The Push of the Wilderness

Last night at church we listened to a tape entitled "The Push of the Wilderness," by Merle Beachy. He used Proverbs 24:30,31 as his main text:

"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down."

He reminded us that Christians must make a continual effort to keep the world from encroaching into their hearts. Proceeding through our lives in a hum-drum manner, with no vision or no umpf applied toward any vision, will not get us any good place.

(If you liken sin to disorder and Christianity to order, then the Christian life can be said to follow a modified second law of thermodynamics. With no outside intervention (i.e. God's power), the heart will tend toward a state of increasing disorder.)

It's easy for me to forget that I am in a real war between two opposing kingdoms. I must lift up my hands, strengthen my knees, watch and take heed, strive to attain the mastery, fight the good fight - if I am to keep the faith and be used of God.

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As a side note, I found myself looking up toward the speaker in the ceiling on at least one occasion, as if there was a person there...