of great price and her exceeding Joy. She knew that all other lovers were dung, for they were intent on stealing, killing, and destroying, and she knew all earthly lovers would lead her away from the life and life abundantly that Christ alone could give her.

    Miss Anthony had learned experientially that "religion never was designed to make our pleasures less!" She thought on the bliss to come, plus she was graced to sup of that bliss here on earthly ground. While on this earth, she had begun to taste the celestial fruit and sacred sweets of which Isaac Watts wrote in 1707.

    "We're Marching to Zion"

    Come, we that love the Lord,
    And let our joys be known;
    Join in a song with sweet accord,
    Join in a song with sweet accord
    And thus surround the throne,
    And thus surround the throne.

    Refrain

    We’re marching to Zion,
    Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
    We’re marching upward to Zion,
    The beautiful city of God.

    The sorrows of the mind
    Be banished from the place;
    Religion never was designed
    Religion never was designed,
    To make our pleasures less,
    To make our pleasures less.

    Refrain

    Let those refuse to sing,
    Who never knew our God;
    But favorites of the heavenly King,
    But favorites of the heavenly King
    May speak their joys abroad,
    May speak their joys abroad.

    Refrain

    The God that rules on high,
    And thunders when He please,
    Who rides upon the stormy sky,
    Who rides upon the stormy sky,
    And manages the seas,
    And manages the seas.

    Refrain

    This awful God is ours,
    Our Father and our Love;
    He will send down his heav’nly powers,
    He will send down his heav’nly powers,
    To carry us above,
    To carry us above.

    Refrain

    There we shall see His face,
    And never, never sin!
    There, from the rivers of His grace,
    There, from the rivers of His grace,
    Drink endless pleasures in,
    Drink endless pleasures in.

    Refrain

    Yea, and before we rise,
    To that immortal state,
    The thoughts of such amazing bliss,
    The thoughts of such amazing bliss,
    Should constant joys create,
    Should constant joys create.

    Refrain

    The men of grace have found,
    Glory begun below.
    Celestial fruits on earthly ground
    Celestial fruits on earthly ground
    From faith and hope may grow,
    From faith and hope may grow.

    Refrain

    The hill of Zion yields
    A thousand sacred sweets
    Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
    Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
    Or walk the golden streets,
    Or walk the golden streets.

    Refrain

    Then let our songs abound,
    And every tear be dry;
    We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
    We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
    To fairer worlds on high,
    To fairer worlds on high.

    Refrain

    Heavenly Father, have mercy upon us. You know our frames. We are dust, and we are prone to wander. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. We are prone to hunger and thirst for the worldly and fleshly, and all the while You have so much more for us: the unsearchable and all-surpassing riches of Jesus Christ – the True Bread and the Living Water! O! Open the eyes of our understanding, make us single-eyed for Christ alone by giving us a vision of the grace and glory and goodness of Christ. Use the witness of Miss Anthony to spur us on, so we might press on to know You, so we might not become lukewarm and loiter in our heavenly journey. Lead us to Your fount so we might increasingly glimpse and taste of Your beauty and life and riches, so we might see the emptiness and vanity and poverty of the world in contrast, and refuse and spurn all that is worldly and fleshly, knowing that Your fullness and all-satisfying joy and riches await to fill our cups to overflowing. You are our perfect portion and reward! Who is like unto You! Like Susanna Anthony, grant us an unrelenting passion for and pursuit of You and an increasing appetite for Jesus Christ, so when we are lured and tempted by earthly lovers, we might be able to consider all else as dung in comparison, and exult in You and sing out with full assurance of faith, "This is my Beloved – and He is indeed greater and sweeter and purer and lovelier and fairer than any and all other loves the world has to offer me! He satisfies my soul! I have supped with Him and know Him to be THE LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVES EXCELLING!"

    Merciful God, be gracious to us, for we are Yours in Christ Jesus, we are the sheep of Your pasture redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb. According to Your good pleasure, tap the barrels of Your grace and grant us tastes of celestial fruits and sacred sweets here on earthly ground, so we might glorify You by enjoying You, and we might readily testify of You and Your goodness to all the nations throughout this fallen world, where men in darkness and bondage are crying out in despair, "Who shall show us any good?" O! As we know that our highest and greatest good is to draw near to our God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we will proclaim that good news to all the peoples, so they might be glad along with us! O! Let all the peoples praise You! Shine Your face upon us and revive Your Church so we might enjoy You and rejoice in You, and all the nations might likewise! Hallelujah! May the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ extend to the ends of the earth!

