Matters To Moo About

Afterwards you will understand

2011-02-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

(by J.R. MIller, "Miller's Year Book--a Year's Daily Readings")

"He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel He had around Him." John 13:4-5

"What I am doing, you do not understand now--but afterwards you will understand." John 13:7

At this time Peter did not know why the Messiah he really needed--was a Messiah with basin and towel. He was thinking of a Messiah with throne and crown and scepter and earthly pomp! He did not understand it--until after the blood of Calvary had been shed. Christ referred to these days by "afterwards."

This saying of Christ, however, may be used in a much wider sense. There are a great many things that He does, which at the time we cannot understand; yet in due time--all of them will become clear. As they appear to us, while we are passing through them, they are unfinished acts; when the work is completed--it will appear beautiful. This is especially true of many mysterious providences in our lives. One time Jacob thought and said, "All these things are against me!" But he lived to see that the very things which he thought were against him--were really all working together for his good.

So it is always, in the providences of God with His own people. "We know that all things work together for good, to those who love God."

The back side of a tapestry appears to be a mystery of tangle and confusion--but there is a beautiful picture on the other side. Just so--we are looking at our lives, largely on the back side. We cannot see the Master's plan--until 'afterwards'.

Something better is given

2011-02-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

(By J.R. Miller, "Miller's Year Book--a Year's Daily Readings")

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me! But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you--for My power is made perfect in your weakness!' " 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Many prayers which seem to be unanswered--are really answered. The blessing comes--but in a form we do not recognize. Instead of the very thing we sought--something better is given!

The burden is not lifted away--but we are sustained beneath it.

We are not spared the suffering--but in the suffering we are brought nearer to God, and receive more of His grace.

The sorrow is not taken away--but is changed to joy.

Our ignorant prayers are taken into the hands of the great Intercessor, and are answered in ways far wiser than our thought!

Instead of earthly trifles--heavenly riches!

Instead of things which our poor wisdom sought--things God's infinite wisdom chose for us!

Instead of pleasure for a day--gain for eternity!

Needful Grace

2010-09-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

(by John MacDuff, "The Faithful Promiser")

"As your days--so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25

God does not give grace--until the hour of trial comes. But when it does come--the amount of grace, and the nature of the special grace required--is granted. My soul! do not dwell with painful apprehension on the future. Do not anticipate coming sorrows, or perplexing yourself with the grace needed for future emergencies. Tomorrow will bring its promised grace--along with tomorrow's trials.

God, wishing to keep His people humble, and dependent on Himself--does not give a stock of grace.He metes it out for every day's exigencies, that they may be constantly traveling between . . .
their own emptiness--and Christ's fullness;
their own weakness--and Christ's strength.

But when the exigency comes, you may safely trust an Almighty arm to bear you through!

Is there now some "thorn in the flesh" sent to lacerate you? You may have been entreating the Lord for its removal. Your prayer has, doubtless, been heard and answered; but not in the way, perhaps, either expected or desired by you. The "thorn" may still be left to goad, the trial may still be left to buffet; but "more grace" has been given to endure them! Oh! how often have His people thus been led to glory in their infirmities, and triumph in their afflictions--seeing that the power of Christ rests more abundantly upon them! The strength which the hour of trial brings--often makes the Christian wonder to himself!

Contentment comes from within

2010-06-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

(by Arthur Pink, "Comfort for Christians")

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Philippians 4:11

Contentment is the being satisfied with the sovereign dispensations of God's providence. It is the opposite of murmuring, which is the spirit of rebellion--the clay saying to the Potter, "Why have You made me thus?" Instead of complaining at his lot--a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are.

Discontent! Was there ever a time when there was so much discontent and restlessness in the world, as there is today? We very much doubt it. Despite our boasted progress, the vast increase of wealth, the time and money expended daily in pleasure--discontent is everywhere! No class is exempt. Everything is in a state of flux, and almost everybody is dissatisfied. Many even among God's own people are affected with the evil spirit of this age.

