George Whitefield "God convert you more and more every hour of the day; God convert you from lying in bed in the morning; God convert you from lukewarmness; God convert you from conformity to the world!"George Whitefield
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2
To convert means to change from one state to another. The life of a Christian is one of endless growth. God, through His Holy Spirit works in your heart to change you to be more Christ-like...if you are willing to let Him.
How often we get caught up in the things of this world. We watch TV until all hours of the night so that we are too tired to rise before work and spend time with God. We allow our days to be filled with the pursuit of wealth and recreation, claiming that tomorrow we'll witness of God's work to the person dying today.
We listen to those who tell us the Bible is no longer relevant, that we cannot know God, that there are many ways to heaven. And because we listen, we become ignorant of God's love and our purpose in life, which is to bring Him pleasure and glory. We, in the end, conform to the world.
We need men like George Whitefield, moved by the Holy Spirit, to stand up and speak truth--God's truth, which is absolute and worth discovering. We need to stop listening to those who wish to tickle our ears with their false ideas of God, appealing to our flesh rather than to our spirit.
How can we do this?
First, be certain of our salvation. Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again so that you might have life? Have you fully committed your life to Him?
Second, we must block off a time each day to spend with God, in His Word, in worship, and in prayer. Then guard this time with great fierceness. Don't let anyone or anything steal it away from us.
Third, we must determine to search the Scriptures daily to know God and all He wants us to know. Search God's Word, comparing Scripture with Scripture, studying it as a whole with each section a part of something greater than itself. The Bible is the only book we need. Yes, there are plenty of good study books that can be of help, but we don't want to approach God solely through another man. Would you approach your husband through another woman? We can approach God on our own. We must seek Him on our own with boldness.
Fourth, we must convert. In other words, we must put in practice what we learn from our study of God's Word. We must let His Word and His Holy Spirit work mightily within us so that we can live the new life He has given us to its fullest, with an ever-increasing intimacy with our Saviour.
Do you have a personal Bible study, separate from that of another's work?
Whitefield is my hero, Lynn. I love what Spurgeon said about him ~ "Often as I have read his life, I am conscious of a distinct quickening whenever I turn to it. He lived. Other men seem only to be half-alive; but Whitefield was all life, fire, wing, force.
ReplyDeleteBless you for such a wonderful post.
Oh, and I meant to add that your comment about going straight to Christ is very true. So often we study Him through the lens of a study or book written about Him instead of the word itself. Thanks for the reminder to go straight to Scripture foremost.
DeleteThank you, Lynn, for the post -- and reminder of the importance to spend time with the Lord.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love about studying the Bible is that it meets us right where we are each day. We can read the same passages at different seasons in our lives and it's fresh and alive each time, impacting us in whatever our circumstances are at the moment.
Laura, I love Spurgeon too!
ReplyDeleteJanet, you are so right. God's Word is truly living. :) I love how the Holy Spirit points out new things to an old read, or how knowledge deepens with each read. We can never know it all. :)