Now Think On This
Steve Martin
“And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32, NKJV)
Sometimes I feel like the apostle Paul did when he spoke about still doing that which he didn’t want to do. I can’t find the Scripture, but at some point he gave a sigh, or even more so wrote of his ongoing frustration, in seemingly doing the same thing over and over. And he wasn’t talking about that thing being a good thing.
He too wanted it to stop so he could move on with other challenges. He wanted to pass this test so he could graduate to the next class, or as we so often hear these days, “go to the next level”. (We must be riding an elevator?)
Maybe you think the same at times? You do something, say something, or think something about another, and then find yourself having to repent all over again for doing the same thing all over again. It gets frustrating. “When will I ever learn?” as we continually battle the same temptation, or even yet, the same sin, over and over again.
Contending for perfection is part of the ongoing battle we are in. Not only are there battles without and about us but we continually face the battles within ourselves. Because we are fighting in the spiritual realm, it works its way down into our natural being.
But we have hope! As this war within rages on, we can experience a burn within, which I believe is the Holy Spirit’s refining fire, to cleanse us of all that dirt, filth, and such. We are being conformed more to the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and it is an ongoing process.
The apostle Peter (or as more accurately the Jewish versions of the Bible say, the “emissary” Peter) also wrote of this ongoing burn within us. He too was inspired by the Holy Spirit to remind his followers of this very same thing.
“Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and temporary residents not to give in to the desires of your old nature, which keep warring against you; but to live such good lives among the pagans that even though they now speak against you as evil-doers, they will, as a result of seeing your good actions, give glory to God on the Day of his coming.” (1 Peter 2:11-13, Complete Jewish Bible)
It is a fact. The old nature, the one we had before coming to repentance, and finding salvation which is only found in the Lord Yeshua (Jesus), still tries to come back at us - those old (and new) desires and temptations to give in and give up. We will still battle in the ongoing war within, always trying to wear us down and take us out of the war raging around us.
“Stay sober, stay alert! Your enemy, the Adversary, stalks about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Stand against him, firm in your trust, knowing that your brothers throughout the world are going through the same kinds of suffering. You will have to suffer only a little while; after that, God, who is full of grace, the one who called you to his eternal glory in union with the Messiah, will himself restore, establish and strengthen you and make you firm. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:8-11 CJB)
Thank God, that even as Jesus did while here on earth, conversing with those disciples after His resurrection, He has now given us His Holy Spirit to walk and talk “with us on the road”, while still opening the Scriptures to us, revealing while always teaching, in order to refine us and mold us into His holy image.
Next time, probably today, when the temptation comes my way, to think ill will of another, or when I am fighting the temptations that so often come, and will happen, I must effectively make the choice to stop the thought before it prolongs in my mind, and resist.
By the Lord’s grace burning through us, those things which can so easily drag you and I down can end, in order that we can carry on with the bigger challenge, that of proclaiming His gospel in word and deed, to a world that is burning up in so many other ways.
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.
P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
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Now Think On This - In the New Year of our Lord 02.04.16 - #240 –“Burn Within” – Thursday at 3:30 am
All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
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