From Fellowship with a Friend, from afar! :) Its SO good to stop and try to put words to the things that grab our attention as we read this book! Its cool to think that that grabbing of our attention may well be the Holy Spirit of Truth, trying to get our attention! :) Your questions are VERY helpful! You think of so many that I dont think of! Thank you for asking those questions, and for taking the time out of your full schedule, to share your helpful observations with me! :) It seems SO right, as the author says, that we should not get into OVER analyzing ourselves! I know that many people do fall into that stagnating-trap, that the author speaks of. I think Im more of the opposite type of person. Its too easy to briefly notice, and maybe acknowledge my sin, but not to stop and really take it seriously, and to realize that Ive hurt, and sometimes DEEPLY hurt, offended, been a VERY bad example, by that sinful way of doing things; and that God may be trying to get my attention about that! My sin may be greatly provoking the other person to bitterness of soul... When the author says, It is of the utmost importance that we never try to analyze ourselves, that seems wrong to me. Perhaps even dangerously wrong, if he doesnt go on to explain more clearly exactly what he means. He may have been the type of person who DID continually over-analyze himself, and therefore was alert to the dangers of that, but was not alert to the fact that many of us, tend to do the opposite. It seems to me, to be VERY important that we stop and thoroughly analyze ourselves, when the Holy Spirits still small voice seems to be trying to get our attention about some sin in our lives. And, not choose to just move on or read on and ignore our OWN sin. Even as we analyze, pondering, think about, grow bitter towards other people for their sinful choices, words, attitudes, decisions... ALL sin causes MUCH damage and destruction to people and to relationships! Even, JUST the sin of NOT being quick to listen well, that can seem to be such a minor detail to us! Some would even say, dont be knit-picky about that, when they are still oblivious to the huge damage done by our failure to be quick to listen, slow to speak! Our Father in Heaven seems to want us to stop and discover the truth of the matter, including our heart sins. Purify YOUR hearts you double-minded. Then, confess that sin, to God and thank Him that Jesus died for this sin as well as ALL those other sins of MINE! Thank Him that He has forgiven this sin, and cleansed me from all unrighteousness, when I confessed it. Thank Him that He gives grace to the humble. Grace includes the FACT that, It is God Who is at work in you, BOTH to WILL and to DO of HIS good pleasure. God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the HUMBLE. Confessing our sins to God and to the people we have wronged by our sin, require humility! So, humbly confessing our sin, both to God and to the person we wronged by that sin, seems crucial to our freedom from that sin! Proudly hiding MY sin under the carpet, while displaying the other persons sins on the table, does not seem like the way to freedom from that sin. Even IF Im only displaying the other persons sins on the table of my OWN heart! Which of course, usually, Im not. Usually Im at least speaking whats actually in my heart to SOME people, or to MANY people... Our rest surely does lie, as he says, in looking to the Lord, not to ourselves. Looking to the Lord to give us the grace, and the humility to confess our sin, to turn from our sin, and to be set free from that sin, etc. It seems like many people try to, look off unto Him in a religious-ritual kind of way. Choosing to ignore the reality of my sinful choices, ways, attitudes, decisions,... That seems so wrong to do. NOT honoring to God, or rightly representing Him, or His ways. I dont know about his statement, In the degree that we look off unto Him to that degree are we delivered from self. That doesnt seem accurate, on its own. Yes, to try to bring about the needed change our self; to try to turn from our sin, or to produce any good fruit, ourselves, on our own, apart from Him, will NEVER work! It IS God who has to do the work in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. But not even looking, noticing, discovering, knowing, or confessing the truth about MY sin, and what NEEDS to change, does not seem right either! What are you thinking about ANY of these things?
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:15:17 +0000