Page 10
According to God’s Word, the Christian
life is not what we do for Christ but what He does in and through us
(Galatians 2: 20). So if Christ, the distilled essence of love, lives in and
through us as we are surrendered to His will and empowered by His Spirit,
loving becomes His responsibility.
Page 11-12
But Robinson was an honest man, too, and he acknowledged a difficult
truth about himself. His love for Jesus was deep but not dependable. At times
his passion for God waned, and the well of his devotion went dry. Sometimes he
felt nothing at all for His Lord. His heart was prone to wander.
Page 15
Simply serving God was not enough. I longed to possess a heart
overflowing with love and praise for my Lord.
For me the price of maintaining that devotion has been daily
submission. As partners in marriage, Vonette and I, as a practice, begin each
morning and end each evening on our knees in prayer, acknowledging the Lord
Jesus as our Master, Savior, and King. The Bible teaches that the living Christ
dwells in every believer. In different words, we ask Him each day to walk
around in our bodies, think with our minds, love with our hearts, speak with
our lips, and continue ”seeking and saving” the lost through our efforts. All
day long, I seek to walk and talk with my Savior no matter what the business of
the day might be. If I can cling to His love from one moment to the next, I
know I will never leave it. In this way I seek to “pray continually” (1
Thessalonians 5:17) as I “practice the presence of God” (Brother Lawrence,
Practicing the Presence of God).
Page 21
It will happen, if you truly
want it to. Today you can discover how the Lord can seal your heart. You
will have the marvelous assurance that His wonderful, all-surpassing,
unconditional love will never let you go - and from that moment on, you will
never let Him go. Your first love will become your ultimate and final one, and
the love of all your days, hours, and moments for all time and eternity.
Page 25
I looked for my old, neglected Bible, which my mother had given me when
I was a young teenager. Wiping off the dust, I began to study the life and
words of Jesus with new interest. I had been raised by a godly mother; I had
been to church and had heard a few sermons. But the words of the Gospels seemed
brand new, as if I had never heard them before. They absorbed me and captivated
my spirit. Over a period of months, as I listened to sermons and read God’s
word, it was as if Jesus steeped right
out of that Holy Book and commanded my full and complete devotion. I was
convinced that He was the most incredible and remarkable person to ever walk
this earth.
Page 30
“God is love,” writes John, “and all who live in love live in God, and
God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect” (1 John
4:16,17).
John Calvin, the great reformer from Geneva, used the symbol of a hand
holding a flaming heart. The inscription read, “My heart I give Thee, Lord,
eagerly and sincerely.”
Page 31
Ever since then, I have tried to
keep my heart as an eternal flame of passion for God and His purposes. One Sunday afternoon in 1951, Vonette and I, after much prayer, “signed
away” our lives, our future, and everything we owned or would ever own to
Christ. Next to the moment of my salvation, this was the most important and
liberating day of my life. We unconditionally turned over to our loving Father,
our holy God and Savior, every possession, goal, or concern of our present or
future. It was a contract with God to be bond-slaves to the only Master who
could ever love and care for us. We were inspired to be His slaves since He had
become salve for all people (Philippians 2:7).
Page 34
I believe Martha had a good heart but a busy heart. I’ve known the
temptation to become so busy with the whirlwind of service that we take leave
of the passion that first inspired that service.
Page 39
Revelation 2
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that
you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be
apostles but are not, and have found them false.
3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have
not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at
first.
5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at
first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from
its place.
|
What
we do
|
What
we use
|
What
Jesus calls it
|
|
We think.
(Remember)
|
Mind
|
“Look how far…”
|
|
We feel.
(Remorse 悔恨)
|
Heart
|
“…you have fallen from your first love!”
|
|
We change.
(Repent)
|
Soul
|
“Turn back to me again.”
|
|
We work.
(Resume)
|
Strength
|
“And work as your did at first.”
|
He wants all of us, so that we may experience all of Him.
Page 39
Love for people is the overflow
that comes from a love for God. There is absolutely no way you can love the
Lord with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength, and not have that love
overflow into your other relationships – beginning with your nearest neighbors,
your spouse and children, your parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
cousins. It works in both directions, too; when you lose the joy of God, you
will begin to lose the joy of people.
