So thankful for the work of God's Spirit in my heart this week. This phrase from In Christ Alone says it well - "No guilt in life, no fear in death - this is the power of Christ in me."
My learning journey began Sunday morning when Bro. Will asked if God had already been working in hearts, even before the Word was preached - maybe through the scripture in song, or corporate reading of Scripture. He reminded us that it is God's Spirit who convicts our hearts.
For much of life I have struggled with guilt over "not doing" in my Christian life. For example, not being consistently in the Word, or not praying, or not witnessing. And so to help with the guilt factor, I would try to "read more" or "pray more," etc. What God is teaching me is that those feelings of guilt and my salve of "doing more" were really motivated by my own self-righteousness. I was trying to "look good" in God's eyes. My heart has been challenged to see that what I have been experiencing is the Holy Spirit's conviction, and that my response must be to confess my sin of self-righteousness (exposed in my "do more" to fix it responses) to the Lord. And to see my sin for what it really is. You see, I have no goodness of my own. Christ is my Savior. He pleads for me before my Father. In Him I am righteous before God.
Perhaps the Holy Spirit has just been the "great understood" in my life, but what I am realizing (He is doing this...I know!) is that the Holy Spirit is at work, and as I sin He will convict. Before this week, the guilt would just overwhelm me, and I would try to do to "measure up." But He has opened my eyes to the fact that no, it is His Spirit convicting me, and I am to repent, to confess and to obey.
I don't know that I can adequately put into words what all is going through my heart, but I praise God for answering my prayer from Ps. 119: 25 "My soul clings to the dust; revive my heart according to your word!" The dust this week that has been revealed is my own self-righteous living. I cannot live apart from God's Spirit. It is God who IS working in me. There is absolutely no righteousness of my own. Thank you, Jesus for saving me! And thank you for working in my heart to realize the Holy Spirit is not just the "Great Understood" - He is working, active in my heart!
Phil. 2:12-13
12Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for(AD) his good pleasure
1 comment:
This is something that has concerned me for several years about our teenagers - guess having my own go through those years made me do some thinking. It's great to teach them the routines of "having devotions" and finding avenues of service, but I wonder if we have unconsciously imparted the idea that that is Christianity.
One of the most liberating days of my life was when I realized that God would not punish me or I would have a "bad day" if I didn't read the Bible that morning.
It's a fine line to walk with young people because we can't make it sound like it's OK not to read the Bible. But I believe it is a fine line we have to find.
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