I T HAS BEEN A HEAL PRIVILEGE for me to be in your wonderful coun try for the first time. My heart has been thrilled to fellowship with won derful believers who, regardless of what area in which we may find them, find the bonds in Christ as natural and refreshing. It has been interesting, however, to meet people who have told me, frankly, “It was not difficult for me to become a Christian, however, it is extremely hard for me to be a Christian.” Maybe some of you have felt this way. Hav ing accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour, there is absolutely no lack of assurance on your part. You know you are going to heaven when you die. Nevertheless, discouragement has been your lot and you frequently become frustrated. As an analogy, it didn’t take me very long to get married. One day I stood at the front of a church and a certain young lady of my choice came and stood beside me. The preacher said a number of things to which we both affirmed, “I will.” You see, it is one thing to get married but it is en tirely another thing to live a happy married life. In essence, on the day of our marriage I told my wife, “Look, I want to give myself to you.” She responded beautifully with, “Fine, and I would like to give myself to you.” The whole principle of our mar ried life since that time has been that we have continually sought to make ourselves available to one another. In other words our married life simply has been a projection of the original crisis we shared together. (I use the word “crisis” in a right sort of way.) We made a decision or a covenant with each other. If either of us at any time failed to honor that agreement then things would not go along very well. To the degree in which we are Dr. Briscoe is a member of the Torchbearer's Society, Capernwray Hall, England.
prepared to carry on a step at a time the way in which we began, our mar ried life really works. This example is perfectly applica ble as fa r as our salvation is con cerned. The Christian life only works on the basis that the initial contact we made with Jesus Christ is applied in every circumstance of life. Are you able to say continually, “Lord Jesus, I make myself available to You.” In return He says, “I make My self available to you.” What happens when you have a problem? Do you say, “Lord Jesus, I make myself available to You.” What do you say when a temptation comes along? Do you commit it all to Him? What do you do when you have an opportuunity too big for you? Do you look to the Lord to be your all sufficiency? These are the ways by which the Christian life works. Too many Christians forget their initial contact and find only disap pointment and spiritual misery. So many believers find their spiritual lives disintegrating since they are not making themselves available to the Saviour. Your Christianity is totally dependent upon the degree in which you live in faithful relationship to Him. There are many believers whose Christianity is totally dependent upon the church. Others rely on certain principles as they seek to conform to various patterns. Others find them selves shaped and molded by various moods. There is only one way by which the Christian life can work. That is when one exists in a living fel lowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Examine your own heart at this mo ment, asking yourself, “How deep is my relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ?” If there is no depth or real ity today in your relationship to Him, then you are desperately in need. In I Corinthians 1:9 we read, “God 3
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