    Related posts:

    Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
    Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor

    Finding pleasure in Him
    Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from Jonathan Edwards
    Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from George Whitefield
    How's your spiritual appetite? (Jonathan Edwards)
    Second Sunday after Christmas: Is your religion true religion? (Henry Scougal)
    this earthly manna ~ the Christian hedonist's plea
    Happy Birthday, John Piper ~ reflections on year-ends, aging, fruit bearing & Christian hedonism
    Songs about "What *I* Want," part 5: If the Curly Fry Doesn't "Satisfy," What Does?
    Letter 25 on assurance and fighting for joy (a strong craving ≠ His joy)
    My love affair . . . whose trumpet, whose glory & incomplete joy
    the lover's inquiry | letter 114 on fighting for joy
    Dearest idol, how can I find rest
    In the midst of my temptations fierce ~ O, Jesus Christ, my Treasure first
    Things To Look for in a Church, 9: "Pearl Freaks" (a.k.a. a Kingdom-Obsessed People)

    Why read Christian biography? To help us examine our love for God.
    "Who wants candles when he has the sun?" ~ Edward Payson | letter 124 on assurance & joy
    a little child set in our midst leads us into the New Year
    Phebe Bartlet – a child put in our midst ~ "Do you love Me?"

    What kind of racer are you? So run that you may obtain! (I Corinthians 9:24-27)
    Considering Jesus: (1) Making time to consider Jesus
    Considering Jesus: (2) Why do we do quiet time anyhow?
    take to heart ALL the words (more on quiet time)
    Get gnawing, put your nose down in the Book to feed the white-hot flame of God's gift
    Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
    "Bread of Heav'n on Thee I Feed"
    "The inestimable Benefits of Christ's Death, inferred from the excellency of his Person"

    postcards from England: are we excited over a dead fish and a car wreck?
    update w/ excerpt: Lloyd-Jones' sermons on the role of experience in Christianity
    The flags unfurled ... Christ's eternal banner | Lloyd-Jones ~ a third type of assurance
    The Father's Inheritance (Eleven days' journey ~ A lamentation & an exhortation)
    Is your ambition holy? / What are you living for? (Louis Paul Lehman) / The Christian's Aim


    Regarding Christian biography: Please see my tags marked bio. Also, if you're not sure where to start in regard to Christian biography, I'd suggest your checking out John Piper's biographical messages found at http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/biographies/by-title. Some of these are now available in PDF as well as ebook format; please check here: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/by-title.

    Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_Bridge_with_Olympic_rings_2012.JPG  / CC BY-SA 3.0

  • What kind of racer are you? So run that you may obtain! (I Corinthians 9:24-27)

     

    I Corinthians 9:24-27

    Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

    Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (KJV)


    From Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on I Corinthians:

    In these verses the apostle hints at the great encouragement he had to act in this manner. He had a glorious prize, an incorruptible crown, in view. Upon this head he compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, an allusion well known to the Corinthians, because they were celebrated in their neighbourhood: "Know you not that those who run in a race run all, but one obtaineth the prize? 24. All run at your games, but only one gets the race and wins the crown." And here,

          I. He excites them to their duty: "So run that you may obtain. It is quite otherwise in the Christian race than in your races; only one wins the prize in them. You may all run so as to obtain. You have great encouragement, therefore, to persist constantly, and diligently, and vigorously, in your course. There is room for all to get the prize. You cannot fail if you run well. Yet there should be a noble emulation; you should endeavour to outdo one another. And it is a glorious contest who shall get first to heaven, or have the best rewards in that blessed world. I make it my endeavour to run; so do you, as you see me go before you." Note, It is the duty of Christians to follow their ministers closely in the chase of eternal glory, and the honour and duty of ministers to lead them in the way.