Contentment! Is such a thing realizable, or is it nothing more than a beautiful ideal, a mere dream of the poet? Is it attainable on earth, or is it restricted to the inhabitants of heaven? If feasible here and now--may it be retained--or are a few brief moments or hours of contentment the most that we may expect in this life?

The force of Paul's statement will be better appreciated, if his condition and circumstances at the time he made it, are kept in mind. When the apostle wrote the words, he was not luxuriating in a special suite in the Emperor's palace--but was in prison "in chains". The contentment which Paul enjoyed, was not the result of congenial and comfortable surroundings. Most people suppose that contentment is impossible, unless one can have the desires of the carnal heart gratified. A prison is the last place to which they would go--if they were seeking a contented man. This much, then, is clear--contentment comes from within not without; it must be sought from God, not in creature comforts.

Now, there is a vast difference between precept and practice, between the ideal and the realization. But in the case of Paul, contentment was an actual experience! It was something he had learned in the school of Christian experience.

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said--Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Forsake me not, O Lord

2010-05-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening)

Forsake me not, O Lord.

Psalm 38:21

Frequently we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation, but we too much forget that we have need to use this prayer at all times. There is no moment of our life, however holy, in which we can do without his constant upholding. Whether in light or in darkness, in communion or in temptation, we alike need the prayer, Forsake me not, O Lord. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.A little child, while learning to walk, always needs the nurse's aid. The ship left by the pilot drifts at once from her course. We cannot do without continued aid from above; let it then be your prayer to-day, Forsake me not. Father, forsake not thy child, lest he fall by the hand of the enemy. Shepherd, forsake not thy lamb, lest he wander from the safety of the fold. Great Husbandman, forsake not thy plant, lest it wither and die. 'Forsake me not, O Lord,' now; and forsake me not at any moment of my life. Forsake me not in my joys, lest they absorb my heart. Forsake me not in my sorrows, lest I murmur against thee. Forsake me not in the day of my repentance, lest I lose the hope of pardon, and fall into despair; and forsake me not in the day of my strongest faith, lest faith degenerate into presumption. Forsake me not, for without thee I am weak, but with thee I am strong. Forsake me not, for my path is dangerous, and full of snares, and I cannot do without thy guidance. The hen forsakes not her brood, do thou then evermore cover me with thy feathers, and permit me under thy wings to find my refuge. 'Be not far from me, O Lord, for trouble is near, for there is none to help.' 'Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!'

O ever in our cleansed breast, Bid thine Eternal Spirit rest; And make our secret soul to be A temple pure and worthy thee.

Leave Your Cares In His Hands

2010-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.

Psalm 55:22

Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into his place to do for him that which he has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy he will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if he were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to his plain precept, this unbelief in his Word, this presumption in intruding upon his province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counsellor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the broken cistern instead of to the fountain; a sin which was laid against Israel of old. Anxiety makes us doubt God's lovingkindness, and thus our love to him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from him; but if through simple faith in his promise, we cast each burden as it comes upon him, and are careful for nothing because he undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to him, and strengthen us against much temptation. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.

(I read this very timely C. H. Spurgenon devotional today.)

He Cannot Love You More!

2010-05-09T12:45:00.001-07:00

(by James Smith, "The Pastor's Morning Visit")

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

The Lord cares for His children!

He knows our needs--and has promised to supply them.
He knows our foes--and will deliver us from them.
He knows our fears--and will make us ashamed of them.

All creatures and things are in His hand, and at His disposal; all circumstances are under His absolute control. He . . .
directs the angel,
feeds the sparrow,
curbs the devil, and
manages the tempest!

He is your Father--and His love to you is infinite. You are His delight--His dear child. Will He neglect you? Impossible! Cast then your cares upon Him. Tell out all your desires, fears, and troubles to Him; let Him know everything; keep nothing back. And then in the confidence of faith, expect Him to fulfill His Word, and act a Parent's part.

Bless Him for all He has given, for all He has promised. Plead with Him for all you may need. But never for one moment, or under any circumstances, distrust Him! He cannot love you more! He is your ever present help. He will rejoice over you to do you good, with His whole heart, and with His whole soul.

"Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares about you!" 1 Peter 5:7

Prepare for it and be improved by it

2010-04-12T12:57:00.001-07:00

(by Thomas Sherman, "Aids to the Divine Life--A Series of Practical Christian Contemplations," 1680)

"It was good for me to be afflicted--so that I might learn your decrees." Psalm 119:71

As it is the duty of God's children to prepare for affliction before it comes; so it is also their duty to improve affliction when it does come.

If we do not prepare for affliction--we shall be surprised by it; and, if we do not improve it--we are likely to increase it.

He who would prepare for affliction, must beforehand:
(1.) resign all to God,
(2.) strengthen his graces,
(3.) store up divine promises,
(4.) and search out secret sins.

And he who would improve affliction when it does come, must labor to see:
sin more and more in its filthiness--so as to mortify it;
his heart in its deceitfulness--so as to watch over it;
the world in its emptiness--so as to be crucified to it;
grace in its amiableness--so as to prize it;
God in His holiness--so as to revere Him; and
heaven in its desirableness--so as to long after it.

He who takes more care to avoid afflictions--than to be fitted for them; or is more solicitous to be delivered from them--than to be bettered by them; is likely to come soonest into them--and to live longest under them!

"God disciplines us for our good--that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11

The Only Refuge In Sorrow

2010-03-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, "Counsel and Help" 1907)

"Being in anguish--He prayed more fervently." Luke 22:44

We see the Master at prayer in Gethsemane. It was here that He prepared for His Cross. We should notice that His refuge in His exceeding sorrow--was prayer; and that, as the sorrow deepened--the refuge still was prayer. Prayer is the only refuge in sorrow. The lesson from the garden prayer is that we should take all the hard things, the anguishes, the insufferable pains, the bitter griefs of our lives--to God in prayer. We may be sure, too, that God will answer. If He does not relieve us of the suffering, He will strengthen us so that we can keep it, and still go on trusting and singing.

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

I Know That He Has Chosen Me

2010-03-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon

I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Isaiah 48:10

Comfort thyself, tried believer, with this thought: God saith, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Does not the word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yea, is it not an asbestos armour, against which the heat hath no power? Let affliction come--God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayst stride in at my door, but God is in the house already, and he has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayst intrude, but I have a balsam ready--God has chosen me. Whatever befalls me in this vale of tears, I know that he has chosen me. If, believer, thou requirest still greater comfort, remember that you have the Son of Man with you in the furnace. In that silent chamber of yours, there sitteth by your side One whom thou hast not seen, but whom thou lovest; and ofttimes when thou knowest it not, he makes all thy bed in thy affliction, and smooths thy pillow for thee. Thou art in poverty; but in that lovely house of thine the Lord of life and glory is a frequent visitor. He loves to come into these desolate places, that he may visit thee. Thy friend sticks closely to thee. Thou canst not see him, but thou mayst feel the pressure of his hands. Dost thou not hear his voice? Even in the valley of the shadow of death he says, Fear not, I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. Remember that noble speech of Caesar: Fear not, thou c arriest Caesar and all his fortune. Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials, his presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom he has chosen for his own. Fear not, for I am with thee, is his sure word of promise to his chosen ones in the furnace of affliction. Wilt thou not, then, take fast hold of Christ, and say--

Through floods and flames, if Jesus lead, I'll follow where he goes.

Because Our Father Is Caring For Us

2010-02-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

( by J. R. Miller, "Life's Byways and Waysides")

For the Christian, all of life's conditions and circumstances are transformed.

Take the matter of CARE. Every life has 'cares'. There are cares in business. There are cares in home-life. There are cares of poverty--but no less has the rich man his cares. Childhood has its anxieties; young faces sometimes appear careworn. No one can escape care!

To many people--life is very hard. But Christian faith transfigures care, for those who are Christ's and have learned how to live as He teaches us to live. He tells us not to worry about anything, because our Father is caring for us. He tells us that life is a school, and that all our cares are parts of lessons which He has set for us. That means that every care has hidden in it--a secret of blessing--a gift of love which our Father has sent to us. Every time you come to a hard point in your life--an obstacle, a difficulty, a perplexity--God is giving you a new opportunity to grow stronger, wiser, or richer-hearted.

