Cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. Depend on Him. There is power in Christ; there is sufficiency in Christ for all He would have you do or be. Some have a long season of joy on first believing, but God knows our hearts, and knows that soon we would begin to depend on our joy, and not on Christ. He is our object-not the joy.
Sin no longer remains on you, but the flesh is in you to the end; the old stock will put forth its buds, which must be nipped off as they appear. No fruit can come of it. It is the new nature that bears fruit unto God. But though the flesh is in you, do not be thinking of this; think of Christ.
As you grow in the knowledge of Christ, a joy comes, deeper than the first joy. I have known Christ for between thirty and forty years, and I can truly say that I have ten thousand times more joy in Him now than I had at first. It is a deeper, calmer joy. The water rushing down a hill is beautiful to look at, and makes much noise, but you will find the water in the plain deeper, calmer and more fit for general use.
Cleave to Christ with purpose of heart. A distracted heart is the bane of Christians. When we are involved with something that is not Christ, we are away from the source of strength. When my soul is filled with Christ, I have no heart or eye for the trash of the world. If Christ is dwelling in your heart by faith, it will not be a question with you, What harm is there in this and that? But rather it will be, Am I doing this for Christ? Can Christ go along with me in this?
Do not let the world come in and distract your thoughts. I speak especially to you young ones. They who are older have had more experience in it, and know more what it is worth. But it all lies shining before you, endeavoring to attract you. Its smiles are deceitful; still it smiles. It makes promises which it cannot keep; still it makes them. Your hearts are too big for the world; it cannot fill them. They are too little for Christ; He fills heaven; He will fill you to overflowing. "With purpose of heart... cleave unto the Lord." He knows how treacherous the heart is, and how soon it would put anything in His place. You will indeed have to learn what is in your own heart.
Abide with God, and you will learn it with Him, and with His grace. If you do not, you will have to learn it with bitter sorrow, through the successful temptations of the devil. But God is faithful. If you have been getting away from Him, and other things have come in and formed a crust, as it were, over your hearts, your joy will not return to you all at once. God will first have you deal with this crust, and get rid of it.
Remember, Christ bought you with His own blood, that you should be His, not the world's. Do not let Satan get between you and God's grace. However careless you may have been, however far you may have gotten away from Him, count on His love. It is His joy to see you back again. Look at the sin with horror, but never wrong Him by distrusting His love. He has loved you, and will love you to the end. Talk much with Jesus. Never be content without being able to walk and talk with Christ as with a dear friend. Do not be satisfied with anything short of close communion of soul with Him who has loved you and washed you from your sins in His own blood.