IN THE FOOTSTEPS of William Wilberforce

SEVENTEEN
“Are we progressing in our affection for the Lord and taking advantage of all resources provided by Him to deepen our love?  I think we should bow humbly before the throne of God in prayer and seek the pardon and grace given to us by Jesus.  I think we should ask God to create in us a spirit of true repentance and undivided faith in Jesus Christ.  I think we should continually strive in these things so that we are not satisfied until we love Him fully.  I think we should pray that we would be filled with joy and peace and hope through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  I think we should diligently study the Bible so that our affection is rooted and rational.  As we meditate on the passion of the Lord and as we worship Him in prayer and praise, we should attempt to practice the Presence of Jesus continually.”
~~~
“He is the Lord.  His Name is to be written on our hearts in such a powerful way that it creates within us a profound experience of His peace and a heart that is filled with His Praise.”
~~~
“O Lord, let me praise Thee with my whole heart; for never surely was there anyone so deeply indebted as myself; which way soever I look I am crowded with blessings.  Oh may my gratitude be in some degree proportionate.”
~~~
“True love is passionate.  When we love someone, we like to talk about him or her.  Such conversations are rarely without emotions.  We want to be with them.  We delight in doing things for them.  We love to show them how we feel.  The mention of their name makes our hearts pound and our faces light up.”
~~~
“Love avoids all that might harm the beloved and seeks out all that might be pleasing.”
~~~
“It is this focus that helps us grow in the love of God.  Here we see the certainty of His love for those who will turn to Him.  Here love is demonstrated.  Here is the basis for a reciprocal affection.  While we steadily gaze at the Cross of Christ and contemplate the wonder of it all, unless our minds and hearts are dead, will we not respond with hope, trust, joy and overflowing gratitude?  We will maintain an attitude of attempting to please God in all things, knowing that any efforts toward that end will be lovingly accepted.  We will desire to stay in a place of favor with God, and that very desire will assure us that we are.  Whenever we become conscious that we have done something to offend Him, we will be truly sorry and place our offense under the finished work of the Cross so that we may immediately renew our fellowship with the Lord.  Our very failure will serve to renew our desire not to offend Him in the future.  It is probably unnecessary to point out, but all these attitudes and desires are the elements of a relationship of love.  All this, then, is the logical outcome of a firm grasp and understanding of the great truths of the faith.”

My Bride will love Me fully, for you see, the love which I have for her will be born and replicated within her.  She will ache to pursue Me in all the ways which I afford.  She will not stop her pursuit.  She cannot stop her longing.  She is to be, as I am –– consumed in love for the Beloved.


EIGHTEEN
“I was out before six, and made the fields my oratory, the sun shining as bright and as warm at Midsummer.  I think my own devotions become more fervent when offered in this way amidst the general chorus, with which all nature seems on such a morning to be swelling the song of praise and thanksgiving.  Surely this sabbath, of all others, calls forth these feelings in a supreme degree; a frame of united love and triumph well becomes it, and holy confidence and unrestrained affection.”
~~~
“. . . part of the beauty of Christianity is that it integrates all the dimensions of true humanity, bringing appropriate subordination and dependence so that the whole man, using all his faculties, can be transformed by the Power of God in such a way that all of who he is can be used to the service and glory of God.  God wants our hearts as well as our minds.  Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart.  (See Matthew 22:37).  Certainly even a casual reading of the Bible shows men and women whose emotions played a central role in their relationship with God.  If you doubt what I say, read the Bible!  God desires that we relate to Him with love, warmth, tenderness and zeal.”
~~~
“When you read the Gospels, your eyes are unveiled and you can see ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Cor. 4:6) ‘And as we behold His Glory, we are transformed so that we can reflect His glory in all we do and in all we are.’ (2 Cor. 3:18)”

Even nature rises to praise the Creator, how then should man not out-perform the praise of this earth and all that dwells within?  Within man I have planted My Hope, My Calling, My Desire for us to be One –– to know love as One –– to enjoy all that I have created as One.  Look upon My Face and you will see, all that I designed you to be –– heart of My Heart, soul of My Soul, love within My Love.  Let the Heavens declare that I have brought forth man to grow in grace, to grow in love, to grow in dominion, to bring forth praise and righteousness across the entire earth.  Truly look upon My Face and you will have all that you need to do this fully.

NINETEEN
“I was much impressed yesterday with the similarity in some respects of my own situation to that of [Lizzie’s] dear little innocent, who was undergoing the operation of vaccination.  The infant gave up its little arm to the operator without suspicion or fear.  But when it felt the puncture, which must have been sharp, no words can express the astonishment and grief that followed.  I could not have thought the mouth could have been distended so widely as it continued, till the nurse’s soothing restored her usual calmness.  What an illustration is this of the impatient feelings we are often apt to experience, and sometimes even to express, when suffering from the dispensations of a Being, whose wisdom we profess to believe to be unerring, whose kindness we know to be unfailing, whose truth also is sure, and who has declared to us, that all things shall work together for good to them that love Him, and that the object of His inflictions is to make us partakers of His holiness.”
~~~
“Authentic faith has always thrived under persecution.  During such times, it is not easy to be a Christian.  There are no lukewarm believers or half-hearted followers of Christ in times of great difficulty.  The battle lines are clear during such times, and it becomes evident that the Kingdom of Christ is not of this world.  The greater the difficulty, the closer it draws us to Christ.  Only in Him do we find refuge.  We truly become pilgrims and strangers.  We carefully examine and cling to the basis of faith.  They become an anchor in the storm.”

