Sometimes the astute reader will think "This is about me!" It may be, but it's likely not! For example, when I was a teenager and did wrong, inevitably the sermon that Sunday was all about me. The preacher knew all about my secret sins and attacked me mightily. Years later I asked "Brother Ralph, did you have a private investigator following me around when I was a teen?" He just laughed! Said he "I just preached what the Spirit laid on my heart!".
Ironically, the Holy Spirit just may have been his private investigator (smile). God uses what he knows to convict people of sins, and first off, there are no secret sins:
Psalm 44:21 "Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart."What I did in secret God already knows even before I do them! How did Brother Ralph know about my spiritual condition? He didn't, but he knew that all men suffer the same temptations. He knew the condition of the sinner's heart. That condition was in mine. He preached to the church, many applied it to themselves, but Brother Ralph had not an inkling about who needed to hear what! Scripture is used to rebuke sin and bring sinners to God for repentance.
If you sit there in church week after week and never feel any guilt, it means one of two things: 1) either you are without sin, or 2) your heart is hardened to guilt. A hardened heart is a sad place to be and no one is without sin!
Proverbs 28:14 "Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."The mischief is sin. If anyone hardens their heart continually they become reprobate. Because they don't feel guilt, they don't respond and are damned if they're not careful.
When I write I'm like the preacher. I'm not ordained because I don't have to be! Christians are of the royal priesthood by default and our calling is to tell others about Jesus. I attempt to do that without judging. By that I mean that I write and hope it applies to someone out there. Much of the time I self-apply what I write because God deals with me through my cognitive activity. I reflect on what scripture says, not only as it's applicable to others, but for me.
This morning I had no idea what would be my Thought. This is what I write because I was inspired to write by God. Hopefully, it will have meaning for some. There are three responses to scriptural messages: 1) Get angry and reject it, 2) merely apply it to others, or 3) accept it (own it for yourself).
Sometimes after a good sermon I tell the preacher "THEY needed to hear that, didn't THEY?" We both laugh because it's so true. Christians often like the message, the one they think the others need, but if it's one addressing their own sin, they may choose to reject it and be angry.
On one occasion a couple's daughter and boyfriend came to church for the first time. The preacher was called to preach on cohabitation and abortion. Afterward the parents of the girl attacked the preacher for preaching on those topics. Their daughter was living with her boyfriend and had had an abortion! The preacher had no idea, but God did! She may have been angry right then and there, but later she may have grown that "seed' and repented.
I understand how God speaks. I know that when I feel guilty I am a target of the Holy Spirit. Guilt is God's method of bringing me to repentance. Guilt is a healthy thing! When I feel guilty I apply the guilt to me and feel sorrow. Because I feel sorry I repent. I thank God for the ability to be checked and seldom reject his slap on the hands. That's God's grace and even my sorrow is of God!
Over the years I surely have made people angry with my Daily Thought. Many people may have quit reading what I write. Others may think "What a hypocrite!" However, if only one person has a changed life as a result of what I write, then my writing serves a purpose. Just as I was ready to quit writing, I got this message from a reader:
"Mr Herrin after having read a handful of your posts I sit here in total awe of your talent and wisdom. Please continue to put out such marvelous and insightful work. It may feel like not many see it, but I can assure you of this, ONE person sure did. God Bless you". (Asher Jones; September 12, 2014 at 2:27 PM)He flattered me and that is undue. That's not what I'm seeking. I needed encouragement and God sent him just at the right time! This ONE person got something out of what I wrote. That was the encouragement which I needed when I needed it. The devil was defeated that day and God inspired Mr. Jones to defeat him! As for the flattery, it's appreciated, but what I write is God's. He inspires it and he gets the credit!
My vocabulary is limited as is my theological training. However, at times God astounds me with what he plants in my mind. He'll plant a word with which I'm not familiar or he'll give me an insight into scripture. That's not me. That's him. I don't say that God speaks to me, but I know that he inspires me! Who motivates me to write each morning when possibly no one will read what I write? God does! Mr. Jones knows that!
So as I sat here waiting on the Spirit to inspire me, he did! Someone somewhere needs to read this. There is somebody out there who holds me in contempt for some reason. Perhaps I have stepped on toes with what I write. Perhaps they think that I am self-righteous. Someone needed to hear why I write.
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