A friend shared this with me, and I thought I would share it with you:

This was first published in a book called "Ancient Prophets" written by Samuel Logan Brengle, an Indiana Methodist who joined The Salvation Army in the 1890's. Because of his desire for holiness and his call to teach, he became known as The Salvation Army's "Prophet of Holiness" and wrote several books on common everyday holy living. My prayer, is this can be used to help someone who is struggling.

AN OPEN LETTER TO A YOUNG MAN SEEKING SPIRITUAL HELP

My dear Comrade,

Your letter has just now reached me, and I hasten to reply.

You say: 'I have sought and found Holiness many times, but the longest I have been able to keep it was seven weeks,' and then you mention some besetting sin against which you have struggled for five years.

Let me ask, did you yield to this besetting sin? And then feeling condemned, did you come to the penitent-form seeking a Clean Heart? If so, you have probably made the great mistake so many make of claiming heart purity, when what you received was the peace of pardon. If I fall into sin, I must first confess my sin with a penitent heart and trust for pardon through reliance upon the Blood of Jesus, and if I do this the peace of pardon will fill my heart, but I must not mistake this for Sanctification.

When I am pardoned I am then called to consecrate my redeemed life to God, and when I wholly consecrate myself to Him who has loved me out of my sins, my guilt, my condemnation, I must trust Him to purify my whole being, to sanctify me wholly and fill me with the Holy Spirit. And if I believe, He can and will do the wonder work of grace in me. He will make me holy; He will perfect me in love; He will fill me with passion for His glory, so that I sing from my heart:

Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet, its treasure store;

Take my life and it shall be Ever, only, all for Thee.

And with joy I sing:

The Blood, the Blood is all my plea; Hallelujah! for it cleanses me.

You speak of keeping the Blessing seven weeks. How did you keep the Blessing so long? Was it not by walking with the Blesser? If your attention is fixed upon the Blessing instead of the Blesser; if you think of Holiness as separate from the Holy Spirit, you will lose all. If you fail to recognize, honour, love, trust, and obey the Blesser, you lose the Blessing, just as you lose the beauty of the rose when you turn your eyes from the rose, or the sweetness when you take away the honey, or the music when you lose the musician. Why and how did you lose the Blessing after seven weeks? Was it not because under stress of temptation you took your eyes off the Blesser? You forgot the sweet, sacred presence of the Blesser. and turning from Him you yielded to sin, or you doubted, and then the enemy robbed you of the Blessing. 'Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.' When temptation came you should have said, 'Get behind me, Satan.' You should have resisted the Devil, and drawn nigh to God. The Blesser was there. The Holy Spirit was present. The infinitely loving Redeemer, with all His redemptive power, was with you, but you forgot Him, and so lost the Blessing.

You should have turned to Jesus in love and loyalty and trust, and said, 'O Lord, I am Thine; keep me! I trust Thee. I love Thee. I praise Thee, and I will not fear mine enemy.' If you had done this, you would not have lost the Blessing. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from thee. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to thee.' That is the way, and I know of no other way of victory. In that way, and that way only, I have been getting victory for nearly half a century, and in that way you can get victory, and get it quickly, and get it always. Hallelujah

You are discouraged. You wonder if you can ever gain and keep the victory. You can, bless God! You can. The victory is at the door now. The Victor is at the door. Open and let Him in, and victory is yours. Drop on your knees now, just now, and tell Him all; then trust Him, thank Him, praise Him, whether or not you have any great feeling. Just keep on trusting, thanking, praising, and obeying Him, and peace and victory will come.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, and guard yourself against the beginnings of temptation and sin. Keep your mind pure. Fill it with clean thoughts, loving thoughts, and holy affections. Lift your thoughts above fleshly and low things to spiritual levels. Sing songs and make melody in your heart to the Lord.

Deal promptly and sternly with your eyes and your ears. Turn away your eyes from beholding evil, and your ears from listening to evil. Make a covenant with your eyes as did Job. Stand on guard at eyegate and eargate lest sin get into your heart through those gateways.

Sin does not leap upon us fully armed. It steals in through a look, a swift, silent suggestion or imagination, but love and loyalty to Jesus will make you watchful and swift to rise up and cast out the subtle enemy. Do this and you shall live, and live victoriously.

