cavell
6th July 2006, 11:19 AM
God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye.......may abound to every good work - 2 Cor 9 : 8
A Christian is not somebody who has had their past sin forgiven; they are people who have discovered present power for living. Not only does God offer us grace that we might be forgiven....and saved for eternity, but He offers us all sufficiency that we may conquer and triumph through every day of the present.
Jesus died upon the cross and rose again a living mighty Saviour; and he desires as we draw near to the cross that we shall not only find the place of pardon, but also the place of power. He desires that through His Holy Spirit we should not only find regeneration but power to be sanctified, and set apart "a new person in Christ Jesus", for him. Jesus desires to continue His work in our hearts, that we may experience the power to live a holy life abounding in all sufficiency.
I recall a simple phrase of Billy Graham's which he used in a ministers meeting during a U.K. crusade. He said, "You know, I want to be a wholesome Christian." It seemed a simple thing to say, yet a profound one: and that is the sort of Christian I too want to be, a wholesome Christian - someone who brings the atmosphere of the victory of the Lord Jesus into all they do and think; whose whole subconscious atmosphere is one of simple Christlikeness and wholesomeness. I want to be a wholesome Christian
But we cannot make ourselves wholesome Christians. All we can do is to trust the Holy Spirit to do His work, as we live daily for Him
A Christian is not somebody who has had their past sin forgiven; they are people who have discovered present power for living. Not only does God offer us grace that we might be forgiven....and saved for eternity, but He offers us all sufficiency that we may conquer and triumph through every day of the present.
Jesus died upon the cross and rose again a living mighty Saviour; and he desires as we draw near to the cross that we shall not only find the place of pardon, but also the place of power. He desires that through His Holy Spirit we should not only find regeneration but power to be sanctified, and set apart "a new person in Christ Jesus", for him. Jesus desires to continue His work in our hearts, that we may experience the power to live a holy life abounding in all sufficiency.
I recall a simple phrase of Billy Graham's which he used in a ministers meeting during a U.K. crusade. He said, "You know, I want to be a wholesome Christian." It seemed a simple thing to say, yet a profound one: and that is the sort of Christian I too want to be, a wholesome Christian - someone who brings the atmosphere of the victory of the Lord Jesus into all they do and think; whose whole subconscious atmosphere is one of simple Christlikeness and wholesomeness. I want to be a wholesome Christian
But we cannot make ourselves wholesome Christians. All we can do is to trust the Holy Spirit to do His work, as we live daily for Him