Scripture
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
~1John 3:9, ESV
Quote
The teachings of the scriptures and the experience of the greatest saints denies the doctrine of sinless perfection.
~Martyn Lloyd Jones
Why doesn’t God eradicate our sinful nature at our spiritual birth? Why are we not immediately or instantly delivered from sin and made perfect or holy? It is a mystery. I do not know the answer, nor does anyone else. What we do know is that God works via the process. This is true in both worlds: the natural and the spiritual. Those of us who farm or garden know that seeds do not sprout immediately. Sometimes it takes days for seeds to germinate. It some cases it take months. You can plant a pecan and get a pecan tree but it will not happen quickly. It will be years before the pecan tree bears fruit. I have planted acorns before and it works. The acorn will produce an oak but it will take that oak thirty or forty years to become timber for lumber. It will not happen instantly.
The same is true of our spiritual life. We are impregnated with God’s seed at our spiritual birth but it takes time for an infant in Christ to mature. This growth and maturity takes a life time. The seed in you will produce a desire to please God and a hatred for sin, but you will not become holy over night any more than an acorn can become a oak over night. It is a process and it takes time and patience. There is an old proverb that states: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. We don’t begin the learning process until we have a desire to learn. It is really hard to teach someone something when they think they know everything. My daddy tried to tell me things that would have helped me, and could have, had I listened but I thought I knew more than him. The results: I had to learn the hard way. The easy way to learn is to follow instructions; the hard way is by trial and error. Either way we learn but it is a slow process. The same principles apply to our walk with Christ. If we obey instantly, we learn the easy way but if we do things our way, we learn the hard way. David testified in Psalm 119, “It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues.”
Extra
June and I are thrilled to be home after some 700 miles in two days. Traveling would not be bad if it were not for traffic. Birmingham to about 4 exits below was awful but Montgomery to Mobile was nice even in the rain. We praise the LORD for getting us home safe and sound. It was a good service. COLS are difficult when there has been a tragedy but Joe David and Teddy did a very good job. I feel like I know Soy better from listening to them. Soy learned early on about my homophobia and the last time I was in Guatemala, he saw that I had a red and white bell bottom shirt and he went back to his room and found one just like it. Then he wanted to set beside me at breakfast. Of course the whole bunch had a big laugh. I told him to go back and change shirts. It he didn’t, I would. He had everyone laughing except me.
The congregational singing was off the charts. Usually, you can hear me over the congregation but not at Friendship, not yesterday. You couldn’t hear me at all. I started to stop singing and just listen. Rex lead the music and sang our favorite, ALL IS WELL. No one needs to sing that song but Rex. Kinda like Dean Martin and Baby It is Cold Outside. I don’t listen to anyone but Dean on that song. In my opinion, Rex owns ALL IS WELL, kind of like Tim Keenum owns White’s Dairy Road.
Botton line, we all have to pray daily for Deidra and the girls. They are hurting as you can imagine. Deidra is like her daddy, she is a choleric, a lion, driven, organized, task oriented and assertive. Soy was a sanguine, a monkey, fun lover, life of the party, laid back, easy going. He loved everyone, even old men who couldn’t remember his name or face. He is the kind of person every group needs and one that will be deeply missed. Our prayers go out to Deidra and the girls.
We missed Danville 2nd annual homecoming parade but June does appreciate Catfish putting it on FB live. I was driving but she got to watch and it kept her from helping me drive: thank you Catfish. We do appreciate the fine folks at the POINT. They encouraged us to leave before church on Wednesday and we are glad they did.By the way, we got our slab poured for our Fellowship hall and are hoping to see the red iron next week, PTL.