Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Morning Ramblings: The Paraclete's Power

I just wrote this long and great story of the Holy Ghost leading me to resist temptation, and then I realized that it all just amounted to me trying to impress my RC friends that I'm still a Christian and more holy now than ever.

...It's hard not picking up the shackles of the Law over and over again. It's so much easier to try to justify yourself, than to plead guilty and ask for pardon.

In reality, despite whatever meager acheivements would've been won by me (or thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhe Spirit in me), I am called to repent of my false righteousness and simply trust in the victory of Christ rather than any of my own victories.

"...sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain of ourselves... He [The Holy Ghost] fetches us to Christ" - Martin Luther (The Large Catechism) 39, 53

So instead of another chapter to a pseudo-Augustine's style "Confessions", here's some wonderful music by Johann Sebastian Bach.

With wiki's more literal translation of the words:

Well for me that I have Jesus,
O how strong I hold to him
that he might refresh my heart,
when sick and sad am I.
Jesus have I, who loves me
and gives to me his own,
ah, therefore I will not leave Jesus,
when I feel my heart is breaking.

Jesus remains my joy,
my heart's comfort and essence,
Jesus resists all suffering,
He is my life's strength,
my eye's desire and sun,
my soul's love and joy;
so will I not leave Jesus
out of heart and face.

This is my 'resisting the Devil' theme music. Every time I'm really tempted I think of these words, hum Bach, and trust in the righteousness of Christ. I've been sitting in my office at the university listening to it for probably an hour now.

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