Having been saved in November 1982, I wandered about for over two decades in an all but lifeless Christianity – I was in the position of the Church at Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22). During that period of time, I had no real awareness that I was indeed wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I thought I had all the Christianity I needed. I was satisfied with an outward shell of religion, not knowing I was devoid of the inner reality. I liken that period of time to that of the man who was seeing men as trees, walking.
I had no understanding that true and vital religion actually consisted of panting, thirsting, fainting, and longing for the living God and supping with the Lord Jesus Christ. I had studied the Bible for years, and in effect, I was in the position of the Pharisees: having come to the Scriptures but not to Christ Himself (John 5:39-40). I considered the words of the Psalmists beholding God's beauty and gazing on His glory, as well as the words of Jesus exhorting us to come to Him and eat and drink, as mere poetry, rather than an allegorical picture pointing us to the truth that Christianity is a living religion –– a blessed fellowship and communion with the one true God through Jesus Christ, as He deems to reveal Himself to His people through His Holy Spirit in conjunction with His Word.
However, a few years ago, in His grace, God began to bring to the end of myself –– to grant me a painful view of my depravity, my inability, and my failures. In short, He brought me to my senses (like the prodigal son), and then began to impart to me an overpowering and constraining desire to pursue Christ and to know Him. God was faithful to His promise in Luke 11:13, and, as I began to ask, seek, and knock, He had brought me to blessed position of King David (Psalm 65:4):
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
Ralph Wardlaw wrote:
And, having drunk of the "living waters" ourselves, and experienced their life-giving virtue, let us seek, by every means in our power, to send them forth in all directions, for the revival of the Church at large, and for the healing and life of the nations. When blessed ourselves, it is that we may be a blessing. And while we open channels for these "waters of life " in heathen lands to water "the desolate heritages of the Gentiles," let us not overlook the sacred duty, of seeking a channel by which we may cause them to return to the land from which they originally flowed; that the people to whom we owe them may share with us in the joy ! Meanwhile TO YOU "the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
From: Ralph Wardlaw's Lecture XXIII on Zechariah 14:3-9, in Ralph Wardlaw’s “Lectures on the Prophecies of Zechariah” Second Edition 1869, ed. by The Rev. J. S. Wardlaw; (Stoke-on-Trent: Tentmaker Publications, reprinted 2002 & 2007), 404.
I have been brought near, and I have been privileged to drink of the living waters! This is the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes! –– And I am zealously and earnestly seeking His face that I might not stop satisfied but continue to drink!
We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.
(from "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts" by Bernard of Clarivaux)
However, the gifts of God are given to the people of God not to hoard them, but rather to share them. Freely I have received, freely I am to give ~ Matthew 10:8. Our blessing is for the blessing of others (Genesis 12:2).
Therefore, my prayer is that God might use my words in this blog to stir up in you a thirst for Him, so you might drink and be filled with all His fullness and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; and then, having been filled, that you might make every effort to see to it that others come to drink along with us, using the gifts He has given you and the means He has given you in the particular place God has ordained for you.
Not long after God began to bless me with an experimental knowledge of Him, He placed in my heart a burden to pray for and work toward reformation and revival in the Church. If you have a similar burden or would like to know more about that, I invite you to visit my other Xanga site: http://tent-of-meeting.xanga.com.
If I can help you in any way, or if have any questions, please comment below, and/or you can visit my contact page at WordPress here (expecting we'll get that option here at Xanga in the near future).
For your joy in Him and for the joy of the nations, to the praise and glory of God,
Karen
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
October 30, 2013
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