Are We Without Excuse?

Niagara Falls, June, 2017

 

And that which fell among thorns are they,
which, when they have heard,
go forth, and are choked with cares,
and riches and pleasures of this life,
and bring no fruit to perfection.
Luke 8:14

Anything allowed in the heart
which is contrary to the will of God,
let it seem ever so insignificant,
or be ever so deeply hidden,
will cause us to fall before our enemies.
Any root of bitterness cherished towards another,
any self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged in,
any slackness in obeying the voice of the Lord,
any doubtful habits or surroundings,
any one of these things will effectually cripple
and paralyze our spiritual life.

I believe our blessed Guide,
the indwelling Holy Spirit,
is always secretly discovering these things to us
by continual little twinges and pangs of conscience,
so that we are left without excuse.
H. W. SMITH.

Published in: on August 25, 2017 at 4:14 am  Leave a Comment  
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The Consecrated Soul

peace

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
F. R. HAVERGAL.

I am the Almighty God; walk before me,
and be thou perfect.–Genesis 17:1

Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord.
–Exodus 32:29.

I have noticed that wherever there has been
a faithful following of the Lord in a consecrated soul,
several things have inevitably followed, sooner or later.
Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time
the characteristics of the daily life.
A submissive acceptance of the will of God
as it comes in the hourly events of each day;
pliability in the hands of God to do
or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will;
sweetness under provocation;
calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle;
yieldingness to the wishes of others,
and an insensibility to slights and affronts;
absence of worry or anxiety;
deliverance from care and fear;
–all these, and many similar graces,
are invariably found to be the natural outward development
of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.
H. W. SMITH.

from Streams in the Desert volume 1.

Published in: on October 22, 2016 at 6:17 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Sower Went Out . . .

sower “A sower went out to sow his seed:”

And that which fell among thorns are they,
which, when they have heard, go orth,
and are choked with cares,
and riches and pleasures of this life,
and bring no fruit to perfection.
LUKE 8:14

Anything allowed in the heart which is contrary to the will of God,
let it seem ever so insignificant,
or be ever so deeply hidden,
will cause us to fall before our enemies.
Any root of bitterness cherished towards another,
any self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged in,
any slackness in obeying the voice of the Lord,
any doubtful habits or surroundings,
any one of these things will effectually cripple and paralyze our spiritual life.
I believe our blessed Guide,
the indwelling Holy Spirit,
is always secretly discovering these things to us
by continual little twinges and pangs of conscience,
so that we are left without excuse.
H. W. SMITH.

. . . let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:1

Published in: on August 27, 2016 at 3:55 am  Leave a Comment  
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