Keep on being converted!

-
“Don’t slack off seeking, striving, and praying for the very same things that we exhort unconverted people to strive for, and a degree of which you have had in conversion. Thus pray that your eyes may be opened, that you may receive sight, that you may know your self and be brought to God’s feet, and that you may see the glory of God and Christ, may be raised from the dead, and have the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart. Those that have most of these things still need to pray for them; for there so much blindness and hardness and pride and death remaining that they still need to have that work of God upon them, further to enlighten and enliven them. This will be a further bringing out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, and a kind of new conversion..."

Jonathan Edwards, Advice to Young Converts.
Ht to http://www.gracedagain.com

"But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2Corinthians 3:16-18

We are ever dependent upon the grace of God, not only at the moment of our new birth, but for our continued growth and sanctification. It is by grace that our faith was authored; and it is by grace that our faith will be perfected.

Comments

Debbie Petras said…
Amen to this Laurie! Salvation is a one time event but sanctification is an ongoing process. All too often I give into my flesh instead of listening to the Spirit. I can't wait until I receive my glorified body. I think the main struggle is to surrender to the Holy Spirit's leading because if we are indeed saved, we have the HS.
June 15, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Anonymous said…
That's a great quote, and reminds me of this:

"You never, never, never outgrow your need" for the gospel.
June 15, 2009 at 6:52 PM
WhiteStone said…
Good reminder! Thanks!!
June 15, 2009 at 7:32 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

in which I discuss the unthinkable

-
Paul and I have just returned home from the funeral of a most precious little girl.  Lydia's smile could have lit a room. Now it reflects the glory of God the Savior for all eternity. Perhaps you've noticed the sparsity of my entries here these last two weeks. We've been struggling and praying for appropriate ways to handle what we're dealing with, and when and whether to speak about it. Up until now, for reasons which will become obvious, I've only shared this with a very few trusted friends. Paul made reference to it on his blog several days ago, but with no specifics.  I think it may be time for me to fill in the gaps. What we're dealing with is horrible and ugly - about as ugly as it gets. This all happens on the heels of my mother's death, and has now somehow managed to even overshadow that.  Mother's death, as difficult as it was...well...it made sense. She was 87 years old, and hadn't been well in many years. This, on the other hand, is a m...
Continue reading...

I forgave you a long time ago...

-
"I forgave you a long time ago..." I pray that I never forget those words as long as I live. They were a gift spoken by a friend I had hurt unintentionally many months before. It had taken me some time to recognize the offense I had caused, some more time to accept that she had a right to feel offended, even though, in my opinion I had done nothing wrong. It took more time still before love won out and I worked up the courage to face her. I dreaded her rejection. I feared this treasured relationship would be lost forever. But instead of the rejection I feared, she gave me this gift. She not only forgave me, she loved me, and continued on as though the whole episode was barely worth mention, nothing but a little bump on the road to the continued sweet fellowship and mutual encouragement we had always shared. There are many things I may before have considered to be marks of true godliness, but I none can hold a candle to this: "I forgave you a long time ago......
Continue reading...

"It is finished!" ...and I am free...

-
Image
What can I say? I've been set free. It's as simple as that. It's been a long time coming, but the simplest of truths has finally filled my thick skull with peace. For nearly as long as I've been a Christian I've grappled with the subject of legalism and the Old Covenant Law. I've read so much and heard so many sermons on the subject and all the while the waters have only grown murkier and my confusion greater. I've heard there are those who disregard the Old Testament entirely, seeing it as useless, something we ought not even bother ourselves with. But, to be honest, in all my years in various church settings (from Pentecostal to Reformed Baptist) I've never, ever met anyone who believes that way. No, what I've encountered are a variety of Christians from a variety of traditions all claiming to be "Bible-believing" struggling, generally with all sincerity, to figure out what to do with the Old Testament in light of t...
Continue reading...