"Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your senses of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is a sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself."                        Susannah Wesley 

Dear Mt. Olive family and friends,

 

The Bible defines sin as falling “short of the glory of God.”

 

Susannah Wesley, the devout, God-fearing mother of Charles and John Wesley, had her own expanded version of that.  Her definition of sin reads, "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your senses of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is a sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself."  Martin Luther’s explanation of the First Commandment agrees: “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”

 

Satan is so diabolically clever!  He knows that the most effective way of luring us away from God and a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered walk with God, is to divert our attention to other “innocent” attractions.  His most useful weapons are just simple, “innocent” pleasures that occupy our time and consume our energy. 

 

Are you, right now, experiencing a less-than-exuberant “relish of spiritual things”?  In other words, have you grown ho-hum in your relationship with Jesus and blasé about your worship habits and your study of God’s Word?  Is your prayer-life what it should be, or do you find that you are talking less and less with the Lord?  Does your “walk” keep pace with your “talk”?  Are you finding it easier to give in to temptation and harder to resist evil?

 

And how about that little voice inside each of us we call “conscience”?  Is yours still tender or has it become dull and callous?  Spending less time with God and more time in the things of this world will do that.  If something would have rightfully bothered you a few years ago but today causes not even a stirring, its likely you’ve given in to the “whatever” that ”impairs the tenderness of your conscience”.  Not good!  Not good at all!

 

The letters to the seven churches (Revelation 1-3) address the same issues of “sin” that are poised to overthrow us today.  The people in the Ephesus congregation were sternly warned: “You have forsaken your first love.”  Those in Pergamum and Thyatira were rebuked for tolerating and overlooking evil.  In other words, their collective conscience had been deadened.  Those in Sardis heard the grim and somber reprimand: “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up!”  And those calling themselves Christian in Laodicea were severely taken to task: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot…so because you are lukewarm…I am about to spit you out of My mouth.”

 

We don’t like hearing those words because some may hit pretty close to home.  But we will listen to them – and we do repent.  We look to Jesus for forgiveness.  We look to Him also for the strength to change that which is wrong and follow that which is right.

 

Today – right here – right now – We recommit ourselves to Jesus!

 

 

Pastor Carl Henkel