Have you been through the storms and found Me to be sufficient to your needs?  Have you embraced this Sovereign Lord and found that I am here and ever present in trial?  You walk about and perform your functions and yet, only the very devout look My way unless there is persecution, calamity, distress, hopelessness, tragedy.  How can I draw you to Myself if you fail to come with the wooing of love?  I call, but My people are busy and distracted and entertained by so little.  I long to know My people and for them to know Me, but how can they know Me if all their time is spent elsewhere?  Do not lament over the “calling cards” which I issue to bring you to your proper place in Me.  Do not fret and complain when I choose a method to draw you to know My Love and Provision.  Do not be surprised when all that you cherish loses its value right before your eyes, so that you will begin to look for true value in a relationship with Me.  All that I do for My own is done in Love.  Trust Me, but also draw close before the Hand of Providence must strike or withhold blessing because you stay away and your heart and soul are in danger of eternal death.  Come close now . . . .  I am here!

TWENTY
“The Bible teaches that the supreme object of our affections is to be God and if in fact any of these things that distract us have taken the place only He rightfully deserves, then in truth we have become disloyal to God.  God desires to set up his Throne in our hearts and reign there without a rival.  In some, the revolt is obvious and overt.  In others, it is hidden.  But in both cases, we have become estranged from our rightful Lord.  Giving our supreme devotion to a career is just as much an act of spiritual treason as giving our body to acts of immorality or our energies to greed and thievery.  The external appearances might be different, but the principal is the same.  If we do not return our allegiance to its rightful Lord, we will suffer the consequences when the things that are highly valued by men are shown to be nothing buy abominations in the eyes of God.”

And didn’t William Wilberforce realize the Heart of this Father?  He spoke, as if, he knew that all of this life is but a charade, a substitute, a mismatched supply.  For your heart was made to know Mine - to be filled with My Love and then set upon adventures within My Love.  Do not settle for that which will not satisfy.  I am all that you need.  Your heart must be Mine for you to know My Love and the “seeds” which I have planted within you to do great things upon this earth.  Own nothing, but to love Me and you would have won the whole prize, for you see, I am that Prize!


* All quotes taken from “Real Christianity” by William Wilberforce, Esq, revised and updated by Dr. Bob Beltz and “Amazing Grace”
by Eric Metaxas

IN THE FOOTSTEPS of Smith Wigglesworth 

INDEX