Some advice for all

In John Bunyan's book, "Prayer", he lists some advice for all of God's people after he finishes the first section, "Praying in the Spirit". They are good and I give them here:

1. Believe that as sure as you are in the way of God, you must meet with temptations.
2. The first day therefore that you enter into Christ's congregation, look for them.
3. When they do come, beg of God to carry you through them.
4. Be jealous of your own heart, that it deceive you not in your evidences for heaven, nor in your walking with God in this world.
5. Take heed of the flatteries of false brethern.
6. Keep in the life and power of truth.
7. Look most at the things that are not seen.
8. Take heed of little sins.
9. Keep the promise warm upon your heart.
10. Renew your acts of faith in the blood of Christ.
11. Consider the work of your generation.
12. Count to run with the foremost therein.

He finishes: Grace be with thee.

Some sound advice. Although unclear, I would bet that the promise we are to keep warm upon our heart is the promise of heaven. You could also say that we need to keep all the promises of God warm upon our hearts. Meditation on the kind promises of God and their fulfillment is something that would profit us all.

While all 12 points of advice are good, I'd like to focus on the last two. We are called to consider the work of our generation. The great work of God is the salvation and the transformation of a people for His very own, who would worship and glorify Him.

Reflecting on God's work in our own generation, what would you use for criteria to determine the foremost? We might be tempted to look at "success" as a criteria. Who has the largest churches? Who has published the most books? Who has the largest following for their TV programs? Who has the most recognized name and face in our media-saturated culture?

Maybe the first 10 items in Bunyan's list will give us a clue. Do you know men and women of God who are keenly aware of the sin in their own heart - especially the "small" ones - and through God's grace are overcomers in their struggles with temptations? Do they look to things that are unseen - the spiritual reality that lies behind the physical world all around us? Do they grip, without fatigue, onto the promises of God and hunger for the promise of heaven?

In recent discussions, I have been made aware of four signs of a repentant believer:

• a desire and love for God
• a desire and love for God's Word
• a desire and love for (and to be with) God's people
• an agony and mourning over sin in one's life because it grieves God's heart

Have you met men and women of faith around you who show these clear signs of the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in their lives?

Maybe the best advice we could receive is that we need to run with them.

- PuritanTim