          II. He directs them in their course, by setting more fully to view his own example, still carrying on the allusion. 1. Those that ran in their games were kept to a set diet: "Every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things, 23. The fighters and wrestlers in your exercises are kept to strict diet and discipline; nay, they keep themselves to it. They do not indulge themselves, but restrain themselves from the food they eat and so from the liberties they use on other occasions. And should not Christians much more abridge themselves of their liberty, for so glorious an end as winning the race, and obtaining the prize set before them? They used a very spare diet, and course food, and denied themselves much, to prepare for their race and combat; so do I; so should you, after my example. It is hard if, for the heavenly crown, you cannot abstain from heathen sacrifices." 2. They were not only temperate, but inured themselves to hardships. Those who fought with one another in these exercises prepared themselves by beating the air, as the apostle calls it, or by throwing out their arms, and thereby inuring themselves, beforehand, to deal about their blows in close combat, or brandish them by way of flourish. There is no room for any such exercise in the Christian warfare. Christians are ever in close combat. There enemies make fierce and hearty opposition, and are ever at hand; and for this reason they must lay about them in earnest, and never drop the contest, nor flag and faint in it. They must fight, not as those that beat the air, but must strive against their enemies with all their might. One enemy the apostle here mentions, namely, the body; this must be kept under, beaten black and blue, as the combatants were in these Grecian games, and thereby brought into subjection. By the body we are to understand fleshly appetites and inclinations. These the apostle set himself to curb and conquer, and in this the Corinthians were bound to imitate him. Note, Those who would aright pursue the interests of their souls must beat down their bodies, and keep them under. They must combat hard with fleshly lusts, and not indulge a wanton appetite, and long for heathenish sacrifices, nor eat them, to please their flesh, at the hazard of their brethren's souls. The body must be made to serve the mind, not suffered to lord over it.

         III. The apostle presses this advice on the Corinthians by proper arguments drawn from the same contenders.

    1. They take pains, and undergo all those hardships, to obtain a corruptible crown (25), but we an incorruptible. Those who conquered in these games were crowned only with the withering leaves or boughs of trees, of olive, bays, or laurel. But Christians have an incorruptible crown in view, a crown of glory that never fadeth away, an inheritance incorruptible, reserved in heaven for them. And would they yet suffer themselves to be outdone by these racers or wrestlers? Can they use abstinence in diet, exert themselves in racing, expose their bodies to so much hardship in a combat, who have no more in view than the trifling huzzas of a giddy multitude, or a crown of leaves? And shall not Christians, who hope for the approbation of the sovereign Judge, and a crown of glory from his hands, stretch forward in the heavenly race, and exert themselves in beating down their fleshly inclinations, and the strong-holds of sin?

    2. The racers in these games run at uncertainty. All run, but one receives the prize, 24. Every racer, therefore, is at a great uncertainty whether he shall win it or no. But the Christian racer is at no such uncertainty. Every one may run here so as to obtain; but then he must run within the lines, he must keep to the path of duty prescribed, which, some think, is the meaning of running not as uncertainly, 26. He who keeps within the limits prescribed, and keeps on in his race, will never miss his crown, though others may get theirs before him. And would the Grecian racers keep within their bounds, and exerting themselves to the very last, when one only could win, and all must be uncertain which that one would be? And shall not Christians be much more exact and vigorous when all are sure of a crown when they come to the end of their race?

    3. He sets before himself and them the danger of yielding to fleshly inclinations, and pampering the body and its lusts and appetites: I keep my body under, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away (27), rejected, disapproved, adokimos, one to whom the brabeutes--the judge or umpire of the race, will not decree the crown. The allusion to the games runs through the whole sentence. Note, A preacher of salvation may yet miss it. He may show others the way to heaven, and never get thither himself. To prevent this, Paul took so much pains in subduing and keeping under bodily inclinations, lest by any means he himself, who had preached to others, should yet miss the crown, be disapproved and rejected by his sovereign Judge. A holy fear of himself was necessary to preserve the fidelity of an apostle; and how much more necessary is it to our preservation? Note, Holy fear of ourselves, and not presumptuous confidence, is the best security against apostasy from God, and final rejection by him.

    * * *

    What kind of racer are you?
    How are you running your course?
    Will you suffer yourself to be outdone by earthly racers?
    Are you running that you might obtain the glorious prize?

