Posted on 01/04/2006 9:50:57 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
"And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ " ( John 21:19 ). Three years earlier Jesus had said, "Follow Me" ( Matthew 4:19 ), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, "Follow Me" ( John 21:19 ). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first "Follow Me" was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18 ).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75 ). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. ". . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ " ( John 20:22 ). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to "receive the Holy Spirit." "Receive the Holy Spirit"— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In 1910 Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs. They had one daughter, Kathleen, who still resides in London (as of 1992).
In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London, where he lectured until the school was closed in 1915 because of World War I. In October 1915 he sailed for Zeitoun, Egypt (near Cairo), where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops as a YMCA chaplain. He died there November 15, 1917, following surgery for a ruptured appendix.
My Utmost for His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and in this, the last decade of the century, remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. It has become a Christian classic. [from the flyleaf of the book]
Can I feel it? Jeepers, hosepipe, not just Ozzie is exhorting us to soar - but you, too. Thank you for the beautiful meditation and praise!
It is nice to see your poetic post here, KnittingAC, and to figure that you are feeling better...? I checked out your blog this morning...well done! I've kept you in prayer daily, dear one. Keep overcoming!
I often pray this way in my petitions for loved ones, for everything has an end except God Himself, His Kingdom, the Word and Spirit (as Scripture attests repeatedly). Pride comes to an end, man's strength fails, props and crutches and crumbling walls fall down and every mask and pretension falls away. My own testimony is that it was in the coming to the end of every resource with which I had tried to sustain my shaky existence and worldly "peace", in finding myself at the utter end of human wisdom and human strength and human props, failed methods all, that I was finally willing to look up, to look outside myself. I thank God that I came to the end of all my ways at the age of 29, and so was willing to pray with very little and finally humbled faith to Him Who Has No End.
And so I pray earnestly for those I love: that this same event will take place in thier lives, for all my neighbors and coworkers and friends and family and everyone I have ever witnessed to, that they also will reach the End of Ending Things before the End of All Things (personal or universal) comes. Only then, it seems, can our rebellious hearts reach out to the Unending.
C.S. Lewis made note of the grace of God in this: that He will accept us even when (and just when!) we come having already tried every other way, as though God were our last resort. What wondrous Love is this?!
What wonderous love indeed! I join in your intercessory prayer!
Indeed, like a parent.. a father..
There is a time for teaching personally directly and time for not teaching directly.. but waiting for when the time is right.. An observant parent is always watching for those times.. There is a time to teach and time to observe and listen.. Wisdom is knowing the difference.. Lessons taught in this way will be learned for a lifetime.. even beyond..
Spoken like a loving father, hosepipe! Thank you for your insights!
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