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By Jim Elliff
To make the sinning Christian bend,
Until affection, thoughts, and ways
Are each conformed to God's own end.
The selfish child must not forget
The Father's love is sometimes found
In troubles and hard circumstance,
And in the rough uneven ground.
Do not lose heart when you're reproved,
No matter how extreme the flame.
He turns the ground and burns the roots
Of suffocating weeds of shame.
We must not faint, nor are we free
To treat His love without concern,
When God takes love's severest course,
For lessons to be soundly learned.
Not all that's hard is discipline,
For we must train our minds to know,
That testing also from His hand
Is His design to make us grow.
We quickly should discern its source.
If sin, repentance is the cure.
If trials for obedience,
They only make the Christian sure.
Rejoice, my pilgrim, in His ways,
And do not doubt His providence.
He's never let a sparrow fall
Without divine intelligence.
Rejoice, His love works by design
To break our willful stubbornness.
No one could tame our raging lusts,
But God in His omnipotence.
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"Personal revival begins when the believer faces his sin honestly. Though painful, only honesty with God and others will enable the Christian to walk in purity and power. The following resolves are not a formula but are required of every believer. Humbly pray and search your own heart."From Five Resolves for Personal Revival
"What I am calling for is not that public confession be lost as a tool God uses in our churches and schools, but that we understand it in the context of a larger reformation. This will be demonstrated by the way we handle the Word of God and the way we properly place confession subservient to and flowing out of the more diligent preaching and teaching of the great doctrines. It will also be seen in our intense desire for true repentance -- on going repentance -- as illustrated through the covenants agreed upon by the churches in earlier days."From Counsel on Open Confession