“The violent entry
of these blasphemous temptations into the Christian's mind by a word, does it
not seem strange that when the Christian was an enemy to God he dared not
venture into this sin because of its monstrous nature, yet now that he begins
to love God these blasphemies, which were too big and horrible before, would
fill his mouth?
The violent entry
of these blasphemous temptations into the Christian's mind betrays their
breeding place-- Satan, not he person's own heart. They flash like lightning
into the person's thoughts before he has time to decide what he is doing. Lust,
which overflows from the heart is, on the other hand, ordinarily more gradual
in its persuasion.
Not only their
sudden violence, but their incoherence with the Christian's former thoughts,
heightens the probability that these temptations are darts shot from the
devil's bow. Peter was known to be a member of Christ's company by his voice: "But
again he denied it falsely and
disowned Him." Mark 14:70. He talked like them and was
judged to be one of them. On the contrary, we may say of these blasphemous
thoughts, "They are not the Christian's. Their language shows them to be
the belching of a devil, not the voice of a saint. If they were woven by the
soul, they would be something like the whole piece from which they were
cut." There is ordinarily continuity in our thoughts, like a circle rising
out of another circle in stirred water.
Sometimes as the
Christian worships God, and intruding blasphemous thought barges in like a rude
stranger. The tenant never ushers in a thief. If a holy thought surprises us
when we are far from heavenly meditation, we may take it as a pure moving of
Christ's Spirit. Who but He could appear so suddenly in the midst of the soul
when the door is shut, even before the person can turn his thoughts to open it
for Him? He betrays their breeding place--Satan, not the person's own heart.”
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings
in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617
No comments:
Post a Comment