December
14, 2003
WITH
ALL YOUR HEART
"You
will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all
your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13, NKJV).
"Many
are leaning upon a supposed hope without a true foundation.
The fountain is not cleansed, therefore the streams proceeding
from that fountain are not pure. Cleanse the fountain, and
the streams will be pure. If the heart is right, your words,
your dress, your acts, will all be right. True godliness is
lacking. I would not dishonor my Master so much as to admit
that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian.
No; a Christian has victory over his besetments, over his
passions. There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul. That remedy
is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! His grace is sufficient for
the weakest; and the strongest must also have His grace or
perish.
"I
saw how this grace could be obtained. Go to your closet, and
there alone plead with God: 'Create in me a clean heart, O
God; and renew a right spirit within me' (Psalm 51:10). Be
in earnest, be sincere. Fervent prayer availeth much. Jacoblike,
wrestle in prayer. Agonize. Jesus, in the garden, sweat great
drops of blood; you must make an effort. Do not leave your
closet until you feel strong in God; then watch, and just
as long as you watch and pray you can keep these evil besetments
under, and the grace of God can and will appear in you.
"God
forbid that I should cease to warn you. Young friends, seek
the Lord with all your heart. Come with zeal, and when you
sincerely feel that without the help of God you perish, when
you pant after Him as the hart panteth after the water brooks,
then will the Lord strengthen you speedily. Then will your
peace pass all understanding. If you expect salvation, you
must pray... Beg of God to work in you a thorough reformation,
that the fruits of His Spirit may dwell in you... It is the
privilege of every Christian to enjoy the deep movings of
the Spirit of God. A sweet heavenly peace will pervade the
mind, and you will love to meditate upon God and heaven. You
will feast upon the glorious promises of His Word. But know
first that you have begun the Christian course. Know that
the first steps are taken in the road to everlasting life."--God's
Amazing Grace, p. 318.
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