Scripture
O wretched man that I am!
~Romans 7:24, NKJV
Quote
How can I get away from this wretched, ugly self I am always thinking about?
~Martyn Lloyd Jones
The Puritans were members of a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century. They believed the Church of England was too similar to the Roman Catholic Church and should eliminate ceremonies and practices not rooted in the Bible. A few notable puritans that you might recognize are Jonathan Edwards, Richard Baxter, Thomas Brooks, Thomas Watson, Charles Spurgeon and John Bunyan just to mention a few. I also consider Richard Foster to be among them and I know most of you have read Foster. They all seem to have one particular thing in common, a deep recognition of the wretchedness of man and a personal conviction of their own wretchedness. I imagine young people would have a hard time reading or understanding the Puritans. I think age is a huge factor but there are exceptions. David Brainard was a Puritan and he died at age twenty-nine. I have been reading Martyn Lloyd Jones daily devotional this year and the November 13 entry is the best devotion I’ve ever read on the subject of “wretchedness.”
Self-sufficiency, self-consciousness, self-pity, self-righteousness–Oh to get away from the wretched self! How can we get away from the ugly, wretched self that we are constantly thinking about. George MacDonald said, “If I can’t be delivered from this wretched self, I don’t want to live eternally.” Is this the cry of your heart? It is mine. The older I get the more my sins bother me. I am focusing less on the sins of other and more on my sins. It is a paradox; I believe with all my heart that Jesus is making me holy but at the same time, the Holy Spirit is enabling me to see sin I’ve never seen before. It has been there lurking in the dark corners of my heart all this time but I am just now beginning to realize just how wretched I am. Jones said, “There is no value in trying to keep the tenets of faith unless you see and confess this wretchedness.” Herein is love, NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, but that He loved us.” Amazing grace takes on a whole new meaning once you see your wretchedness and realize that God loves a sinner like yourself. John Bunyan said, “When I see myself as I really am, no one can insult me. It is impossible because, they can never say anything that is bad enough about me. Whatever the world may say about me, I am much worse than they think. When we see our true selves in the light of the glorious gospel, no one can hurt us, no one can offend us.”
My character has been attacked more than once. I’ve been accused of a lot of things. Some of those things were true and God used the malicious assaults to make me better, but the one thing that helped me as much as anything, other than Jesus, was the fact that my enemies did not know all my faults. If they had, they could have and would have destroyed me. Amazing grace indeed, that saved and employs a wretch like me.
Extra
This year has flown by with incredible speed and Trunk-A-Treat is upon us. The only thing that slows the clock with me is our desperate need of rain. I am hoping to cold front will bring us some moisture. A lot is happening at the POINT. We are getting our parking lot redone this week {hopefully}; plus the metal building for our fellowship hall is going up. We also have a senior adult fellowship tomorrow at 11:30. Charles is planning a THANKSGIVING dinner for Sunday November 12th. We will eat after the morning worship service.
Bad news: Both Doug and Dale are sick. Doug has throat problems and Dale’s kidney’s are not functioning properly. Please pray for both.
Good news: Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House. He is a brilliant man and very conservative. He is also a Baptist.