Philippians 3:1-14
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
What of Today’s Verse…
One more principle in relation to recovering from the brokenness caused by the memory of some dark sin: Forget it by reversing the process of remembering. Puzzled? Let me explain. Memory works like this: one revives an image of some past event, holds it in the mind for a certain length of time, and then this process is repeated until it is locked into the memory for good. Now begin to reverse that process. The matter has been forgiven by God, so do not let your mind focus on it. When it rises to the surface by itself, as it will, turn the mind away from it immediately. Have in your mind a few interesting themes “on call.” Think of another and more profitable theme. I know a Christian man, involved in one of the deepest sins imaginable, who has learned to blot out unwanted memories the moment they rise to the surface by focusing his thoughts on the cross. It does not matter what the substitute image is so long as it is wholesome and can thrust the unwanted memory from your attention. Another thing you can do when the memory of your sin returns — even if it is only for a moment — is to turn your mind to prayer. Do not pray about the sin itself — that will keep it in the memory — but pray that God will build into you love, forgiveness, peace, and poise. Images that are consciously rejected will rise less and less in your mind. When they do occur, they will occur only as fact; the emotions will no longer register a sense of burning shame.
Let us Pray:
O my Father, how can I cease thanking You for the answers You give — they are so right. Everything within me says so. Now help me to put the things I am learning into practice. Amen.
Words of Wisdom
Clouds And Darkness
A man who has not been born of the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, you find “clouds and darkness are round about Him.” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ, we have our first insight into this aspect of things. The only possibility of understanding the teaching of Jesus is by the light of the Spirit of God on the inside. If we have never had the experience of taking our commonplace religious shoes off our commonplace religious feet, and getting rid of all the undue familiarity with which we approach God, it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and familiar are those who have never yet been introduced to Jesus Christ. After the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable darkness of realizing Who He is.
Jesus said: “The words that I speak unto you,” not the words I have spoken, “they are spirit, and they are life.” The Bible has been so many words to us — clouds and darkness — then all of a sudden, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us in a particular condition. That is the way God speaks to us, not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the simplest way of words.
“Clouds and darkness are round about Him.” Psalm 97:2