    Are you running your course constantly, diligently, and vigorously?

    Are you chasing earthly glory or eternal glory?

    Are you running to obtain a corruptible crown or an incorruptible crown?

    Are you running to receive a perishable wreath or an imperishable wreath?

    Do you have a glorious prize in view?

    What kind of racer are you?
    How are you running your course?
    Will you suffer yourself to be outdone by earthly racers?
    Are you running that you might obtain the glorious prize?
    Are you running your course constantly, diligently, and vigorously?

    Are you temperate in all things?

    Are you exercising self-control in all things?

    Are you disciplining your body?

    Are you inuring yourself to hardship?

    Do you understand the danger of yielding to fleshly inclinations, and pampering the body and its lusts and appetites?

    Are you exerting yourself in beating down your fleshly appetites and inclinations?

    Have you lost sight of the glorious prize?

    What kind of racer are you?
    How are you running your course?
    Will you suffer yourself to be outdone by earthly racers?
    Are you running that you might obtain the glorious prize?
    Christian, are you taking pains and undergoing all hardships  – or have you become sluggish and slothful?

    Hebrews 6:11-12

    And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

    And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (KJV)

    Each of you. Every one of you. Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the author knew the heart of man and how each one of us would be tempted to sluggishness and slothfulness in the Christian race. These words are included in the Bible as a warning and encouragement to us today, for it's far too easy for each and every one of us to become sluggish and slothful in running the race set before us. We see that happening time and again with God's people, both throughout the Bible and all throughout Church history.

    Perhaps you may have begun well as the starting gun sounded. As you entered the Christian life, you got a good jump off the starting blocks, so to speak – however, now you're finding yourself hobbled and hamstrung in your heavenly race by sluggishness and slothfulness, your zeal has declined, and you've lost your first Love. Jesus Christ is no longer at the center of your vision, as you may have sung about Him at one time in the past:


    Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
    naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
    Thou my best thought by day or by night,
    Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
    (Eleanor Hull)


    Have you found yourself more earnest and diligent in regard to the earthly and fleshly, in comparison to matters of your soul and God's Kingdom and eternity?

    What is at the root of your sinful sluggishness and slothfulness?

    Who or what is arresting your attention away from the heavenly Bridegroom?

    What rival is wooing you away from the Beloved?

    It's far too easy for any one of us to start the race well, but then along the way we can become distracted by, enamored by, entangled with, and weighed down by earthly concerns, earthly glory, earthly crowns, and earthly wreaths. What tonic exists to awaken us and to shake us out of such treacherous slumber? The hymn writer Helen H. Lemmel reminds us that as we ...

    Turn [our] eyes upon Jesus,
    Look full in His wonderful face,
    ... the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
    In the light of His glory and grace.

    Like Moses, in order to endure, we need to keep looking to the God who is invisible! (See Hebrews 11:24-27; that last portion of v. 27 has been one of the most soul-fortifying passages for me in all of Scripture). Ah! To truly LOOK to and to CONSIDER Jesus, the glorious prize – lest we grow weary or fainthearted!

    Hebrews 12:1  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

    3  Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

    In verse 2, the Greek word for "looking" is aphorao, and it means "to consider attentively," from the Greek words apo and horao. From Strong's Concordance horao means:

    properly, to stare at (compare 3700), i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly (physically or mentally); by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear:--behold, perceive, see, take heed."

    And the word for "consider" in verse 3 is to analogizomai, meaning "estimate, i.e. (figuratively) contemplate:--consider."

    In other words, this looking to Jesus and this considering Jesus goes far, far beyond a once-in-a-while glance; far, far beyond breezing through a 5-minute devotional while your eyes are on the clock, anticipating checking your facebook; far, far beyond having a daily quiet time so as to check off an item on your "to-do list"; and far, far beyond intellectual scholarship without the Spirit's breath.

    Have you really considered why Jesus came?

    I Peter 3:18a  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God...

