August 5

Read: I John 2:1-3

If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (I John 2:1).

Keeping The Experience

In Free Indeed, Dean Bertha Munro has given superb counsel to the sanctified Christian who has stumbled.

“It is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit away by disobedience and persistent neglect, and without His presence to lose the sea] of our final salvation. But He was not eager to go, and He will gladly return unless we deliberately spurn Him. The enemy’s deadliest weapon is the black cloud of discouragement he causes to settle between us and God when we realize our loss.

“If we could pierce the cloud, we should see the Father looking our way. God is concerned when a good man fails. We should see His hand stretched out to lift us up. The image is that of a little boy who has stumbled and fallen but, because he still clutches his father’s hand, can be pulled to his feet again. It is possible for the sanctified child of God to slip, but very improbable that he will be satisfied to strain away from the Father’s hand and lie in the mud. He has a taste for white raiment and the Father’s smile.

“The rule is, Sin not. The safety proviso is, If you sin, remember that your Advocate, Jesus, is praying for you.

“The steps back our simple and direct; Go back to your consecration and build it up; make fresh connections with the Holy Spirit; set your love to work. For in one of these areas your relationship broke down. These are your safety zones.”

He gave His own Son to redeem me, And He’ll never forget to keep me.

— F. A. Graves