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HeldbyHisgrace
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Name: David
Location: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Birthday: 8/4/1960
Gender: Male
Occupation: Manufacturing/production
Industry: Construction
Message: message me
Member Since:
9/1/2005
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| Providential that I should find this article at the Shepherd's Conference in light of my last posting. In 1660, when John Bunyan was 32 years old, the English Parliament moved to reestablish the state church. On November 12, after speaking only a few words of his sermon, Bunyan was arrested for "abstaining from coming to Church to hear Divine Service" and for being a "common upholder of several unlawful meetings and conventicles." In short, he was arrested for conducting an illegal church service. While in prison, Bunyan wrote an essay on 1 Corinthians 14:15 entitled "A Discourse Touching Prayer." Bunyan viewed prayer as a serious but vital aspect of the Christian life. To him, prayer was not a simple act to be performed by simple Christians; it was a humiliating act in which a believer's heart, full of sin, was laid bare before the all-powerful, all-knowing God. In the concluding remarks of his essay, Bunyan included a simple but powerful sentence. "Take heed of little sins." Bunyan understood that there are no little sins in the eyes of God. The sins we so easily justify or ignore are vile before our holy God. May Bunyan's simple statement remind us to vigilantly search our hearts for sin, and to be quick to confess those sins to God. | | |
| It is amazing, the deceitfulness and destructiveness of even the smallest of sins in the life of a believer. How sin can lead someone away from the truth so easily and at the same time make it seem like the right thing to do. I think that I take "guard your heart" way to casually. I need to be on guard more! Sin killing must become a way of life for me. | | |
| Update: My job is spectacularly fabulous! The Lord was not only gracious to give me a nice raise in pay and a company vehicle that Brenda and I both get to enjoy, but He also gave me back the joy of working were I do. It has been a fun ride so far. Our end of the year inventory is coming up next week and in the big world of rebar it is a frustrating event, but I am confident that the Lord will see me through. By the way, Brenda was also in the middle of some turmoil at work at the same time and was one day away from quitting when she had a conversation with the boss and they gave her a raise to stay also. Ain't God grand!
One down side I saw during this entire work event was that I prayed harder about getting a secular job then I ever have about being holy or godly. It is very disturbing to me and has caused me to think about the role of prayer in being those things. I will never be those things apart from prayer, they will just not happen by osmosis. It most certainly is a battle for the soul and I must always brandish the sword and kill the sin that so easily causes me to stumble. Please continue to pray for me.
May you all have a blessed thanksgiving, and while we all are thankful for our families and jobs and everything the Lord has provided for us let us remember to be thankful for His indescribable gift in the Lord Jesus and that by His magnificent grace He called us out of darkness that we can see with new eyes the "light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God". Lets not only be thankful but praiseful as well. | | |
| There are more issues at work than I could possibly relate in this short entry. I ask that you pray that the Lord would give me the wisdom to know His will and the strentgh and courage to do His will. | | |
| How should a church go about disciplining its members? Which sins should we "go after"? In reality every member has a sin they struggle to kill and we could bring discipline to bear on them. If we aren't careful we will begin to "think more highly of ourselves then we aught to", so how should we engage in this biblical activity. How do we do it without crossing the line into legalism and still demonstrate love for each other and a great concern for the fame of God's name?
Also, I am currently reading How People Change by Lane and Tripp. An excellent book on Biblical Counseling and a must read for all Southern pointy-heads. | | |
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