    This is one of the most glorious verses of Scripture, and I regret to say that I missed it... for years! Consider it! The spotless Lamb of God gave His precious blood, so we might be brought to God! So often Christianity is made out for a way to get to heaven, and yes, it is that, but, my friends, heaven begins in the here and now, as the veil has been torn, and a new and living way has been made for all of us who believe – straight into the Holy of Holies, through the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! Yes, it will be unceasing glory one Day, but even in this fallen world, we get foretastes of glory divine and joy unspeakable!

    Earlier this year, I heard one of the most blessed statements. It was made by one of our Sunday School teachers regarding the result of our reconciliation in Christ: "We get God!" Amen to that. I was thrilled! After all the classes I've sat in for years, that is one of the few statements which has been etched deeply on my soul. Afterwards, I shared that experience with a friend, who agreed with me, and added, "And God gets us!" What a thought! That God loved us while we were yet sinners, and Christ humbled Himself, He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but took on the form of a man, and became a servant, obedient unto death, even death on the cross in our place –– and who are we? Worms... dust and ashes! And yet, because of His great love for us, Christ became sin for us so we might become the righteousness of God in Him! Our God came to ransom and redeem His elect, so our joy might be full and God's glory might be displayed and exalted and exulted in, as we fellowship with our God, together with all the saints! Consider it! Vile, wretched sinners now justified in the eyes of God. Because we are credited with Christ's righteousness by grace through faith in His atoning sacrifice, and because Christ appeased the wrath of God, we are now free to draw near to God! Once far away, we have been brought near! Once not a people, now a people! Once not having been shown mercy, now shown mercy! As children of God, we are now privileged to look unto Jesus and to consider Jesus in a way that the world cannot do!

    Therefore, if we as Christians aren't beginning to plumb the depths of what it really means that we have been brought to God, then we're really in a miserably poor position as far as understanding the privileges and blessings we have as children of God! That's the state that the church of Laodicea was in: Jesus was reproving them as He stood at the door of the church and knocked. He was calling to all who would hear to open to Him, so they might sup with Him and He with them, to enjoy the fellowship that He suffered and died to bequeath to her! Let us not neglect or make light of the blessed and glorious privilege we have been granted to look unto Jesus and to consider Jesus!

    • Our time with Jesus in the Word of God is not merely something on our "to do" list, but it is something we ought to REJOICE WITH TREMBLING over! It's true that we no longer come to Mt. Sinai, but Mt. Zion, yet our God is a consuming fire! Psalm 130:3  If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4  But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. Let us always approach the throne of grace with reverence, awe, and a holy boldness. (See the last portion of Hebrews 12.)
    • Our time with Jesus in the Word of God is not merely something on our "to do" list, but it is something we ought to HUNGER and THIRST for – because Jesus Christ is the True Bread sent from heaven and the Living Water which is provided to us to specially sustain and satisfy us, unlike and surpassing any and all earthly food or drink! Christ is our life! All our springs are in Him! John 6:35  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst..."
    • Our time with Jesus in the Word of God is not merely something on our "to do" list, but it is something we ought to SAVOR and ENJOY! Our Bridegroom died for us so we might be His bride, so we might enter into life and life abundantly! We get to sup with God! We can draw near to our exceeding Joy, our all-satisfying Portion, and our great Reward! Even as we walk in this fallen world, we can expect to receive grace upon grace from His treasure store, so we might make the Valley of Baca (weeping, thirsty valley) a place of springs, and go from strength to strength. (See Psalm 84.) Proverbs 4:17 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

    This looking to Jesus and considering Jesus moves us to an intentional and suspended supernatural gazing and contemplation. And no! I'm NOT talking about unhealthy mysticism, but healthy mysticism (see here for more on this): i.e. - always centered on the Bible, always flowing from the Bible, always checked by the Bible. And, it is not something we can work up, but the sovereign Spirit brings it down to us, at those times when we are graced to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the written Word of God, through the operation of the Holy Spirit...

