I hope none of you tire of my feeble attempts to encourage the tens of 100’s of folks who have visited Camp Shiloh over the years – since 1982, in fact.
My Uncle Greg was providing a bi-weekly blog for our Camp Shiloh website, but in recent weeks, he’s been overwhelmed with work that has made it difficult for him to provide a weekly blog – so important to a lot of our past visitors.
Hence, I’ve taken it this on to provide folks with Biblical encouragement based on my five decades of experience as a full-blown sinner and as a redeemed son of Christ Jesus Almighty. I am in no way supplanting Greg’s weekly blogs, but until he gets freed up enough to provide his great insights based on scripture, I hope you will permot me to provide these weekly updates.
Whatever Happened to the Holy Spirt?
As a sinner – yet, thoroughly saved by the grace of God Almighty – I recognize that I am at most times blind to the evil which should make me leave it. There is this black cloth that covers my heart, enabling me to sin at times with a sense of abandonment. Sin is the spirit of evil, yet I at times enable it to cling to me like a shroud – a dark cloth covering my body prior to the blanket of sand and soil from where I originally came. In all honestly, I am still not sure if I want to be buried in a box, or it I want to be burned into ashes of gray.
Years ago, as an unregenerate man, I was distinguished by my ignorance. For example, one summer day in 1995, I was driving home after a 14-hour day of great difficulty related to my job, and next to me was this state policeman. The speed limit was 65, and I was doing 65, but since this state trooper was doing 60 MPH, I eventually passed him. He didn’t like this, so he decided to pull me over. He taunted me for passing him (though by law, I did nothing wrong). He further mocked me by saying that he’d better watch out for jerks like me, and then gave me a ticket for “speeding” – 68 MPH in a 65 MPH zone. If there was ever a reason for me to raise my voice against this unprofessional servant of ours, it was now, but I yielded to his abuse of power, and took his citation quietly.
On the way home, I began to pity this poor, over-worked policeman. Granted, he was a bully with a badge, but how are these graceless men to be pitied whom the Lord God Himself has blinded? (see II Corinthians 4:4). We pity such poor, blind men. The devil carries such wicked men like an eagle does the lowly rodent, hoodwinked to Hell. Does he not?
Twenty-three years later, I still think about this patrolman. He treated me with such wicked contempt, yet I treated him with a sweet countenance, which, in retrospect I believe probably irritated him even more, hence the ticket of $125 that he served me.
So, what did I learn from this? See the difference between the godly and the wicked. Nothing can make a wicked man keep from being wicked. Just like our managers, bosses and presidents – who all keep books of their accounts, entering debts into dark pages further indebted with interest – God also keeps a diary, where He enters down every sin into His book (see Psalm 49:9). He that formed the eye, shall He not see? God never takes His eyes off of us.
I recently accused a godly man of behaving unjustly. I used terrible language to emphasize how much I despised his handling of a certain situation. I was wrong. I was overcome by the red mist of anger that descended over my eyes – blinding me to the reality of this particular situation.
This passion to repent exhausted me from weeping, but had I not repented, I would have highly incensed God, and it have eventually called upon God to take vengeance upon me (Jeremiah 9:3). If we proceed from evil to evil without restraint, will not God visit upon these things upon us?
So here is the nature of sin… one sin makes way for more. The more we sin, the more we are fit for hell. It’s a curse that one prepares for me (Acts 13:2).
Righteousness will be justified in damning the wicked. When a thief goes on stealing and, after he has been reprieved, he still continues to rob, how all will applaud the Judge in condemning him. Such sinners will be found speechless (Psalm 51:4).
Yet see how powerful this thing of grace is. It makes a wreck of our corruption and breaks the heart from its love of sin. When my soul was still full of sin, I was extremely uncomfortable in continuing to sin. If we consider what power sin has in us, it is a genuine miracle that any one of us would forsake it! Sin is what a man is. It’s like a member of his body, and good luck trying to part with it without Christ. Without Christ, sin is woven and incorporated into our very nature. It is as natural for me to sin as it is for fire to burn. Sin has bewitched me and tricked me into thinking that I’m nothing without it.
Yet, the Holy Spirit has engaged Himself in my life. He allures and conquers. A lot of our attention deals with the Father and the Son, but we tend to forget that it is the power of the Holy Spirit who points us constantly to Christ. The Holy Spirit – as much as He deserves it – wants no attention, other than to constantly point us to Christ Jesus.
Thanks to the Holy Spirit for the change He makes in our lives and for all of the quiet work He does to point us continuously to this God!
Be Blessed,
Brett