Page 45-46
There have also been times when I have been irritable or insensitive to
my wife. Early in our relationships, as the president of our college/young
adult group at the First Presbyterian Church, I was called to counsel someone
experiencing a crisis that could have caused great heartache and even scandal
to a famous Christian family – even worse, to the family of God. The situation
arose suddenly, and I had no opportunity to tell Vonette where I was. I left
her sitting for hours after church in a hot car with no clue as to my
whereabouts. I could have gotten a
message to her, of course, if I had stopped to be more considerate. When I
finally returned, Vonette, needless to say, was less than pleased! She felt
that if the shoe had been on the other foot, I would have been upset with her.
And she was right.
We had to talk that one out. As a matter of fact, we took some time at
the early juncture in our marriage to reassess our relationship and our
priorities. I discovered that, in many
ways, I needed to be more loving and considerate toward her feelings. I needed
to make it a habit of apologizing when I failed her, acknowledging my wrongs,
and working to change my ways. That is exactly what I did. That is exactly
what I did. Good things came out of that misunderstanding and, as a result, I
grew a bit in maturity as a husband. Growth is painful! But we have both
learned a lot over the years. By really working at it, we have been able to
maintain and then deepen the love that first drew us together. (Just a simple
suggestion to help ensure a happy marriage when problems arise: always to be
quick to say, “I am sorry. I was wrong.
Please forgive me. I love you.”)
That has been our life: pleasing
Him by loving each other, and pleasing each other by loving Him. It is the most
complete joy we know.
Page 48
Lord, help me to see thee more
clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly.
Page 55
Sometimes it is necessary to move through a period of sorrow to reach
the destination of joy.
Page 60
I came to understand that sin steals back into our lives, even though
Jesus has completely conquered it. He has removed the deadly venom from the
serpent, Satan. Though defeated at the cross, that snake is still capable of
biting if we do not keep our distance.
Page 61-62
Many years ago, while grappling with this truth, I experienced a moment
of inspiration. God showed me a word picture of spiritual breathing. God’s
loving presence, He helped me to understand, is much like the air we breathe.
We cannot live – truly live – without it. Believe me, I understand this concept
of spiritual breathing more clearly now than ever. Because of my pulmonary
fibrosis, I use a tube to help my lungs take in pure oxygen almost 24 hours a
day. Every breath is precious. But many years ago, when my physical breathing
was taken for granted, I first grasped this concept: we need to watch what
comes into our systems.
We dwell in a very polluted world, and we breathe in many unhealthy
things every day. Often, by watching television or listening to music, we
breathe in foul things from our world’s culture. Spending time around certain
people who are poor influences, we take in polluted ideas. We need to exhale
the pollution of sin, and inhale the goodness of God’s forgiveness and grace.
When you sin by committing a deliberate act of disobedience, spiritual
breathing restores the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit in your life. It is an
exercise in faith that enables you to continue to experience God’s love and
forgiveness in your life. Spiritual
breathing is simply exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure. Here is how
it works:
Exhale: Confess your sin –
agree with God concerning your sin and thank Him for His forgiveness of it,
according to 1 John 1:9. Confession involves repentance – a change in attitude
and action.
Inhale: Surrender the control of
your life to Christ, and appropriate (receive) the fullness of the Holy
Spirit by faith. Trust that He now directs and empowers you according to the
command of Ephesians 5:18 and the promise of 1 John 5: 14, 15.
Ever since the day this idea came so clearly to me, our ministry has
taught the concept of spiritual breathing for daily, immediate confession of sin,
and for appropriating the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith as a way of
life.
Page 64
Prayer brings us directly into God’s presence; fasting heightens our dependence and sensitivity to what He wants to
say to us.
Page 66
The old man smiled and said. “I certainly can. It depends on which
route you want to take. In the direction you’re heading, it’s many thousands of
miles. If you turn your car in the opposite direction, however, it’s a block
and a half.”
So near, and yet so far! You may feel many thousands of miles away from
God today, but He is as close as a whispered prayer. The Bible tells us that He
never removes His eye from us and never sleeps. If you can no longer see Him,
it may well be that you’re simply facing the wrong way. Turning back to Him
again is called repentance, and it is a word many believers are comfortable
using today. Perhaps they do not like stopping to ask for directions. But if
they did, they would find that God is so near – just a 180-degree turn away.
