How's Your Battery?

How's Your Battery?

See Genesis 32:22-30

One of my favorite Keswick convention speakers was the late J. Sidlow Baxter. He was the author of a very well known commentary, EXPLORE THE BOOK. I love the way he teaches victorious Christian living in such a practical way.

Today's devotional is from HIS VICTORIOUS INDWELLING -- Daily Devotions for a Deeper Christian Life (Zondervan)

Far too many Christians live their spiritual life on the "battery system." Lest that sounds a strangely peculiar idea, let me explain what I mean.

I can dimly remember how, when I was a little boy, my dear mother sometimes took me to a town, where, if I remember rightly, about that time there was a change-over in the street car system. The older type of street car used to run on the battery system. There was an electric battery on the front or rear platform of the car, and so long as the battery was "alive" the car would run; but as soon as the battery was exhausted, the car would stop dead. It was far from satisfactory, hence the change-over.

There are Christian believers who seem to run their spiritual life and service on that system. They go to a [conference/retreat] on the deeper life and when they return home, they are altogether different -- for three weeks! Or they read some epochal Christian biography, and as they close the book they say, "Ah, life can never be the same again" nor is it -- for three weeks!

Or they have an all-night of prayer. Things have been going from bad to worse with them, so they bring things to a crisis. While others sleep, they wrestle on their nocturnal brook of Jabbok (Genesis 23:22), and when the sun rises they are transfigured -- for three weeks, after which they lapse again to the dull average. Why? Because they are resting on a CRISIS instead of on CHRIST.

The Christian life was never meant to be run on a battery system. It was meant to run on the electric current principle. You know what that is. Put simply, it is just this: continuous CURRENT through continuous CONTACT. You and I have no power over the current; but we do have power over the contact; and when, by regular prayer-times, daily meditation in the written Word, consecration to Christ, and separation from unworthy ways, we maintain the CONTACT then the heavenly CURRENT, the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ, is continually communicated to us.

So my brothers, are you running off a battery system, or are you connected the Source? Think about it. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 27-29; 2 Corinthians 10

Great Quote: The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. Barbara Johnson