"A cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace: Though there was partial obedience, there was too much rebellion left. My soul, I charge you to see whether this is true of you. Are you thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone to the very center of your being so that its divine operation is felt in all your powers, your action, your words, and your thoughts? To be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body, should be your aim and prayer; and although sanctification might not be complete in you, still it must be at work in you. There must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another; otherwise you will also be a cake not turned.
A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire, and although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth that they overemphasize; others are charred to a cinder with a self-congratulatory pharisaic performance of those religious activities that suit their mood. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital godliness, and the saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flour by day and in soot by night. The cake that is burned on one side is dough on the other.
This is true of me, Lord Jesus; turn me! Turn my unsanctified nature to the fire of Your love, and let it feel the sacred glow, and let my burnt side cool a little while I learn my own weakness and lack of heat when I am removed from Your heavenly flame. Let me not be a double-minded man, but one who is entirely under the powerful influence of reigning grace. I know only too well that if I am left like a cake unturned, and am not on both sides the subject of Your grace, I will be consumed forever in everlasting burnings."
Candy's thoughts: I'm not sure which part of this devotional hurts the most: the very true observation that some of us are proud that we 'do' those religious activities that suit our mood, or our tendency to overemphasize one doctrine to the detriment of others. Either way, the ending prayer is perfect: "All this is true of me, Lord Jesus; turn me!"
Ouch! I have been writing to Jesus and God the Father this morning in my journal about repentance (or my lack there of) and how, as Steve said it so well in his sermon last Sunday, that repentance is a gift. What you wrote here just seemed to be the icing on the cake (no pun intended) that wrapped up my thoughts for the journal this morning. Get away from me satan! How often each day I am burnt by what I say, by my actions and my thought life that proceeds these evil deeds that keep me from allowing God to turn me over and let me be baked in His grace on both sides. The inside of me is a doughy mess, then there is the bottom side which is my autonomous side, me being me, and my over baked side is me trying to do God's work with others but turning them off because I am not speaking the words of God but my own, this scripture seems to say it perfectly, "Don't have anything to do with foolish arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."
ReplyDelete2 Timothy 2:24-26
Oh Lord how many times have I burned my one side trying to do Your good bidding only to end up judging the very one who I am trying to show You to. I repent of this sin, I thank You for the gift of being able to repent knowing that you will pick me up, flip me over and let me bake on both sides so that one day when I am no longer a part of this world I will be a perfect cake made by the Perfect Baker. God help us all! Debbi
Amen!
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