"To the question: what must I do to be saved? the old gospel replies: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. To the further question: what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? its reply is: it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners; abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon Him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one's natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one's heart by the Holy Ghost.
And to the further question still: how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things? it answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sin, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself on His mercy; ask Him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask Him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from Him. Turn to Him and trust Him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to Him; watch pray read and hear God's Word, worship and commune with God's people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you."
- J.I. Packer
This is quite possibly the most beautiful account of repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord that I have ever encountered.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
a perfect habitation
My heart longs to be a habitation fit for Thee, a place where peace reigns, and love can flourish, a heart where you will feel at home.
as i thought about these lyrics, i wondered to myself, "is my heart fit for Christ? is it a place where peace reigns and love can flourish? would God feel at home in my heart?". it made me realize how imperfect my habitation was and how the space i have saved for God in my heart would not be a place where He could live joyfully. there is just all this messed up stuff in it, like a messy teenager's room. dirty clothes all over the place, food left over from days ago sitting at the desk, and a dingy smell embedded into all the furniture. it is a place where hatred and judgment lie in all the little tiny cracks, the ones you ignore whenever you clean. worry and anxiety rest on top of the dusty shelves that you're too lazy to brush off. how could God live in this place? honestly, He can't. but by His grace, i desire to clean up my heart, to dedicate all of it to Him who has shown me infinite, unconditional love. for Him, i want to be clean and make a place where He can dwell. my heart longs to be a habitation fit for Christ.
but how do i clean up my heart? it needs to be a place where peace reigns and love flourishes. peace reigns where there is full trust in the Lord, for the Lord will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in Him (isaiah 26:3). peace is where worry and anxiety have been cast off and faith and hope in God's will has taken over. peace will come when i trust in the Lord as my rock and my protector. love flourishes when we are devoted to one another and when we honor each other above ourselves (romans 12:10). it is present when we love others and He lives in us and His love is made complete in us (1 john 4:12). love will flourish when i learn to lay my life down for others. i am far from accomplishing any of these things, but the Lord has placed this desire on my heart for a reason. He knows that i want to clean up my heart to someday make it the place where He will feel most at home. and i will...in time and with steadfast faith.
as i thought about these lyrics, i wondered to myself, "is my heart fit for Christ? is it a place where peace reigns and love can flourish? would God feel at home in my heart?". it made me realize how imperfect my habitation was and how the space i have saved for God in my heart would not be a place where He could live joyfully. there is just all this messed up stuff in it, like a messy teenager's room. dirty clothes all over the place, food left over from days ago sitting at the desk, and a dingy smell embedded into all the furniture. it is a place where hatred and judgment lie in all the little tiny cracks, the ones you ignore whenever you clean. worry and anxiety rest on top of the dusty shelves that you're too lazy to brush off. how could God live in this place? honestly, He can't. but by His grace, i desire to clean up my heart, to dedicate all of it to Him who has shown me infinite, unconditional love. for Him, i want to be clean and make a place where He can dwell. my heart longs to be a habitation fit for Christ.
but how do i clean up my heart? it needs to be a place where peace reigns and love flourishes. peace reigns where there is full trust in the Lord, for the Lord will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in Him (isaiah 26:3). peace is where worry and anxiety have been cast off and faith and hope in God's will has taken over. peace will come when i trust in the Lord as my rock and my protector. love flourishes when we are devoted to one another and when we honor each other above ourselves (romans 12:10). it is present when we love others and He lives in us and His love is made complete in us (1 john 4:12). love will flourish when i learn to lay my life down for others. i am far from accomplishing any of these things, but the Lord has placed this desire on my heart for a reason. He knows that i want to clean up my heart to someday make it the place where He will feel most at home. and i will...in time and with steadfast faith.
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