Quotes of the Day
November 1, 2007 by Ingrid Schlueter
It must be admitted, that the character and the tendencies of the age are not favorable to deep and mature reflection upon the hidden, spiritual life of the soul. Whirled along as the church of God is, in her brilliant path of benevolent enterprise, - deeply engaged in concerting and in carrying out new and far-reaching plans of aggression upon the dominion of sin, - and compelled in one hand to hold the spiritual sword in defence of the faith which, with the other, she is up-building, - but few energies are left, and but little time is afforded, for close, faithful, and frequent dealing with the personal and spiritual state of grace in the soul; which, in consequence of thus being overlooked and uncultivated, may fall into the state of the deepest and most painful declension. “They made me keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.” (Sol. Song i. 6).
If there is one consideration more humbling than another to a spiritually-minded believer, it is, that, after all God has done for him, - after all the rich displays of his grace, the patience and tenderness of his instructions, the repeated discipline of his covenant, the tokens of love received, and the lessons of experience learned, there should still exist in the heart a principle, the tendency of which is to secret, perpetual, and alarming departure from God. Truly, there is in this solemn fact, that which might well lead to the deepest self-abasement before him (p. 9).
–Octavius Winslow, both quotes from Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul
Ingrid,
Do you like this book ,overall by Winslow? I was thinking about checking it out sometime soon. I really enjoy reading this blog!
Lord bless you!
James L
Dear God,
Help me to overcome that. It is so easy to slip from God.
So busy trying to fight the battle that has already been won.
So busy staying in shock at all the assaults against God.
So busy watching the apostasy unfold before our eyes.
So busy trying to stay apart from the world.
So busy not to stop and really think about His word.
So busy not to pray as we should.
So busy not to praise Him every second of the day.
We must remember this. Not any of this is coming as a shock to God. He is not wringing His hands and worrying. He has known from the beginning about all of us and what path we would choose. That is why He sent His Son (Jesus). The battle was won by Jesus. It is finished. All we have to do now is decide for Him or against Him. Then follow Him completely or not. It is up to us right now which path to take.
Thank you so much for this quote. I always need reminding on how much He does love His children. And how much I need to keep drawing nearer to Him. And to keep a watch on my soul and spirit that it does not drift far from Him.
Ingrid, thank you. I’ve never heard of Octavius Winslow before but he must be a Puritan, going by his depth of expression, and his quote shows the desire and struggle in an earlier generation to live a holy (whole in God) life.
Debra, good comment.
Hi Ingrid:
I’ve been taking some heat over at my blog http://reformationnation.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/perhaps-your-focus-is-wrong-when-the-point-is-to-provide-a-new-look-at-christians/
on a topic that you tackled on CrossTalk. The Movie Endorsing Pastors of today’s Modern Churchianity. It seems that folks can’t understand the concept of holiness anymore. Are you planning on doing any more shows on this topic?
- The Pilgrim
Hi Ingrid,
I have been so delighted to see that slice was back on line. My husband I re-discovered it. Thank you for helping to bring awareness to the world about whats outhere, an coming at us.
We love that you chose to begin again, even if we are late in finding out
God Bless your ministries.
Diana
Octavius Winslow is well worth the read! Just yesterday I read the Song of Solomon text (1:6) you quoted during my time with the Lord in His Word. Quite a powerful reminder.