We try to make life easy for our children--but God is wiser than we are. He wants His children to have struggles--that they may grow strong, holy and noble!

Thus it is that common care is transfigured by the grace of Christ! It enfolds blessings for us. It carries in its 'dreary form'secrets of blessing for us. Even our 'drudgeries' have blessings in their wearisome routine; we get many of our best lessons out of them.

All we need to learn is how to meet our worries, and they are transfigured for us! Paul tells us in a wonderful passage how to get this transformation of care: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7. God's peace will then shine through all life's frets. Thus care is transfigured, by the love of Christ in the heart.

The Smallest Trifles

2009-12-30T14:24:00.001-08:00

(quote by Charles Spurgeon)

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" Matthew 10:29-30

It is most important for us to learn, that the smallest trifles are as much arranged by the God of Providence, as the most startling events. He who counts the stars--has also numbered the hairs of our heads. Our lives and deaths are predestined--but so, also, are our sitting down and our rising up!

For He is Able To Do All Things!

2009-12-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon

I will strengthen thee.

Isaiah 41:10

God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for he is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth's huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength. While he is able to uphold the universe, dream not that he will prove unable to fulfil his own promises. Remember what he did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how he spake and it was done; how he commanded, and it stood fast. Shall he that created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall he who doth this be unable to support his children? Shall he be unfaithful to his word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth not he ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds his chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of his hand? How can he fail thee? When he has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that he has outpromised himself, and gone beyond his power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer.

O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of thy grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of thy strength can never be emptied by thy friends or rifled by thine enemies.

Now let the feeble all be strong, And make Jehovah's arm their song.

A review of Rest Assured Hymns CD

2009-11-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.reformedbaptistinstitute.org/?p=815

A review of Rest Assured Hymns by The Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies
at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido, CA

November 25, 2009

"I love music. For all of my life, I have enjoyed a wide variety of genres and forms. Whenever the opportunity arises, I listen to music; at times I am even brave enough to try to play some of it myself. When others listen to talk radio, you can be sure that I will have some kind of music on in the background. Melody, harmony, tempo: these are great gifts from God. And when they are put together creatively, they may be deeply moving.

Music belongs to the Christian life; and, it belongs to the Lord’s Day. Over the years, I have found that one of the best ways to prepare for the Lord’s Day worship is to put some really edifying music on and let it’s words and sounds comfort our minds in anticipation of the privilege of serving the Lord. This means, of course, that some tunes and songs, appropriate for other days, are not really suited for a day devoted to the Lord and His service. My choices are narrowed by the purpose of the music for the day. For this reason, it is always good to find something new to add to the collection of appropriate sounds.

Recently, I received a sample copy of a wonderful new collection of hymns on CD called Rest Assured Hymns. It is excellent. Covering 10 familiar hymns such as What E’er My God Ordains is Right, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, and When I Survey, the CD is a perfect addition to a collection of solid and edifying Christian music. It is performed in a peaceful, folksy style using acoustic instruments, beautiful harmonies, and rhythms appropriate to the tunes. New tunes are employed, and these complement the lyrics nicely.

The title, Rest Assured Hymns is wonderful. It can have at least three referents: 1. You can be ‘rest assured’ that these hymns edify; 2. When you put on this CD, you will be able to ‘rest’, ‘assured’ by the soothing music and excellent lyrics; and 3. As you meditate on these hymns, your ‘rest’ in Christ will be ‘assured.’

In any case, buy a copy of this CD. It is wonderful."

The school of pain!

2009-11-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

(by J. R. Miller, Life's Byways and Waysides)

Everyone has sorrow. Being a Christian does not exempt anyone from grief. But faith in Christ brings a transformation of sorrow. Not only are we taught to endure the sorrows that come to us patiently and submissively--but we are assured that there is a blessing in them for us, if we accept them with love and trust.

