Today's promise: No temptation is too
great
How can you avoid the
guilt experiences by John Bunyan?
How can I know all the
sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me.
Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me.
Psalm 19:12-13 NLT
Now, all glory to God,
who is able to keep you from stumbling, and who will bring you into his
glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy.
Jude 1:24 NLT
A Pilgrim making progress
John Bunyan, who wrote
the class The Pilgrim's Progress, had been a godless youth with a
"great desire to take fill of sin, still studying what sin was yet to be
committed, that might taste the sweetness of it." However, while still in
his twenties, Bunyan was convicted by the Holy Spirit of his sinfulness and his
need for a Redeemer.
After this Bunyan's
conscience became so tender that he feared he was committing sins that would
not be forgiven. Bunyan spent time studying Scripture, at times finding comfort
and at other times being weighed down by guilt.
Looking back on those
turbulent days in his life, Bunyan recognized he had made some big mistakes.
Although he had prayed for cleansing, he had not prayed to be kept from future
sin. In addition, he was not standing firmly on the rock of his salvation, even
though he had asked Christ to be his Redeemer (see Psalm 19:12-14).
Perhaps you have trusted
Christ to save you, but you still experience spiritual defeat. This is not
unusual, but you do need to address the problem. Each new day ask God to help
you follow him more closely. But do not be afraid, for, as Bunyan later wrote,
our "righteousness is Jesus Christ himself, the same yesterday, today, and
forever."
adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms by William J.
Petersen and Randy Petersen,, Tyndale House Publishers (1999), entry for
February 6
Content is derived
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale
Publishing House
No comments:
Post a Comment