Dec 17

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:23-24)

Many years since I saw that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." I began by following after it and inciting all with whom I had intercourse to do the same. Ten years after, God gave me a clearer view than I ever had before of the way to obtain it; namely, by faith in the Son of God. And immediately I declared to all, "We are saved from sin, we are made holy by faith." This I testified in private, in public, and in print, and God confirmed it by a thousand witnesses. I have continued to declare this for above thirty years, and God has continued to confirm my work. ━John Wesley in 1771

"I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul; but I found something in me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus to do something for me, and, when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart, and took out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind, all that would not be patient, and then HE shut the door." ━George Fox

My whole heart has not one single grain, this moment, of thirst after approbation. I feel alone with God; He fills the void; I have not one wish, one will, one desire, but in Him; He hath set my feet in a large room. I have wondered and stood amazed that God should make a conquest of all within me by love. ━Lady Huntington

"All at once I felt as though a hand━not feeble, but omnipotent; not of wrath, but of love━was laid on my brow. I felt it not outwardly but inwardly. It seemed to press upon my whole being, and to diffuse all through me a holy, sin-consuming energy. As it passed downward, my heart as well as my head was conscious of the presence of this soul-cleansing energy, under the influence of which I fell to the floor, and in the joyful surprise of the moment, cried out in a loud voice. Still the hand of power wrought without and within; and wherever it moved, it seemed to leave the glorious influence of the Saviour's image. For a few minutes the deep ocean of God's love swallowed me up; all its waves and billows rolled over me." ━Bishop Hamline

Holiness━as I then wrote down some of my contemplations on it━appeared to me to be of a sweet, calm, pleasant, charming, serene nature, which brought an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, ravishment to the soul; in other words, that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant fruits and flowers, all delightful and undisturbed, enjoying a sweet calm and the gentle vivifying beams of the sun.━Jonathan Edwards

十二月十七日

「愿赐平安的神，亲自使你们全然成圣。又愿你们的灵、与魂、与身子，得蒙保守，在我主耶稣基督降临的时候，完全无可指摘。那召你们的本是信实的，他必成就这事。」 （帖前五:23-24）

从前我曾竭力追求圣洁，并且鼓励一切和我交往的人都追求圣洁。十年以后，神给我清楚看见一个我以前从未看见过的得到圣洁的方法，就是相信神的儿子。我就立刻传扬这个真理：「信能把我们从罪恶中拯救出来，信能使我们成为圣洁。」我把这真理在私人生活上见证出来，在公共场所见证出来，在印刷物上见证出来；神也藉着许多见证人来证实。我继续传扬这个真理，到现在已经差不多三十年了，神继续给了我无数证实。━约翰韦斯利

主耶稣，对于我是非常宝贵的；但是我发现在我里面有一件东西我不能温柔，不能忍耐，不能仁爱。我尽力把这件东西压制下去，但是它仍在那里。直到我把我的意志完全让位给主的时候，主就替我拿去了一切使我不能温柔的，不能仁爱的，不能忍耐的。━福克斯

现在我的心不再希图人的称赞了。神填满了我心的一切空虚处；除祂以外，我不再有甚么希图、甚么意志、甚么欲望了。我自己也觉得非常奇怪━神竟用爱来征服了我的一切。━亨丁登

「忽然觉得好象有一只手，放到我的额上，力量很大，并非轻轻的一摸；而是出于爱，并非出于怒。我内心如此感觉。他似乎压着我的全身，那神圣与除罪涤污的力量，浇灌着我整个身体，他自上而下，我的心神清晰地感觉到这清洁灵力的临到。我心中惊喜，高声喊叫了出来，那双手的力量，仍在活动，他接触之处，似乎留下了救主的荣光。在一瞬之间，神的爱象潮水似的漫过了我，我好象随着爱波卷动。」━海林主教

圣洁是美丽的、平静的、爽快的、可爱的；它带给我们难以形容的光明、平安和喜乐；换言之，圣洁使我们的心变成神的花园━里面充满了佳美的果子和花卉，享受着暖和的、活泼的阳光。━爱德华思
关键字:荒漠甘泉
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