One of the deepest truths taught in the Bible--is that earthly sorrow has a mission in the sanctifying of life. "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. God disciplines us for our good--that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10-11

We dread pain! And yet the person who has not experienced pain--has not yet touched the deepest and most precious meanings of life. There are things we never can learn--except in the school of pain! There are heights of life we never can attain--except in the bitterness of sorrow. There are joys we never can have--until we have walked in the dark ways of sorrow. Not to have sorrow, in some form, is to miss one of life's holiest opportunities. We get our best things--out of affliction! "I have refined you in the furnace of suffering!" Isaiah 48:10

God's Aim In Dealing With Man

2009-11-15T17:57:00.001-08:00

(by J. R. Miller, The SILENT Christ)

"A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession!' Jesus did not answer her a word!" Matthew 15:22

We are apt to forget that the aim of God with us, is . . .

not to flood us with tenderness all the time,

not to keep our path always strewn with flowers,

not to continually give us everything we want,

not to save us from all manner of suffering.

No! God's aim with us, is . . .

to make something of us,

to build up strong and noble character in us,

to mature qualities of grace and beauty in us,

to make us more like Christ!

To do this--He must ofttimes deny us what we ask for, and must seem indifferent to our cries. "Jesus did not answer her a word!"

There are 'sentimental ideas of God' prevalent, which are dishonoring to Him. There are those who imagine that God's love means tenderness that cannot cause pain. They think that He cannot look a moment on suffering, without relieving it; that He must instantly hear and answer every cry for the removal of trouble.

Not such a God--is the God of the Bible! When suffering is the best thing for us--He is not too sympathetic to let us suffer--until the work of suffering is accomplished in us. He is not too kind to be silent to our prayers--when it is better that He should be silent for a time, to allow . . .

faith to grow strong,

self-confidence to be swept away, and

the evil in us--to be burned out in the furnace of pain!

There is a danger with all of us--our tenderness lacks strength. We cannot tolerate to see people suffer, and so we hasten to give relief--before the ministry of suffering is accomplished. We think of our mission to others, as being only 'to make life easier for them'. We are continually lifting away burdens, which it were better to have left resting longer on our friend's shoulder! We are eager to make life easy for our children--when it were better if it had been left hard.

We must learn that God does not deal with us in this 'sentimental' way. He is not too tender to see us suffer--if more suffering is needed to work in us the discipline that will make us like Christ!

Here we have the key of many of the 'mysteries of Providence'. Life is not easy for us--and God does not intend it to be easy!

Suppose for a moment, that God immediately gave us everything we ask for--and immediately removed every little pain, trouble, difficulty, and hardness that we seek to have removed; what would be the result on us? How selfish it would make us! We would become weak, unable to endure suffering, to bear trial, to carry burdens, or to struggle. We would be only children always--and would never rise into manly strength. God's over-kindness to us--would pamper in us all the worst elements of our nature, and would make us only poor driveling creatures!

On the other hand, however, God's wise and firm treatment of us, teaches us the great lessons which make us strong with the strength of Christ Himself.

He teaches us to yield our own will to Him.

He develops in us--patience, faith, love, hope and peace.

He trains us to endure hardness--that we may grow heroic, courageous and strong.

It is well for us to make careful note of this--that in all God's delays when we pray--His aim is some good in us.

Perhaps we are willful, asking only for our own way--and must learn to say, "May Your will be done."

Perhaps we are weak, unable to bear pain or to endure adversity or loss--and we must be trained and disciplined into strength.

Perhaps our desires are only for earthly good, not for heavenly blessings--and we must be taught the transitory character of all worldly things, and led to desire things which are eternal.

Perhaps we are impatient--and must be taught to wait for God. We are like children in our eager restlessness--and need to learn self-restraint.

At the least, we may always know that silence is not refusal--that God hears and cares, and that when our faith has learned its lessons--He will answer in blessing!

"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:6

"God disciplines us for our good--that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

The Lord Will Sustain You

2009-10-23T15:39:00.001-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, Things to Live For, 1896)

"Cast your burden upon the Lord--and He shall sustain you." Psalm 55:21

This privilege is a very precious one. We all have our burden. No matter how happy anyone is--he is bearing some weight of care, or sorrow, or responsibility. Continually we find our load too heavy for our own unaided strength. We feel that we cannot carry it without help. Human love comes up close beside us, willing, if it were possible, to take the burden from our shoulder, and carry it for us. But this is not possible. "Every man must bear his own burden." Most of life's loads, are not transferable.

