“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.”<\/p>\n
Words such as these written by Jim Elliott in 1948 caught my attention many years ago, as did lyrics such as these from Keith Green: “To obey is better than sacrifice. I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights. ‘Cause if you can’t come to me every day, then don’t bother coming at all…”<\/p>\n
Both these men died at the age of 28, but their message rings on today. Though I am sure they were imperfect, the voice of Jesus is heard in their writings and songs.<\/p>\n
Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, you know that’s all I ever hear.
\nNo one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear.
\nBut He cries, He weeps, He pleads, and He cares for your needs,
\nAnd you just lay back and keep soaking it in…<\/p>\nOpen up, open up, give yourself away
\nYou see the need, you hear the cries, so how can you delay?…<\/p>\nThe world is sleeping in the dark but the Church just can’t fight ’cause its asleep in the Light.
\nHow can you be so dead when you’ve been so well fed?
\nJesus rose from the dead and you can’t even get out of your bed!…<\/p><\/blockquote>\nI remember being with a mission group in the Czech Republic one spring. Someone shared the need one evening to pray for the lost young people of that nation and ours. I prayed God would let me feel His heart and all of a sudden a dam inside me broke. Tears flowed and emotions were felt that I know were not my own. What does one conclude after such an experience? Is God’s heart really broken over the fact that people don’t know Him? I remember being shaken. But who wants to face the pain and horror of a lost world? Who wants to deal with reality? Who wants to empty himself as Christ did and become nothing?<\/p>\n
And so, I’m afraid I’ve learned to compromise. I think I hold back. There was a time I thought this would never be possible. I wondered how a sold-out believer like Keith Green could write these lyrics:<\/p>\n
My eyes are dry, my faith is old,
\nMy heart is hard, my prayers are cold.
\nAnd I know how I ought to be –
\nAlive to You and dead to me…<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBut a person can find himself in this state. He thinks, “Is this all there is? Am I to be content with lukewarmness?” God forbid… but what’s the answer?<\/p>\n
Another honest song:<\/p>\n
Lord, the feelings are not the same. I guess I’m older, I guess I’ve changed.
\nAnd how I wish it had been explained that as you’re growing you must remember –
\nThat nothing lasts except the grace of God by which I stand.
\nJesus, I know that I would surely fall away… except for grace by which I’m saved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGod’s grace does not excuse the lukewarm heart. The Voice of Truth says, “Come to Me and get gold refined in the fire and white clothes to wear and salve to put on your eyes so you can see.” The grace of God says, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” My part is to say, “Yes, Lord. I will hold nothing back. If knowing You means I cry night and day for the souls of the lost, then so be it. If knowing You means I look like a fool to everyone else, then so be it. If knowing You means a shorter time on this earth, then so be it. All I want is You.”<\/p>\n
Keith Green, who died in a plane crash in 1982, sang the answer to dry eyes and cold prayers:<\/p>\n
What can be done for an old heart like mine?
\nSoften it up with Oil and Wine.
\nThe Oil is You – Your Spirit of Love.
\nPlease wash me anew in the Wine of Your Blood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nJim Elliott, killed in Ecuador in 1956 as He carried the Message of His Master, prayed boldly for the fire of God: “Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’ Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul – short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God’s house consumed Him. And He has promised baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. ‘Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'”<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.” Words such as these written by Jim Elliott in 1948 caught my attention many years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1371,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions\/1371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}