    I Corinthians 2:9  But, as it is written,

    “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
    what God has prepared for those who love him”—


    10  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11  For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

    John 5:39  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40  yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

    You can read and study the Scriptures all day long, all your life long, you may have been raised from birth attending church, you may have attended seminary, you may even have many degrees, and be serving in a ministry position, but it is quite possible you may have never truly looked unto or considered the Lord Jesus Christ in this sense. You may know of Him, but have you ever known Him in this direct sense through the operation of the Holy Spirit? That type of looking and considering is what fuels us to keep running the race so we might obtain the glorious prize! Have you ever supped with Christ? Has the Holy Spirit brought His truth to bear in your heart? Has He ever given you a glimpse into the deep things of God? Can you say with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength that Jesus Christ is altogether lovely and the fairest of 10,000? Have you been in the position of the Shulamite woman where you have sought a glimpse of Christ, and you have been lovesick for Him? Can you honestly confess that Jesus Christ is The Beloved above and beyond all other lovers? Have you been brought under His apple tree, where you have tasted and seen He is infinitely holy, and good, and precious? With the apostle Paul, have you come to spiritually see the all-surpassing worth of knowing Christ that you consider all else as rubbish? Having seen the glory of God, does your sin increasingly grieve you and do you despise yourself? Have you come to know God as your portion and great reward? Has God's Holy Spirit written Christ's beauty and glory and sweetness upon your soul, so that you cry out with David...

    Psalm 27:4
    One thing have I asked of the LORD,
    that will I seek after:
    that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
    to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
    and to inquire in his temple.

    Regrettably, we often exhibit such great resolution and determination in regard to worldly matters, but pay little attention to our souls' welfare. We find ourselves almost effortlessly and thoughtlessly feeding the lusts of our flesh. In marked contrast, it is pathetic to see how very little time and attention we pay to the feeding and sustaining our souls with the Bread of Heaven and the Living Water so we might show the same earnestness and the same diligence until the end. May God be pleased to draw us to Himself, to increase our dissatisfaction with earthly fare, and to increase our hunger and thirst for Christ alone, and may He grant us such soul-refreshing and soul-satisfying views of the Lord Jesus Christ, so we might strengthened to run to obtain!

    May God also grant us that holy fear of ourselves of which Matthew Henry wrote, and may God guard us so we do not fall into sinful and deadly presumption. I Corinthians 10:12  Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (Please read the whole chapter of I Cor. 10, as well as Hebrews 3 & 4, which point us to the example of the Israelites whose corpses fell in the wilderness! ~ And then go and read the account in the Old Testament. These things are written to us as an example! ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is for our profit, each and every word has been given to us by God so we might persevere in the race marked out for us! That's why it's so important for us to read the whole Bible (not just to pick and choose), as well as to read Church history!)

    In Romans 12:11, Paul exhorts us with these words:

    Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

    And in Ecclesiastes 10:18, the Preacher shows us the sad result of sloth and sluggishness:

    Through sloth the roof sinks in,
    and through indolence the house leaks.

    How much more necessary it is for us to be fervent, energetic, vigorous, and zealous regarding our spiritual house...


    I Corinthians 3:16: Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
    17  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

    II Corinthians 6:16  ... For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

    “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people..."

    May we not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom we are sealed for the day of redemption.
    (Ephesians 4:30)

    * * *

    What kind of racer are you?
    How are you running your course?
    Will you suffer yourself to be outdone by earthly racers?
    Are you running that you might obtain the glorious prize?

    Are you exerting yourself to the very last?

    Are you exacting and vigorous?

    Are you fervent in spirit – or slothful in zeal?

    Are you earnest and diligent – or sluggish and slothful?

    Do you have a holy fear of yourself – or a presumptuous confidence?

    Like the apostle Paul, are you disciplining yourself – or are you in grave danger of being disqualified?

    II TImothy 2:1  You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2  and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3  Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4  No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5  An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6  It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7  Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

    Philippians 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

    Be strengthened by God's grace, by God's Holy Spirit who is at work in you...
    So run that you may obtain!

    Related posts:

    Bible Reading: Job 2:1 - "Again" (To press on we must always be mortifying sin | John Owen)
    the visitor we can't ever entertain (mortifying sin)
    Then Abigail made haste (complacency & devotion)
    occupy ~ do you seek your own – or the things of Christ? does His Spirit occupy?
    tangled
    Is your ambition holy? / What are you living for? (Louis Paul Lehman) / The Christian's Aim
    the infinite significance of the eternal Kingdom
    Lent V. - You follow me! (Are we steadfastly setting our faces to His will?)
    Letter 13 on assurance and fighting for joy (strengthened for endurance and patience with joy)
    Are you a radiant Christian or a drunken old woman? (letter 82 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    the door, the sword, the crown ~ through faith & patience (Hebrews 6:11-12)
    My love affair . . . whose trumpet, whose glory & incomplete joy
    "Who wants candles when he has the sun?" ~ Edward Payson | letter 124 on assurance & joy

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Emphasis mine.

