Thursday, August 20, 2009

Amen to Pursuit of Holiness..so far

Hi!

Recently I have been reading The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. I am a big fan of older books and what I mean by that is, books that were written well before my time, 70s and back. I love the honesty and the truth that sprung from that time period and just the style of writing. After I finished That's Why They call Him Savior, I was randomly looking for a book and found The Pursuit of Holiness.


I am a redeemed reformed Christian woman. I knew before this book that God calls us into a Holy Life with him, but we are all still sinful by nature and therefore doomed to sin. Well Bridges seems to have a different take on a Holy Life that has convicted me beyond belief.


At the beginning of the book he states very plainly that, like I said before, Christians are called to a Holy Life, but why? He explains that we must be Holy because God himself is Holy and that Holiness is not an option. It says in Hebrews that, "without holiness no one sees the Lord." I want to see God and I want to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. Bridges goes on to say that, Holiness has to do with more than mere acts. Our motives must be Holy, that is, rising from a desire to do something simply because it is the will of God." Not only that but in the next chapter Bridges convicted me by saying that because Christ died to our sin, we are now set free. But since we have been a slave to our sin for so long our mortal body still sees itself as sinful, which causes us to continue to sin. Therefore making sin a choice.


At this point in the book I was convicted and ashamed. I needed to talk with God. I pleaded with God and repented for being so wrong and deceitful. Then I sat in silence and asked the Holy Spirit to speak to me. Through this much needed quiet time God revealed that He loves me in spite of my sin, yet He desires for me to a Holy child. What a great God do we have! One who is willing to love His children even though they are evil and constantly running away.


I applaud Jerry Bridges for his work, so far, in the Pursuit of Holiness. This book has given me a wake up call to a new life of Holiness, by God standards, not by the standards the world has set for us. Please pray for me, as I will for all of you, that we may live in Holiness, so that we can see our Lord and creator.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Faithfulness is surely evident.

Hi everyone!



Sorry I haven't blogged in a long time. I am new to this and the last couple of weeks have been really packed to the brim. Here's an update on what has been happening in my life.

Since my last(first) blog:

1. My roommates moved out of 545.

2. Two new girls moved in.

3. I housed our sisters who went to Jamaica.

4. I had my last week of work at the Y.

5. I became very close with Sharon while planning her wedding.

6. I started reading Isaiah. (There is soo much goodness in this book!)

7. The wedding became top priority.

8. Kent, Sharon, and I bonded.

9. We moved Kent and Sharon into their new house!

10. Sharon moved out.

11. I hung out with the boys like three times a week.

12. I played tennis like other day.

13. I moved into like three different houses.

14. Sharon and Kent were married!

15. I moved in Alpha Chi Omega.

16. I came back to Illinois for a day and a half.

17. My sister and her boyfriend of two years broke up.



All of these things were so completely good. God has allowed me to use my time to grow relationships with other rooted in Christ. Even though I was stressed, worried about others, tired, and sometimes lonely, God was faithful.



It says in 1st Corinthians that we can continue to learn more and more about the Father because He has given us the Holy Spirit. This summer through the power of the Holy Spirit I have witnessed how completely faithful our God is. He sees us through in the tough times and brings us joyous times so that we can praise Him and bring glory to His name. 2009 hasn't been what I expected and I am so glad of that! I hope that one day I can ask God to bring me trials because I want the maturity and endurance that comes from the pains of the world. And ultimately hope in Him through everything.



I know that I am unfaithful. I am a wretched sinner and I will let myself and others down. It is a miracle of grace that I have been saved and now loved by Christ. He was faithful to me and I am completely confident that He will continue to be. How great is our God!