You cannot kill your soul; it is made of material on which you cannot lay violent hands--it will live in spite of you. What will you do? You have been sowing to the flesh all your life. You say, `I have no power to sow to the Spirit, to righteousness, and to God.' Do you say, `Woe is me, I am undone; there is no hope?' Are you tired of sowing to the flesh? are you willing to begin to sow to the Spirit? If so, Oh, joyful news! there is help, desperate as your case may be. Help is laid upon One that is mighty.
Only a God could meet your case, and lo! a God has met it. Jesus Christ, the Righteous. He has not destroyed this law, but He has found a way by which to deliver those who come to Him from its awful consequences by letting its envenomed tail so to speak, sink into His own bosom, and Himself bearing the punishment due to your deadly sowing, in His own `body on the tree. He who knew no sin has been made a curse for you, that you might be made a partaker of the righteousness of God in Him.
If you will only come to Him, and cast your guilty soul on His sacrifice, He will free you from the bitter consequences of your past evil ways. And He will,' better still, renew your mind, and put a new spirit within you, so that henceforth you shall be able to sow to the Spirit. And then this terrible law of which we have been speaking will become your friend, and you' shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
He has done this for some of us. We once sowed to the flesh, `more or less in outward acts, but all alike in heart. We lived unto ourselves, and are now ashamed of the fruits of our evil sowing. But `He saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost and He will save you if you will let Him. `Oh!' said a young man the other day, `but the marks, the stain, can never begot off.' `Oh, yes!' we replied, `they can; there is one medium, and ONLY ONE, that can wash the blood-red hand and the blood-red conscience too, and that is the precious blood of Christ.' We could show you thousands in the ranks of The Salvation Army once as bad as you, and most likely a great deal worse.
Men and women, some of them, who have been favoured with every advantage in youth-wept over and entreated by Christian parents, loved and laboured for by teachers and ministers, who notwithstanding, had wandered to the ends of the earth, and committed every sin that human nature is capable of--hardened, besotted, brutalized, sunk to the lowest level of debauchery and crime. And yet now they are washed, they are sanctified and restored to favour with God and man, all through the Blood. Will you try it? Will you put your foot down, and say this afternoon, `By the grace of God, I will never sow another seed to the flesh?' Will you let go all your miserable provision for the gratification of the flesh? and will you come and pledge yourself to be the Lord's in righteousness and in true Holiness? If you will, be sure you shall know the blessing of sowing to the Spirit in this life, and in the next you shall reap `life everlasting.' May God help you! Amen.
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Catherine Booth (1829 - 1890)
Was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Mother of The Salvation Army'. She became a partner in her husband’s work and soon found her own sphere as a powerful preacher. She also spoke to people in their homes, especially to alcoholics, whom she helped to make a new start in life. Often she held cottage meetings for converts. She eventually began to hold her own campaigns. Many agree that no man of her era, including her husband, exceeded her in popularity or spiritual results.Catherine Booth was eloquent and compelling in speech, articulate and devastatingly logical in writing, she had for over twenty years defended the right of women to preach the gospel on the same terms as men. At first, Catherine and her husband had shared a ministry as traveling evangelists, but then she came into great demand as a preacher in her own right, especially among the well-to-do. A woman preacher was a rare phenomenon in a world where women had few civil rights, and no place in the professions. Catherine Booth was both a woman and a fine preacher, a magnetic combination that attracted large numbers to hear her and made its own statement about the validity of women’s ministry.
Catherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Army Mother'.
From an early age, Catherine was a serious and sensitive girl. She had a strong Christian upbringing, even going so far as to read her Bible through eight times before the age of 12.
She met William Booth, a Methodist minister, when he came to preach at her church in 1852. They soon fell in love and became engaged. During their three year engagement, Catherine was a constant support to William in his tiring work of preaching through her letters. They were married on 16 June 1855.
Catherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Army Mother'. She met William Booth, a Methodist minister, when he came to preach at her church in 1852. They soon fell in love and became engaged. During their three year engagement, Catherine constantly wrote letters of encouragement to William as he performed the tiring work of a preacher.
They began the work of The Christian Mission in 1865. William preached to the poor and ragged and Catherine spoke to the wealthy, gaining support for their financially demanding ministry. She eventually began to hold her own campaigns.
When the name was changed in 1878 to The Salvation Army and William Booth became known as the General, Catherine became known as the Mother of the Army. She was behind many of the changes in the new organization, designing the flag and bonnets for the ladies, and contributed to the Army's ideas on many important issues and matters of belief.