And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30.
Conscience is the voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions; when it is resisted, the Spirit of God is grieved.
Men have the power to quench the Spirit of God; the power of choosing is left with them. They are allowed freedom of action. They may be obedient through the name and grace of our Redeemer, or they may be disobedient, and realize the consequences.
The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not lie in any sudden word or deed; it is the firm, determined resistance of truth and evidence.
It is not that God sends out a decree that man shall not be saved. He does not throw a darkness before the eyes which cannot be penetrated. But man at first resists a motion of the Spirit of God, and, having once resisted, it is less difficult to do so the second time, less the third, and far less the fourth. Then comes the harvest to be reaped from the seed of unbelief and resistance. Oh what a harvest of sinful indulgences is preparing for the sickle! …
On the other hand, every ray of light cherished will yield a harvest of light. Temptation once resisted will give power to more firmly resist the second time; every new victory gained over self will smooth the way for higher and nobler triumphs. Every victory is a seed sown to eternal life.
God destroys no one. The sinner destroys himself by his own impenitence.
No one need look upon the sin against the Holy Ghost as something mysterious and indefinable. The sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin of persistent refusal to respond to the invitation to repent.
There is no … hope of the higher life, but through the submission of the soul to Christ.
The Faith I Live By p. 58
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Hannah (age 9) who had surgery for a ruptured appendix and now has the flu. Rose
—–Please pray for me – this kidney infection is not going away. It gets better and then worse again. Fran
—–I have a prayer request sent from my friend Daniel. His friend Vivian has had stomach complications with severe pain, off and on for three years. They do not know the cause. She also, has faced divorce and others attitudes towards her. She needs definite healing and comforting. For her to trust and rely upon JESUS; is her antidote and restoration, of heart and this physical condition. I know with her spiritual healing; she will find that Peace; that surpasses All understanding. Kathrin
—–Kenneth, is having a scope done on his bladder today. Jane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
As Esther Marie was walking home some years ago, she passed many houses of varying size and shape. For some reason they caught her attention. She began to think about their differences and their similarities and compare them to friends she has had over the years. When she got home, she jotted down some of her thoughts and sent them to me. I shared them at that time, but since there are quite a few new readers, I thought that I would share these with you again as it teaches a lesson we all need at times.
“Friendship is as a house. At first you must put forth effort to build it, from the earth up, taking care to use the right equipment and supplies. As effort is put into it, the house takes shape into the image the maker prefers.
A house can take many forms. Some may be tall and majestic, while others may be humble. Is either not a house, because of it?s size? Some may have defects in the blue prints, while others are perfect. Is either not a house, because of its imperfections? One house may be green, the other brown. Is either not a house, because of its color?
Houses need care and love. Even if it is not perfect, can it not still shelter from the wind and rain. Problems can be fixed, holes patched, nails pounded, windows replaced, counters refinished. Should a house be thrown away just because of a scratch?
It is the same with a friend. Does it matter the size or shape they have taken? When problems arise, should they be thrown away and forsaken? With whom will you find shelter and warmth the next time trials come your way?
Take care of your friends, love your friends. They may not be without fault, but neither are you. Check your own roof for leaks, walls for holes, and counters for scratches. Make sure you are the best friend that you can be! Then, and only then, will you ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matt. 19:19”
As I read her musings, I began to think of what the Bible says about friends and friendship. Solomon observed, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Prov 18:24 How often we expect our friends to be perfect, to never make an error in judgment, to view all just as we do, yet, we excuse our own faults and failings—faults that may be much worse than the one we are condemning. Our Dear Saviour warns, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Matt 7:1-5
What close fellowship our Heavenly Friend yearns to have with us. Just as He called Abraham his friend, so His Great Heart of Love longs to be able to say the same about us. Think if it! Despite the fact that Abraham sometimes had leaks in his “roof,” holes in his “walls,” and scratches on his “counters,” our Loving, Forgiving Friend considered him His friend.
What made their relationship endure despite Abraham’s faults and failings? James tells us, “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.” James 2:23 His was not a mere mental assent that God exists. No! Abraham believed his Heavenly Friend enough to obey Him. He trusted Him enough to follow his Lord when He bade him to leave a comfortable home, friends and family, all that he was used to and wander throughout the promised land. Paul says of him, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb 11:8-10 No matter where Abraham journeyed, he set up an altar which pointed to the Lamb who was to be slain for all who believe. God’s Holy Word does not gloss over Abraham’s sins. They are written for our admonition that as we see that when failed His Friend, he was not forsaken but instead, was rebuked and forgiven, we can understand God’s dealings with us. And when the greatest test came, Abraham did not withhold his most precious possession, the child through whom the Messiah would come.
May we be loving and kind to all, especially to our friends, overlooking their “leaky roofs,” disregarding the “holes in their walls,” helping to soothe the “scratches on their counters.” May we remember our Dear Saviour’s admonition, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Matt 7:12 May we, above all, so live that it may be said of us that we are a friend of God.
Rose