Rwandan Man's Confession

by Dr. Bob Moorehead

In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:

“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear.”

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/confession.shtml

Hope

"Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." 1 John 3:3

Currently Reading: Hope by Jeremiah Burroughs

“So when a child of God is in the world, and meets with a great deal of opposition,
and much evil that would discourage his heart,

that would strike him at the very head,

then he holds forth the hope of salvation as a helmet;

and that will serve him; that will secure his head.

It may be that his legs, or some other parts, may be touched,

but the helmet of salvation will secure his head and keep him alive.

Thus it is when we meet with opposition at hand.”

“There is this hope as an anchor that holds the heart so

that it shall not be driven upon the rocks, nor upon the sands.”

I am currently reading Surrender:The Heart God Controls by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Surrender is book two in the "Revive Our Hearts" series (Brokenness was book one). The following is a prayer from Betty Scott Stam, a missionary who was killed, with her husband, for her faith at age twenty-eight. This prayer is a great example of surrendering one's all to Christ.

Lord, I give up my own plans and purposes, all

my own desires, hopes and ambitions, and I

accept Thy will for my life, I give up myself, my

life, my all, utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever.

I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships;

all the people whom I love are to take second

place in my heart. Fill me now and seal me with

Thy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life

at any cost, for me to live is Christ. Amen.

Brokenness

Brokenness: The Heart God Revives

By: Nancy Leigh DeMoss

This is a hard one to write, but here it goes.

This past week, I had the joy of a seeing a lost sheep find his Master. A friend of mine, whose salvation I had been praying for, came to know Christ as his Savior. Surrendering your sin, your life to Christ for the first time is an amazing experience that changes our life. Watching this life change in my friend was such an encouragement, but it was also very convicting. His brokenness over the sin in his life was very evident. It is easy to pray, "God, forgive me of my sins. Amen." But, how often are we not only sorry, but broken over are sins?



Seeing the brokenness of a new Christian spurred me to read Brokenness by Nancy DeMoss. This book is not one to be skimmed through. Every page is convicting and humbling, reminding me that I am not "broken" as I should be. It reminded me that "before God can use you, he has to break you." Our will must be broken and conformed to His will. At the end of the book, I ended up with a list of thirty-five characteristics of a broken person. When lined up with my life, it was hard to mentally check "yes, that's me" to very many of them. Obviously, since I'm no expert on the subject, you definitely need to read the book! I will, however attempt to summarize a few points on what a broken person is, according to the list I made from the book.



A broken person:



...esteems others above themselves, always denying themselves, promoting others if it makes them look worse.



...take responsibility when they are wrong.



...have a spirit dependent on the Lord, recognizing their need for Him.



..."have a sense of their own unworthiness, they are thrilled that God would use them at all."



..."have a heart attitude that says, “I don’t deserve to have any part in this ministry;” they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives."



Do we want to be convicted? Do we want to be broken? I'm sure for most, the answer is yes and no. An example from the book really illustrates how we must feel about this issue. Patients go to the hospital for surgery. Why? Because they like pain? Of course not! The pain from the surgery will ultimately work for the good, restoring their health to better than before. Likewise, a broken spirit will lead us to repentance, which will restore our spiritual health and bring us closer to God.



To close, I'll share a quote from Jeremiah Burroughs on the sins of believers:

"Your sins go nearer to the heart of God than [unbelievers],

other men may provoke God to anger, but you grieve His Holy Spirit."

We grieve God's spirit. Wow. May that lead you to brokenness and repentance over your sin.

The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit

The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit
by Jeremiah Burroughs

“But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land, wherein he went, and his seed shall possess it.” -Numbers 14:24

What kind of spirit do you have? Is it a spirit like the world, or is it different-another kind of spirit? In his book The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit, Jeremiah Burroughs challenges Christians to have a spirit different from the world. He uses the verse (above) from Numbers that describes the life of Caleb. What is another spirit? This book is in two parts-the first half tells what this spirit is and what kind of person possesses that spirit. Part two of the book shows how one must love God and serve Him with a gracious spirit.


According to Chapter 1, a gracious spirit is a "choice and precious spirit." This choice and precious spirit is:

1. Enlightened


2. Free -free from being ensnared and entangled with earthly engagements, such as a spirit of the world would have
   
3. Sublime, raised high by heavenly influences not swelling with pride


4. Firm, strong -strong to resist temptation, to overcome strong corruptions, strong to bear afflictions
   
5. Generous


6. "Another Spirit"- feeds on other (Godly) comforts-unlike those common spirits of the world

"It is a great honor to be a servant of the blessed God, and to be acknowledged so by God Himself. We should not look at our services to God only as duties enjoined, but as high privileges, as dignities put upon us that we should glory in His service."

Knowing now, what a choice and precious spirit is, Burroughs teaches us how we are, in particular, to manifest this spirit in ways different from others.

1. Self-denial-We are to overcome and "have command" of our spirits, subduing passions and violent stirrings that would dishonor God.


2. Love your enemies-Pray for your enemies and do all the good to them that you can.


3. Fear the least sin more than the greatest suffering. Oh, how often we will do anything to avoid suffering! How much more so should we flee from sin, even if it means great suffering.


4. Prize opportunities for service more than all outward contentments in the world.


5. Make conscience of time. "A man of excellent spirit knows how to employ himself in things that are excellent."


6. Pay attention to thoughts and secret workings of the heart. Beware of secret sins so that you may avoid them.


7. Be careful of the manner and method in which you perform holy duties.


8. Rejoice in the good of others, though it eclipses your light.


9. 
   
   "Let your spirits be stayed on God quietly and meekly commiting yourself and your cause to Him." "If in the times of our troubles the desires of our souls were to God's name and the rememberance of Him and not unto our own names, we would not have such sinking discouraged disquieted and vexing spirits as we have."


10. 
    
    Be careful to know the fountain from whence all your mercies come, and to have a sanctified use of them.

One that has this gracious spirit-that is, a choice and precious spirit-must be forgiven and truly following God. One that is truly following God will develop this gracious spirit. We must "serve God thoroughly from a spirit activated and motivated by His grace."