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How
can I even think of responding to Jesus' call - "come
unto Me." I am in no fit condition to approach the holy
Son of God. How dare I pray to God with these filthy lips of
mine?
`When
Satan suggests doubt to your soul, when he tells you that
you are too unworthy, too sinful, to realize the blessing of
God, present Christ before him as your Advocate and Saviour.
Tell him you know that you are a sinner, but that Jesus came
to seek and save that which was lost.' (TMK245)
`Do
not listen to the enemy's suggestion to stay away from Christ
until you have made yourself better; until you are good enough
to come to God. If you wait until then, you will never come.
When Satan points to your filthy garments, repeat the promise
of Jesus, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast
out." John 6:37. (COL205)
`Many
do not pray. They feel under condemnation for sin, and they
think they must not come to God until they have done something
to merit His favor or until God has forgotten about their
transgressions. They say, "I cannot hold up holy hands
before God without wrath or doubting, and therefore I cannot
come." So they remain away from Christ, and are
committing sin all the time in so doing, for without Him you
can do nothing but evil. Just as soon as you commit sin, you
should flee to the throne of grace, and tell Jesus all about
it. You should be filled with sorrow for sin, because through
sin you have weakened your own spirituality, grieved the
heavenly angels, and wounded and bruised the loving heart of
your Redeemer. When you have asked Jesus in contrition of soul
for His forgiveness, believe that He has forgiven you. Do not
doubt His divine mercy or refuse the comfort of His infinite
love.' (3SM196)
`Desponding
soul, take courage, even though you have done wickedly. Do not
think that perhaps God will pardon your transgressions and
permit you to come into His presence. God has made the first
advance. While you were in rebellion against Him, He went
forth to seek you. . . . The soul, bruised and
wounded and ready to perish, He encircles in His arms of love
and joyfully bears it to the fold of safety.' (COL188/9)
`Whenever
one takes a step towards Jesus, Jesus is taking two steps
toward Him.' (MS17, 1893).
`As
the shepherd loves his sheep, and cannot rest if one is
missing, so, in an infinitely higher degree, does God love
every outcast soul. Men may deny the claim of His love, they
may wander from Him, they may choose another master; yet they
are God's and He longs to recover His own. . . . The
darker and more tempestuous the night and the more perilous
the way, the greater is the shepherd's anxiety and the more
earnest his search. He makes every effort to find that one
lost sheep.' (COL187/8)
`No
sooner does the sheep go astray than the countenance of the
shepherd is filled with grief and anxiety. He leaves the
ninety and nine within the fold, and, however dark and
tempestuous the night, however perilous and unpleasant the
way, however long and tedious the service, he does not weary,
he does not falter, until the lost is found.' (1SM339)
`With
what relief he hears in the distance its first faint cry.
Following the sound, he climbs the steepest heights, he goes
to the very edge of the precipice, at the risk of his own
life. Thus he searches, while the cry, growing fainter, tells
him that his sheep is ready to die. At last his effort is
rewarded; the lost is found. Then he does not scold it because
it has caused him so much trouble. He does not drive it with a
whip. He does not even try to lead it home. In his joy he
takes the trembling creature upon his shoulders; if it is
bruised and wounded, he gathers it in his arms, pressing it
close to his bosom, that the warmth of his own heart may give
it life. With gratitude that his search has not been in vain,
he bears it back to the fold.' (COL188)
`He
is happier about [the recovery of] that one sheep than about
the ninety-nine that did not wander off.' (Matthew 18:13)
`Hearts
that have been the battleground of the conflict with Satan,
and that have been rescued by the power of love, are more
precious to the Redeemer than are those who have never
fallen.' (COL118)
BACK
As
a follow-up to the above, we urge you to consider the feature, Step
Into A Brand New You.
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