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Who? It was said of him,"He was all soul, and you can't photograph the soul nor describe it as you know it to exist." Missionary, scholar, mystic, saint. Quite a resume. So what advice does he give us at the turning of a new year?
Recent Entries
Making Sense Of It AllJanuary 30, 2012
Where are things headed? Is there rhyme and reason to the endless cycle of summer, fall, winter and spring? Is there a plan in place, or is randomness the explanation?
Suffering Saints
January 25, 2012
We get nervous thinking about it - suffering for the sake of Christ. How necessary is it, and what does it produce in us?
George Herbert on Prayer Meetings
January 21, 2012
Prayer Meetings are a thing of the past. Or so it seems. What has been lost? Maybe more than we realize.
When Fear Is Good
January 7, 2012
NO FEAR, we are told. And the point is well taken. But fear can be healthy, at least when it comes to eternal matters.
Happy, Happy, Happy
January 4, 2012
The declaration of independence holds up the pursuit of happiness as a right. Did you ever consider the reading the bible might be the one source that will never let you down?
The Twelve Signs Of Grace
December 22, 2011
Self-examination is not easy to do. The tendency is to let ourselves off easy. But examine we must, for eternity is at stake.
"Ouch!!"
July 22, 2011
Spiritual pride is hard to detect. Jonathan Edwards gives some tips. The process can be painful, but necessary.
Saintly Resolutions: GEORGE BOWEN
January 1, 2009
On January 2, 1869, George Bowen wrote:
"Instead of asking, What shall this coming year bring to me? let us individually ask, What shall I bring to it? Instead of asking, What changes are likely to take place in the world? let a man enquire, What changes may reasonably be looked for in me? What changes for the better can i accomplish, in myself and around me?"
"God has brought you to the threshold of a new year. It is a terra incognita to you. But He that has brought you here, knows what is beyond; and the best thing for you to do is to look up to Him, as the child that cannot see afar off looks up to its father's face."
"It is He that has brought you here; He has an object in it. He made the world and He made you; the world is His and you are His; you have no right to be or to do in this world of His, anything but what pleases Him."
"You have certain powers. How are you to use them? It is for Him to say. Have you instructions? Is His word with you? is it in your heart? Does it rule you? Surely it is in studying His instructions that we shall get the best insight into the future...."
"If we have the word of God in our hands and in our hearts, then we have an important sense the making of this coming year in our hands."
"As the stream that descends from some mountain in a broad, parched, barren plain, fertilizes it and makes it a region of verdure, a place for cattle to browse and for birds to sing, so they who have the word of life in their hearts, vanquishing the evil of their nature and energizing them for the work which Christ has assigned them, are empowered to chante the aspect of society, and make the moral wilderness blossom as the rose."
What was the bottom line for Bowen in facing a new year? Simply, pick up your Bible, reading it regulary, letting it inform and guide your year, allowing the Spirit of God to show you His path. May that same Spirit enable you to enjoy God's word this year, while further transforming you into His image.
"Instead of asking, What shall this coming year bring to me? let us individually ask, What shall I bring to it? Instead of asking, What changes are likely to take place in the world? let a man enquire, What changes may reasonably be looked for in me? What changes for the better can i accomplish, in myself and around me?"
"God has brought you to the threshold of a new year. It is a terra incognita to you. But He that has brought you here, knows what is beyond; and the best thing for you to do is to look up to Him, as the child that cannot see afar off looks up to its father's face."
"It is He that has brought you here; He has an object in it. He made the world and He made you; the world is His and you are His; you have no right to be or to do in this world of His, anything but what pleases Him."
"You have certain powers. How are you to use them? It is for Him to say. Have you instructions? Is His word with you? is it in your heart? Does it rule you? Surely it is in studying His instructions that we shall get the best insight into the future...."
"If we have the word of God in our hands and in our hearts, then we have an important sense the making of this coming year in our hands."
"As the stream that descends from some mountain in a broad, parched, barren plain, fertilizes it and makes it a region of verdure, a place for cattle to browse and for birds to sing, so they who have the word of life in their hearts, vanquishing the evil of their nature and energizing them for the work which Christ has assigned them, are empowered to chante the aspect of society, and make the moral wilderness blossom as the rose."
What was the bottom line for Bowen in facing a new year? Simply, pick up your Bible, reading it regulary, letting it inform and guide your year, allowing the Spirit of God to show you His path. May that same Spirit enable you to enjoy God's word this year, while further transforming you into His image.
