THE CHRISTIAN CALL TO SERVICE

THE CHRISTIAN CALL TO SERVICE

"No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of life;
his aim to is to satisfy and please the one who has enlisted him." 2
Timothy 2:4 (The Amplified Bible)

"The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty, and so is the
Christian. The very nature of your calling precludes a life of ease. If
you had thought to be a summer soldier, consider your commission
carefully. Your spiritual orders are rigorous. Like the apostle, I would
not have you be ignorant on this point and will therefore, list a few of
your directives.

Those sins which have lain nearest your heart must now be trampled under
your feet. And what courage and resolution this requires! You think
Abraham was tested to the limit when called upon to take Isaac, 'your
only son ... whom you love' (Genesis 22:2), and offer him up with his
own hands. Yet what was that to this: 'Soul, take the lust which is the
child dearest to your heart, your Isaac, the sin from which you intend
to gain the greatest pleasure. Lay hands on it and offer it up; pour out
its blood before Me; run the sacrificing knife into the very heart of it
- and do it joyfully!'

This is more than the human spirit can bear to hear. Our lust will not
lie so patiently on the altar as Isaac, nor as the lamb brought dumb to
the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Our flesh will roar and shriek, rending the
heart with its hideous cries. Indeed, who can express the conflict, the
wrestlings, the convulsions of the spirit we endure before we can put
our heart into such a command? Or who can fully recount the cleverness
with which such a lust will plead for itself?

When the Spirit convicts you of sin, Satan will try to convince you, 'It
is such a little one - spare it!' Or he will bribe the soul with a vow
of secrecy: 'You can keep me and your good reputation, too. I will not
be seen in your company to shame you among your neighbors. You may shut
me up in the attic of your heart, out of sight, if only you will let me
know and then have the wild embraces of your thoughts and affections in
secret.'

From the devotional writings of William Gurnall in his classic THE
CHRISTIAN IN COMPLETE ARMOUR - Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

Powerful stuff this morning. Is there an area that the Holy Spirit is
placing His finger on this morning? Are you willing to put that Isaac
closest to your heart to death?

Great quote: I prayed for faith, and thought that someday faith would
come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come.
One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, "Now faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". I had closed my Bible, and
prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith
has been growing ever since.
Dwight L Moody