Often drop on your knees or lift your heart in secret prayer, and do not forget to mingle thanksgiving with your prayers. You do not praise God enough. Begin now. Thank Him now and praise Him, for He is worthy, and you are much behind in this sweet duty.

When you wake up in the morning ask Him for some verse of song to cheer you through the day, and find some verse of Scripture upon which to stay your mind. Finally, seek to pass some of your blessing on to some other soul, as the widow of Sarepta shared her bit of oil and handful of meal with Elijah and found it multiplying through the months of famine. So will you find your blessings multiplying as you share them with others.

May you be encouraged to share this with others as well.

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Alive and Well

I just wanted you to know that I am alive and well. By alive, I mean that I have been quickened by the Spirit of the Lord. The circumstances of life have tried to triumph over me, tried to make me feel that my purpose was dead. But thanks be to God! He let me know that if I have the Spirit of God inside of me, I can be raised, even from the dead.

Romans 8:11 says, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." This word lets us know that if we have been filled with the Spirit, the same power that raised Christ Jesus will also raise us. The power that raised Christ can pick you up even when the weight of the world is piled on top of you.

And not only am I alive, I am well! My soul is prospering. I am encouraged to move forward in the Lord, despite (or maybe because of) the challenges I have faced. The word of God gives us power to continue to make progress. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." He wants us to live life to the fullest extent.

My wish for you is the same as that expressed in 3 John 2: "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." Be encouraged to consider yourself alive and well no matter what is happening in your life. You can make it!

This Pursuit is Not Trivial 12

Prayer Break

Father, I am writing this in obedience to your command. I thank you for your covering over your people even when they are in the throes of sleep and dreams. Thank you for dispatching your angels to stand guard around us, protecting us from danger that is hidden, as well as that which is clear and present. Lord, I pray right now for those who are standing in the valley of decision, trying to decipher what they are to do. I ask you to give clear direction, release wisdom from on high, and send your warrior angels to deal with demonic resistance.

God, you are calling your people to arise and take authority over all the works of the enemy. Even now some of our coworkers are contemplating violence, living lives of quiet desperation. Lord, help us to see their need and address it by the power of the Spirit. There are some whose relationships are torn, and we have not mended them. Hearts are broken, and we have not applied the Balm of Gilead. Even in Your Kingdom, Lord, there are those who are in need of healing and restoration. Let your people arise to become an instrument of restoration. We know that you are allowing us to be tested and tried, we know that our hidden sin is being exposed, and we repent for harboring any thought, attitude, or action that is contrary to your will. We acknowledge that false religion is rampant, and that even the very elect is being deceived by watered-down forms of Christianity. Your word declares that many of us have zeal, but not according to knowledge. Your word also tells us that some of us have a form of godliness, but we have denied the very power that godliness provides. Help us to turn from our wicked ways. Heal our land. Forgive our sin. Help us to reclaim our children, and our children's children, for you. We declare that we will no longer sit idly by and speak negatively about our youth; rather, we will embrace them and teach them about you with purity and Godly sincerity. We will not shake our heads in despair over our situations - over challenges - over disappointments - over failures - but instead we will arise and praise you.

God we bless you for healing in our families, friends, and surroundings. We believe in prosperity of mind, body, soul, spirit, finances, homes, businesses, employers, ministries, churches, pastors, leaders - all that you desire to bless. Our prayer is collective - we believe, and we receive. We thank you, we honor you, we adore you, we trust you, Lord, we bless you! You are indeed the source of our strength. You are without a doubt the strength of our lives. Even now we lift our hands and bless you. We give you total praise. We thank you for sending your Son to die for us, and we thank you that he has risen from the dead. We thank you for the gift of eternal, abundant life. We thank you that both now - in this time - and in the life to come, you will restore all that has been taken from us by our enemies. Let God arise, and the enemy be scattered! And teach us, again, to fight together, warring on each other's behalf, for release and for increase. Let your prophets speak, and your anointing flow, until the glory of the Lord is revealed throughout the earth. In the powerful name of Jesus, we offer this prayer. Amen.