Take pain, for instance. No tenderest, truest love--can bear our pain for us, or even bear any smallest part of it.

Or take sorrow. As close as human friendship may come to us when our heart is breaking with grief--it cannot take from us any least portion of the anguish we suffer, as we meet bereavement.

Or take struggle with temptation. We can get no human help in it, and must pass through the struggle alone.

It will be noticed, too, that God Himself does not promise to bear our burden for us. So much is it an essential and inseparable part of our life--that even divine love will not relieve us of its weight.

The teaching from all this, is that we cannot hope to have our life-burden lifted off. Help cannot come to us, in the way of relief. The prayer to be freed from the load, cannot be answered. The assurance is--not that the Lord will take away our burden when we cast it upon Him, lifting it away from our shoulder. It is, instead, a promise that while we bear our burden, whatever it may be--that the Lord will sustain us. "Cast your burden upon the Lord--and He shall sustain you." He will give us strength to continue faithful, to go on with our doing of His will, unimpeded, unhindered, by the pressure of the load we must carry.

An alternative rendering of this verse is, "Cast your gift upon the Lord--and He shall sustain you." Thus we see, that our burden is a gift of God to us! At once the thing, which a moment ago seemed so oppressive in its weight, so unlovely in its form--is hallowed and transformed! We had thought it to be an evil--whose effect upon us could be only hurtful, hindering our growth, marring our happiness. But now we see that it is another of God's blessings, not evil--but good, designed not to hurt us, nor to impede our progress--but to help us onward!

A gift from a human friend, is a token and pledge of their love for us. In like manner, God sent this gift to us--because He loves us. It is a memento of divine affection. It may be hard for us to understand this. It may be a burden of pain, and pain seems so opposed to comfort--that we cannot see how it can be a gift of love. It may be sorrow; and sorrow never for the present seems to be joyous--but always grievous. It may be great loss--the stripping from us of life's pleasant things, leaving emptiness and desolation. How such burdens as these can be tokens of divine affection, God's gift of love--it is hard for us to conceive. Yet we know that God is our Father, and that His love for us never fails. Whatever comes from His hand to us--must be sent in love!

The world offers attractive things--pleasures, gains, promises of honor and delight. To the eye of sense, these appear to be life's best things. But too often they enfold bitterness and hurt, the fruit of evil. At the bottom of the cup--are dregs of poison! On the other hand, the things that God gives, appear sometimes unattractive, undesirable, even repulsive! We shrink from accepting them. But they enfold, in their severe and unpromising form--the blessings of divine love.

We know how true this is of life's pains and sorrows. Though grievous to sense, they leave in the heart which receives them with faith and trust--the fruits of divine blessing. Whatever our burden may be, it is God's gift, and brings to us some precious thing, from the treasury of divine love. This fact makes it sacred to us. Not to accept it--is to thrust away from us, a blessing sent from heaven. We need, therefore, to treat most reverently--the things in our life, which we call burdens.

We should regard all the gifts of God to us--with affection. This is easy for us so long as these gifts come to us in pleasant form--things that give joy to us. But with no less love and gratitude should we receive and cherish God's gifts, which come in forbidding form. It is the same divine love which sends the one--and also the other. The one is no less good--than the other. There is blessing as truly in the gift of pain or loss or trial--as in the gift of song and gain and gladness. Whatever God sends--we should receive in confidence, as a gift of His love. Thus it is, that our burden, whatever it may be, is hallowed.

It may not always be easy to carry it, for even love sometimes lays heavy burdens on the shoulders of its beloved. A wise father does not seek always to make life easy for his child. Nothing could be more unkind! He would have his child grow strong--and, therefore, he refuses to take away the hard task. God is too loving and kind, too true a father--to give us only easy things. He makes the burden heavy--that we may become strong in bearing it. But He is always near; and He gives us the help we need, that we may never faint beneath it. Thus we may always know, that our burden is our Father's gift to us!

