We are currently reading “Power From On High” by Charles Finney, it really has to be one of the most challenging books I have ever read! One thing it has really shown me is that we can do nothing without God, I am constantly having to fight my natural inclination to throw the book on the floor and go in a huff declaring everything to be “too hard!” which is obviously an issue on my part

However, in all honesty, everything IS too hard. We are unable to do anything apart from God. All He wants is for us to be willing, this is something that I am learning, that He does not expect us to do it all ourselves but to give ourselves completely to Him, to be obedient and to let Him mold us, Him being the potter and us being the clay.

Further to this, I do feel very challenged, Finney obviously had something that I do not have, but I really want his all consuming passion for Jesus, he is very blunt about how to obtain it:

“When Christians humble themselves and consecrate their all afresh to Christ, and ask for this power, they will often receive such a baptism that they will be instumental in converting more souls in one day than in all their lifetime before! While Christians remain humble enough to retain this power the work of conversion will go on…”

I have been constantly challenged in this area recently. Continually giving my life to Jesus, pledging and re pledging my all to Him and dying a little more each day, this isn’t a one time thing, this is a continuous humbling and a realisation that God is God and I am not.

Ephesians 4 v 23-24 - I was encouraged by these verses this week for the great work that God wants to do inside because it’s not what we do outwardly, we change on the inside first.  These verses speak about how God wants to renew our mind so we have a mind the same as His and our response to everything throughout the day is the way He would respond.  Jesus’ life was a life of prayer. 

I’ve been struck again by the Sovereignty of God (Exodus 15 v 1-12, Isaiah 40 v 21-26). He is far above anyone and anything. Nothing can stop Him, for His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His plans will come to pass. We can pray from this position of knowing who our Lord is!! He is and will continue to be Sovereign.

God has been doing a lot in my heart this week, I haven’t understood it all and have been finding it difficult at times. I have often felt completley lethargic and unable to even form words to pray. He is making me realise my complete dependence on Him and my utter inability to do anything in my own strength and every time I slip into doing things by myself, I am suddenly alone and tend to fall into confusion and despondency. In comparison to this,

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Oh LORD would you so wake us to the desperate need for prayer. Alarm us with the ever pending doom of millions of people. People you crucified your son for to make it possible for them to be bought back. Yet we, the church, repeatedly choose to turn away from the sickening sight of the decay of sin upon a whole generation. God forgive our selfishness and our living with a baseline of comfort and ease. Holy spirit let your church in this nation recieve a violent prod in the (more…)