Brief Update

Hi everyone!

So this is my "holding down the fort while Sarah is away" post. Actually, Sarah just returned from her trip to Franklin Square, but I'm sure she will write her own post full of the details. Welcome back, Sarah!

It's the usual for me: the next homework assignment. But, our Father gives grace sufficient! I am a very task oriented person, and I find that everyday is about the list of tasks and responsibilities I have to perform. I am amazed that I can go a whole day without even thinking about the Sustainer and One to whom all my actions should glorify. It is very troubling, but I know that God created some of us to be task oriented and he knows our weaknesses. In church last Sunday, we sang these words and they really sum up what I have been praying:

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art,
And make me love thee as I ought to love.

Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh;
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt,the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

May the Holy Spirit pour out his grace upon us the rest of this week as we fulfill the callings and roles he has given us.

In Christ,
Lily

July Fifteenth

This from Spurgeon this morning~

July 15 2009
“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” ~Leviticus 6:13

Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital and experimental religion.

Burn here the fat of your sacrifices. Let your closet seasons be, if possible, regular, frequent, and undisturbed. Effectual prayer availeth much. Have you nothing to pray for? Let us suggest the Church, the ministry, your own soul, your children, your relations, your neighbours, your country, and the cause of God and truth throughout the world. Let us examine ourselves on this important matter. Do we engage with lukewarmness in private devotion? Is the fire of devotion burning dimly in our hearts? Do the chariot wheels drag heavily? If so, let us be alarmed at this sign of decay. Let us go with weeping, and ask for the Spirit of grace and of supplications. Let us set apart special seasons for extraordinary prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world.

The text will also apply to the altar of the heart. This is a golden altar indeed. God loves to see the hearts of his people glowing towards himself. Let us give to God our hearts, all blazing with love, and seek his grace, that the fire may never be quenched; for it will not burn if the Lord does not keep it burning. Many foes will attempt to extinguish it; but if the unseen hand behind the wall pour thereon the sacred oil, it will blaze higher and higher. Let us use texts of Scripture as fuel for our heart’s fire, they are live coals; let us attend sermons, but above all, let us be much alone with Jesus.