{"id":3077,"date":"2011-03-11T07:04:06","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T12:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=3077"},"modified":"2011-03-11T07:04:06","modified_gmt":"2011-03-11T12:04:06","slug":"lenten-thought-for-the-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=3077","title":{"rendered":"Lenten thought for the day"},"content":{"rendered":"

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1816\u20131900 John Charles Ryle (England) <\/strong>Remember what I say: if you would cleave to earthly pleasures, these are the things which murder souls. There is no surer way to get a seared conscience and a hard impenitent heart, than to give way to the desires of the flesh and mind. It seems nothing at first, but it tells in the long run. Consider what Peter says: \u201cabstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul\u201d (1 Peter 2:11). They destroy the soul\u2019s peace, break down its strength, lead it into hard captivity, make it a slave. Consider what Paul says: \u201cMortify therefore your members which are upon the earth\u201d (Colossians 3:5). \u201cAnd they that are Christ\u2019s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts\u201d (Galatians 5:24). \u201cBut I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection\u201d (1 Corinthians 9:27). Once the body was a perfect mansion of the soul; now it is all corrupt and disordered, and needs constant watching. It is a burden to the soul\u2014not a helpmeet; a hindrance\u2014not an assistance. It may become a useful servant, but it is always a bad master. Consider, again, the words of Paul: \u201cBut put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof\u201d (Romans 13:14). \u201cThese,\u201d says Leighton, \u201care the words, the very reading of which so wrought with Augustine, that from a licentious young man he turned a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1816\u20131900 John Charles Ryle (England) Remember what I say: if you would cleave to earthly pleasures, these are the things which murder souls. There is no surer way to get a seared conscience and a hard impenitent heart, than to give way to the desires of the flesh and mind. It seems nothing at first, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-leadership"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}