My Journey - 7/25/2010

God's insight to me:

Joseph Charles Philpot (1802 – 1869) "My desire is to exalt the grace of God; to proclaim salvation alone through Jesus Christ; to declare the sinfulness, helplessness and hopelessness of man in a state of nature; to describe the living experience of the children of God in their trials, temptations, sorrows, consolations and blessings." - Joseph Charles Philpot

I came across this devotional by Joseph Charles Philpot. As I read this devotional I thought of the importance of spreading the gospel so that each one of us can feel and believe that God is real. Even though this devotional was written in the 1800's Mr. Philpot understood the importance of receiving Christ's testimony and telling others so that they have the opportunity to accept it also. After being blessed by this testimony the Lord inspired me with this poem.

I Can’t Do It For You

To all my friends and family
and those through my life I will meet.
I can’t do it for you,
all I can do is show you what Christ did for me

I can’t ask Jesus to love you,
for I know He already does.
I can’t guarantee that you’ll be in Heaven,
giving praise with me, to our Father God above.

Each one of us must make that decision,
if you haven’t already, I pray you do someday.
For even as Jesus disciple Thomas asked Him,
“Lord, how can we know the way? "

Jesus gave Thomas and us the answer,
and in the book of John, Chapter 14 verse 6 you will see,
Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life;
no one comes to the Father but by Me.

7/24/2010
E. P. Shagott

From God's heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

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July 25

"He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true." John 3:33

We can only set to our seal that God is true in any one point of doctrine, experience, or precept when we feel an inward witness that God indeed has declared it. Thus, upon every manifestation of God's goodness to the soul, every application of Christ's blood to the conscience, and every revelation of God's distinguishing grace, it is only as we receive Christ's testimony, experience the inward approbation of it, and feel its sweetness and blessedness that we can set to our seal that God is true. This, we may be well assured, is the only way to know the power and reality of true religion, to understand the Scriptures, and enjoy a convincing testimony that God is our God, Christ our Saviour, the Holy Ghost our Teacher, heaven our eternal home, and that our soul is saved in the Lord Jesus Christ with an everlasting salvation.

And with what divine certainty can such a soul sometimes speak. Sometimes, indeed, we cannot believe anything; it seems as if there were nothing in God's word that we could set our seal to. All seems a mass of confusion, and our ignorance appears so great that we cannot set our seal to any vital truth. But when the blessed Spirit is pleased to testify of the things of God, and we, receiving the testimony of Jesus Christ, walk in the light of that testimony, then there is a holy certainty of and heavenly acquiescence with God's truth. This divine faith will bring us through all our trials and sorrows, and though we may be dragged through a very hell of temptation, yet shall we know God is true. Here, then, is the grand trial of faith; first to receive Christ's testimony, and then to hang upon that testimony, in spite of all opposition from within and without, from feeling its weight, power, and sweetness.