A CHRISTIANITY THAT REALLY WORKS
By Ron Marr
- A Handbook for Living in Continuous Personal Revival

[ source of free ebook: http://www.calvarytemple.net ]

[Copyright Page]
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version, 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., and used by permission.

All Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.


Introduction

How I praise God for introducing me to a Christianity that really works and for the privilege of sharing it with you. I am unworthy of the task. My heart still aches that over the years I have grieved my Lord so terribly and hurt so many folks. I repent and revel in His marvelous love, mercy, and grace, and beg the forgiveness of all I have injured.

I have found most of the Lord's people are similarly disappointed with their Christian lives, and I want to offer them the help with which the Lord has helped me. Most believe that Christianity really does work or at least it's supposed to. But for many, it doesn't quite seem to not as they would like, anyway.

This book is written especially for you who are the lonely, the hurting, the discouraged, the suffering, the anxious, and the fearful. It is for those who want to walk more closely with their God in the intimacy of a shared love that goes beyond the passing nature of mere feelings. It is written for all God's children who want a Christianity that really works.

This book offers no simplistic solutions. It encourages all of us to cast ourselves upon our heavenly Father and find in Him the peace which surpasses all understanding, (Philippians 4:7) and all else our hearts really need.


Out of the Cauldron

Every thought here reflects something of my personal preparation in learning to walk with the Lord. Still, I've tried to avoid urging any of my personal experiences on my readers as though they were normative for all. It would not make much sense for me to make any of my experiences a standard for anyone else.

How could I? Every time I have thought I'd arrived, the experience disappeared like a puff of smoke. Every time I thought I'd reached a new plateau of obedience, it would be only to see more of my sin and failure. How I thank God it's been so. How else could He keep me from substituting some incident, some feeling, or some supposed achievement for Himself to my eternal loss?

He alone is my life, my hope, my joy, my peace, my righteousness, my wisdom, my sanctification, my redemption, my all. There is no real enduring happiness or contentment apart from Him. Only as I rest contentedly at home in Him as He is in me is my relationship with Him full of reality and unending hope.


Uniquely Yours

He is your all, too, if He is your Savior. And such you must find Him but not my way, not anyone else's way, rather His way for you.
You are unique, and He will be uniquely yours. Don't try to mimic anyone else. Let the Holy Spirit alone be your teacher and guide.


How to Read This Book

If you're impatient to get to the meat of the message, read the addendum. If you want answers to practical concerns, turn to the chapters of practical hints and summary outlines. But best of all, start at the beginning and patiently read through in humble reliance on the Lord.

To get maximum benefit, take this book in bite-sized chunks that can be easily chewed and digested. Soak its reading in confident prayer that He'll reveal Himself to you and draw you close to Himself. Underline it. Meditate on it. Note your questions, concerns, and comments in its margins. Carry it with you. When you've laid it down, return to it again and again.

Take it into your times alone with the Lord. Keep it and your Bible open in front of you. Look up Scriptures cited but not quoted.


Only God Can Draw You to Himself

Depend on the Holy Spirit to enlighten you and enable you to begin practicing what you read as He sets His seal of approval on it. Please don't think for a moment, because I've suggested approaches to the development of your relationship with the Lord that you or I can initiate anything good; instead, let Him teach you to be quietly content that He is in you and you are in Him. Watch Him work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.

My only really significant purpose is to point you to the Lord Himself as the answer to every longing of your heart. How well I point you to Him will determine this book's real worth. I hope I've kept it easy to read and understand so it can bless, encourage, and challenge all God's children. May the Holy Spirit use these words to help you learn to live in continuous personal revival as you dwell in the Father's love.