In 1878, the author of A Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, published a book entitled, Bible Readings. Hannah Whitall Smith wrote this little book as a look at the spiritual "types and metaphors" in some of the Old Testament stories and books of the Bible. She wrote some of the most helpful and positive Wesleyan Holiness literature in the latter part of the 19th Century.

I am choosing a passage for this post from the chapter on the book of Judges.

"No position in grace, no height of Christian attainment can keep the soul from failing. Only the present power of an indwelling Holy Ghost can do this, and nothing but continual faithfulness to the Lord can secure His abiding presence.

We never at any stage of our experience reach a place where we may relax in our obedience, or become indifferent in our trust. Obedience must keep pace with knowledge, and our trust must be daily and hourly fixed on our keeping Saviour, or all will go wrong.

Sanctification is not a state so much as a walk, and every moment of that walk we need the Spirit's power and the Spirit's presence as much as we did at first. . .

. . .But, let me repeat it, there must be no compromise with sin. By faith we must put to death every one of our enemies, (speaking here of inward sin or carnality/indwelling sin) every day of our lives. And this death is a real thing. . . We must have our enemies die, and our souls be actually delivered from them or there is no peace or security. . .

. . .Consent then to die. let the Lord send crosses, or afflictions or pain, if only by these He will but rid us of pride and self will and anger and all others of our inward enemies, and will conform us in every thing to the image of Christ. Let us, if Israel did not, obey the command of our Lord to drive out every enemy from our land, and then we need have no fear that the sad and God dishonoring experience of the book of Judges will be ours."

Much of her writing in the chapter was based on these verses of warning found in Judges 2:10-12:

"After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them our of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshipping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord."  

This feels to me like the generation I live and minister in. This feels like most of the church world in America. Denominations seem consistent in one thing, after 100 years they all go the same way until there is a reformation/reforming movement.