Where Real Satisfaction Is Found

2009-10-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

(by John Newton, The Present and Future Rest of Believers in Christ)

"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity!" Ecclesiastes 1:2

The common wearisome pursuit of the worldling is described in Scripture: "Why do you spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?" Isaiah 55:2

"Many are saying--Who can show us anything good?" Psalm 4:6. Worldlings are wandering from object to object in quest of happiness, but are always frustrated by incessant and repeated disappointments. We would pity a person whom we saw seeking some necessary thing day after day--in a place where we knew it was impossible to be found. This is, however, the case with all people--until they come to Christ. Satisfaction is what they profess to aim at; and they turn over every stone, they try every expedient, to find lasting happiness--but in vain.

Real satisfaction is only to be found in Jesus! When they come to Him, their wishes are fully answered and satisfied! "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst!" John 4:13-14

Get Up, Get Busy

2009-10-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

"Occupation is the remedy for many an internal sorrow."
C. H. Spurgeon

Walking Along the Narrow Way

2009-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

(by Arthur Pink, The Narrow Way)

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction--and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life--and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Walking along the Narrow Way, means for the heart and life to be constantly regulated by Christ's holy teaching. It denotes a steady perseverance in faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus; overcoming all opposition, rejecting every temptation to forsake the path of fidelity to Him. It is called the "Narrow Way" because all self-pleasing and self-seeking is shut out.

It is right here that the testing point is reached. Unto the natural man, it is much easier and far more pleasant--to indulge the flesh and follow our worldly propensities. The Broad Road, where the flesh is indulged--is easy, smooth, and attractive! But it ends in "destruction!" Though the "Narrow Way" leads to eternal life--but only FEW tread it.

Multitudes make a profession and claim to be saved--but their lives give no evidence that they are "strangers and pilgrims" here on earth, and that their "treasure" is in heaven. They are afraid of being thought narrow and strict. Satan has deceived them--they imagine that they can get to heaven by an easier route, than by . . .
denying self,
taking up their cross daily,
and following Christ!

There are multitudes of 'religionists' who are attempting to combine the two "ways," making the best of both worlds and serving two masters. They wish to gratify self in time--and enjoy the happiness of Heaven in eternity. Crowds of nominal Christians are deluding themselves into believing that they can do so--but they are terribly deceived!

The reason why so few will enter Eternal Life--is because the multitudes are not seeking it in the way of God's appointing! None seek it aright--but those who pass through the Narrow Gate--and who, despite many discouragements and falls, continue to press forward along the Narrow Way.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction--and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life--and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Watering Others Humbles Us

2009-08-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

(C.H. Spurgeon, Morning/ Evening Devotional)

He that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Proverbs 11:25

We are here taught the great lesson, that to get, we must give; that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that in order to become spiritually vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered. How? Our efforts to be useful, bring out our powers for usefulness. We have latent talents and dormant faculties, which are brought to light by exercise. Our strength for labour is hidden even from ourselves, until we venture forth to fight the Lord's battles, or to climb the mountains of difficulty. We do not know what tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow's tears, and soothe the orphan's grief. We often find in attempting to teach others, that we gain instruction for ourselves. Oh, what gracious lessons some of us have learned at sick beds! We went to teach the Scriptures, we came away blushing that we knew so little of them. In our converse with poor saints, we are taught the way of God more perfectly for ourselves and get a deeper insight into divine truth. So that watering others makes us humble. We discover how much grace there is where we had not looked for it; and how much the poor saint may outstrip us in knowledge. Our own comfort is also increased by our working for others. We endeavour to cheer them, and the consolation gladdens our own heart. Like the two men in the snow; one chafed the other's limbs to keep him from dying, and in so doing kept his own blood in circulation, and saved his own life. The poor widow of Sarepta gave from her scanty store a supply for the prophet's wants, and from that day she never again knew what want was. Give then, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and running over.