    Photo credits:

  • bitter for sweet ... (What did you expect, when the goblet met your lips?)

    Galatians 6:7  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

    bitter for sweet ...
    (What did you expect, when the goblet met your lips?    )

    bitter for sweet
    darkness for light

    lies for truth
    strange for fresh

    What did you expect,
    when the goblet met your lips?

    What did you expect,
    when you lingered in the night?

    sorrow for gladness
    fleshly for Spirit

    unsavory for pleasant
    fleeting for imperishable


    What did you expect,
    when the goblet met your lips?

    What did you expect,
    when you lingered in the night?

    creation for Creator
    vile for sanctified

    wickedness for purity
    death for eternal life


    What did you expect,
    when the goblet met your lips?

    What did you expect,
    when you lingered in the night?

    harlotries multiplied,
    insatiable, you groan unsatisfied

    can ephemeral dainties
    compare to the Beloved's embrace?


    What do you expect,
    as the goblet meets your lips?

    What do you expect,
    as you linger in the night?

    What do you expect,
    fleshly sup ~ deadly exchange!

    Proverbs 23
    29  Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
    Who has strife? Who has complaining?
    Who has wounds without cause?
    Who has redness of eyes?
    30  Those who tarry long over wine;
    those who go to try mixed wine.
    31  Do not look at wine when it is red,
    when it sparkles in the cup
    and goes down smoothly.
    32  In the end it bites like a serpent
    and stings like an adder.
    33  Your eyes will see strange things,
    and your heart utter perverse things.
    34  You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
    like one who lies on the top of a mast.
    35  “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;
    they beat me, but I did not feel it.
    When shall I awake?
    I must have another drink.”

    Ezekiel 16:28-30 (NKJV)
    "You also played the harlot with the Assyrians,
    because you were insatiable;
    indeed you played the harlot with them
    and still were not satisfied.
    Moreover you multiplied you acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea;
    and even then you were not satisfied."
    "How degenerate is your heart!"
    says the LORD GOD,
    "seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot."

    Jeremiah 4:18
    Your ways and your deeds
    have brought this upon you.
    This is your doom, and it is bitter;
    it has reached your very heart.

    Romans 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

    24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

    26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

    28  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32  Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

    John 4:7  There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8  (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9  The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10  Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11  The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12  Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

    John 10:10
    "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

    What are you sowing?
    What are you drinking?
    What are you eating?
    Where are you lingering?

    Proverbs 23:1-3
    When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
    observe carefully what is before you,
    and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to appetite.
    Do not desire his delicacies,
    for they are deceptive food.

    Psalm 141:1-3 (KJV)
    LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
    Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
    Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
    Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity:
    and let me not eat of their dainties.

    Related:

    Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
    Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor
    Advent # 7 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might be satisfied with Him
    Dearest idol, how can I find rest?
    Are you sitting in the midst of the ephah? ~ Zechariah 5
    Two Fountains ~ Where are you drinking? What is flowing? Don't waste your drinking! 
    Are you a radiant Christian or a drunken old woman? (letter 82 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    "Garbage In" (Are you truly His disciple?)
    Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
    Where are you lifting up your eyes? Psalm 121:1-2
    why you need a new heart
    Letter 25 on assurance and fighting for joy (a strong craving ≠ His joy)
    John 3:36a Whoever believes in the Son HAS eternal life (letter 64 on assurance & joy)
    "give me also springs of water" - Will you be an Achsah? (letter 66 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    Embittered, pricked in heart? Go into the sanctuary of God (Psalm 73)
    tangled

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture quotations marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerard_ter_Borch_(II)_-_Woman_Drinking_Wine_-_WGA22137.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0/ {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_and_the_Samaritan_woman_%28Jruchi_Gospels_II_MSS,_Georgia,_12th_cent.%29.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0/ {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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