Head-dibs

Langston Hughes cried the night he got saved. Actually, Langston Hughes cried because he knew he was not. A small section of his first autobiography, “The Big Sea” (1940) records what happened. He was twelve years old when he attended a revival at his aunt Reed's church. Days beforehand, Hughes' aunt told him about the meetings (especially the one special meeting that would be held just for the children) and what it was like to be saved. “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on! She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her. I had heard a great many old people say the same thing and it seemed to me they ought to know.” The night finally came, and Hughes was escorted to the front row, placed on the mourner's bench “with all the other young sinners, who had not yet been brought to Jesus” and waited “for Jesus to come to me.” T...

To whom may I recount my sins, with all their pains and woe? And where shall my detail begin; And who can stand to know? My wicked tales in someone's ear-- how can I stain their head? So how to tell and cast my fear of sinful guilt and dread? My own life cannot bear the load of all that I have done! How can I take you down my road? There is none, save but One. Confession gives the soul all good, so who should stoop to hear? 'Tis Jesus Christ (thank God alone), He all my life can bear.

"If we look carefully within ourselves, we shall find that there are certain limits beyond which we refuse to go in offering ourselves to God. We hover around these reservations, making believe not to see them, for fear of self reproach. The more we shrink from giving up any such reserved point, the more certain it is that it needs to be given up. If we were not fast bound by it, we should not make so many efforts to persuade ourselves that we are free. ” Henry Drummond (1851-1897), author of “ The Greatest Thing In The World .”

“If the gospel be not preached, Jesus Christ is, as it were, buried. Therefore, let us stand as witnesses, and do Him this honor, when we see all the world so far out of the way; and remain steadfast in this wholesome doctrine. . . . Let us not deceive Jesus Christ in the testimony we owe Him, by stopping our mouths, when it is needful to maintain His honor, and the authority of His gospel. Yea, and when we see our brethren afflicted for the cause of God, let us join with them, and assist them in their affliction. Let us not be shaken by the tempests that arise, but let us always remain constant in our purpose; and stand as witnesses for the Son of God, seeing He is so gracious as to use us in such a good cause. Let us mark well, whether men suffer for their sins, or for the truth of God . . . . Every man will confess this: but they add, we are weak, and shall quickly be beaten down by the cruelty of our enemies. But St. Paul taketh away this excuse, by saying, God will strengthen us, ...

“There is a difference between forgiveness and cleansing. Hitherto, I had always regarded the promises of 1 John 1:9, “He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, as two ways of describing the same blessing. But I have come to see that two different things are promised therein. The things that are forgiven are “sins”, acts of sin, specific sins; the thing that is cleansed is the whole personality, cleansed from all unrighteousness. My small boy, David, was once told not to play in the tempting mud puddle. He disobeyed. To his dismay, he discovered that the muddy evidence of his disobedience was written all over his face and hands and knees and clothes. Fearing just punishment, he stayed out late, until the twin forces of fear of the dark and miserable hunger drove him in. By this time, we were so relieved to see him that we forgave him promptly. But as soon as he was forgiven, his mother took him to the bathroom, and stripped off his dirty clothes, washed his ...

"He who seeks to burn out for God will have to go deeper than sentence prayers and occasional wishful thinking."--Vance Havner As I post this blog, my mind is filled with inadequate illustrations that have bubbled to the surface--I can't seem to find the way to say what is on my mind and heart. The irony of this is this very experience begins to describe what I want to express here--just add in the concept of the "contempt of familiarity" and you have it! I know, you must think I've lost it, so read on . . . or don't. It's my blog and I can cogitate if I want to. It has been suggested that Isaiah's response to God (" Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts ." Is 6:5) is a model of reverence when face-to-face with God. I have to disagree. I think Isaiah's response is much closer to watching a person come within a...

Mat 10:32 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." Mat 10:33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." Mat 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Then do this. If "The Passion" showed you what you could not imagine about the death of Christ, then this will show you what to do about it.