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Think of God Continually, September 8
I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man.
Ephesians 3:14-16
.
The spiritual strength here spoken of is something that we may each obtain; but
how shall we get it? Perhaps we are in darkness, feeling weak and discouraged and
that God does not love us. If so, we are not to give way to feelings; feeling has
nothing whatever to do with the matter. We are to take the Word of God as it reads,
the words of Christ as He has spoken them.
Hear these words of our Saviour: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock;
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” It is the privilege of every
one of us to build upon the Eternal Rock; then we shall not dishonor God, nor by
our words and actions scatter away from Christ....
When you have thrown yourself upon the mercy of God, and taken Him at His
word, and yet the enemy comes, and suggests your faults and failings, and tells you
that you are no better than before you sought the Lord, you can point to Jesus, and
repeat His promises, and tell what He has done for you.
The apostle continues: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye,
being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what
is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” While
this divine fullness has been placed within our reach, how easily we are satisfied.
We have accustomed ourselves to think that it is enough to have a knowledge of the
truth without its sanctifying power. Just a little sip at the fountain of life quenches
our thirst. We do not come again and again to drink. But this is not in accordance
with the mind of God. Our souls should be continually athirst for the water of life.
Our hearts should ever go out after Christ, longing for communion with Him. It is
hungering and thirsting after righteousness that will bring us the full measure of His
grace.
Enoch “walked with God”; but how did he gain this sweet intimacy? It was by
having thoughts of God continually before him. As he went out and as he came in,
his meditations were upon the goodness, the perfection, and the loveliness of the
divine character. And as he was thus engaged, he became changed in the glorious
image of his Lord; for it is by beholding that we become changed (
The Signs of the
Times, August 18, 1887
).
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