Page 69
Repentance is a moment of pain. But being unrepentant is a life of
pain.
Page 75
Always remember, living for Jesus is not only what we do for Him but,
more importantly, what He does in and through us as we surrender ourselves to
Him in response to His love. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:
19).
Page 77
The words will seem to jump off the pages and galvanize (用电刺激)
your life.
Page 79
Sometimes we have lost our feel
for God’s Spirit because we are not doing anything in life that absolutely
requires His presence and power. I challenge you to “put God on the spot”
to day. After you have confessed all known sin and have the assurance that you
are filled with the Holy Spirit, ask Him to lead you to one nonbeliever who
needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. As Him to put you right in the
middle of a situation in which you can be His agent. See how real He will
become you your life as you depend on Him to do something supernatural.
Page 82
You love others in the same way you love God. You obey His command to love Him and
others, and you claim His promise
that if you ask anything according to His will, He will hear and answer. By
faith based on His command and promise, you can love God with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength.
Page 88
Yes, God does hate the cheap sins and false gods for which we desert
Him. He does have wrath, and He does judge sin. But He looks upon His stray
children with love and compassion. He waits with His eyes on the horizon, day
after day. Then – before we can even return to Him – He meets us halfway,
heaping blessings upon blessings on our head, declaring a celebration in
heaven. Remember the father in Luke 15. He killed the finest calf, the best he
had, the one he was saving for the ultimate celebration.
That is how God feels the moment
you take one sorrowful, halting step in His direction. As His joy
overflows, He bestows the deepest blessings, the good things He has been
storing away for you. His joy cannot be contained. It has been said that when we take one step toward God, He takes more
steps toward us than there are sands on the beaches of the world.
Page 89
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within
me…Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to
sustain me (Psalm 51: 10,12)
Page 90-93
How will your life change when you’ve rediscovered your first love? I
feel there are three changes that will take place in your life.
1.
Your
intimacy with God will grow to become deeper, more profound, and more rewarding.
So transforming, so gratifying
will that experience be that you will not be able to leave His side after you
return to your first love. Instead you will practice His presence whenever you
go. Yes, you will abide in prayer for richer, more generous portions of your
day not because you have to, but because you want to. That time of fellowship
will continue between you and God throughout your day, whatever you may be
involved in doing, as you experience the reality of His presence as a way of
life.
2.
You will
begin to have a significant impact on other people.
A friend once asked Charles
Wesley why people were drawn magnetically to him everywhere he went. Wesley
replied, “When you set yourself on fire, people just love to come and watch you
burn.” Those around you will see the spiritual fire, the “first love,” within
you, and they will be motivated and inspired by your example. You will not be
able to resist sharing the fire – but even if you did not say a word, you would
find yourself drawn into conversations about Jesus. A city on a hill cannot be
hidden. You will stand in your world, and people will have questions about the
burning passion in your eyes and your work. Your greatest joy in life will come
from helping other people to find the same joy you have found in knowing,
loving and trusting and obeying our dear Lord.
3.
The third
and final change in your life will be that God’s love will flood your heart
with His peace.
Page 94
Simply serving God was not enough. I longed to possess a heart
overflowing with love and praise for my Lord.
Page 95
With your mind, you have remembered the height from which you have fallen. You have reflected
deeply upon the joy of God’s presence and the pain of being apart from Him
With your heart, you have
experience remorse over the place
where your wandering has bought you. When you truly comprehend the despair and
judgment that await us without God, it is natural to feel grief and sorrow.
From your soul, you have repented of the sin that ensnared you
and stifled your first love. You have genuinely, sincerely renounced the things
that have come between you and God.
With you strength, enabled
by the Holy Spirit, you have resumed the things you once did to
please God. Just as the Prodigal traveled home, you have emotionally and
spiritually turned toward your heavenly home as you have returned to your first
love for our great God and Savior.
With your total being, you
have now revived; you have returned
to your “first love”. You mind,
heart, soul and strength have been renewed. You are now experiencing again the
joy of your salvation, which you may not have known for years. Now you have
love God with every fiber of your being.
Page 102
I know that I am only able to properly love Vonette, our children and
grandchildren, our many friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the
entire world because He loves within me and loves them through me.
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