It Is Done In Love

2009-08-17T14:42:00.001-07:00

(by J. C. Ryle, Faith)

"He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32

If God has given His Son to die for us, let us beware of doubting His kindness and love in any painful providence of our daily life. Let us never allow ourselves to think hard thoughts of God. Let us never suppose that He can give us anything that is not really for our good.

Let us see in every sorrow and trouble of our earthly pilgrimage--the hand of Him who gave Christ to die for our sins. That hand can never smite us except in love! He who gave His Son to die for our sins--will never withhold anything from us that is really for our good. Let us lean back on this thought and be content. Let us say to ourselves in the darkest hour of trial, "This also is ordered by Him who gave Christ to die for my sins. It cannot be wrong! It is done in love! It must be well!"

God's Trees

2009-08-12T16:33:00.001-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted.

Psalm 104:16

Lebanon's cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which he had himself prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven owns the great Husbandman as his planter. Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not dependent upon man for their watering; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our heavenly Father supplieth them. Thus it is with the Christian who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord his God, and to him alone. The dew of heaven is his portion, and the God of heaven is his fountain. Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power. They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and tempest. They are God's trees, kept and preserved by him, and by him alone. It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is not a hot-house plant, sheltered from temptation; he stands in the most exposed position; he has no shelter, no protection, except this, that the broad wings of the eternal God always cover the cedars which he himself has planted. Like cedars, believers are full of sap, having vitality enough to be ever green, even amid winter's snows. Lastly, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar is to the praise of God only. The Lord, even the Lord alone hath been everything unto the cedars, and, therefore David very sweetly puts it in one of the psalms, Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars. In the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is planted, nourished, and protected by the Lord's own hand, and to him let all the glory be ascribed.

God rules all, governs wisely, and brings good out of evil

2009-08-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.

Romans 8:28

Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world's tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, It is I, be not afraid. He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God. The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that he governs wisely, that he brings good out of evil, the believer's heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from thee; never came there an ill portion from thy table to any of thy children.

Say not my soul, 'From whence can God relieve my care?' Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.His method is sublime, his heart profoundly kind,God never is before his time, and never is behind.

The eye of Divine Providence

2009-08-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

(from the letters of John Newton)

"Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father! And the very hairs on your head are all numbered!" Matthew 10:29-30

Let us learn to see and acknowledge God's hand in all we have, and in all we meet with. Such a deep and abiding persuasion of the Most High God, ordering and over-ruling all our concerns, would, like the light, diffuse a luster and a beauty upon everything around us! To consider every comfort of life, as an effect and proof of God's mercy towards us, would, like the fabled magic stone--turn all our possessions to gold, and stamp a value upon things which a common eye might judge as insignificant.

The eye of Divine Providence is upon every flitting sparrow of the field. Nor can we properly term any circumstance of our lives as small, since such things as seem most trifling in themselves, do often give birth to things which become most important. On the other hand—to be able to discover the wisdom and goodness of our heavenly Father, through the darkest cloud of troubles and afflictions; to see all our trials appointed to us--in number, weight, and measure; nothing befalling us by chance; nothing without a needs-be; nothing without a support; nothing without a divinely designed advantage--what a support must this be to the soul!

Take away this truth of Divine Providence--and man is the most forlorn, helpless and miserable object in the world! He would be pining for everything he has not--and trembling for everything he has! He would be equally suffering under the pressure of what does happen--and the fear of what may happen! He would be liable to thousands of unsuspected dangers--yet unable to guard against those which are most obvious!

Let us learn the secret of being content in any and every situation, "Our heavenly Father knows what we have need of, before we ask Him!" "The earth is His, and the fullness thereof;" and His goodness is equal to His power.

In Christ, He has already given us more than ten thousand worlds!

Are you poor? Be satisfied with the Lord's appointment. It would be as easy to Him to give you a large estate--as to supply you with the bread you eat, or to continue the breath in your nostrils. He sees that poverty is best for you--He sees that prosperity might prove your ruin! Therefore He has appointed you the honor of being in this respect, conformable to your Lord, who, when on earth, "had nowhere to lay His head!"

Perfect Peace

2009-08-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

(by Charles Spurgeon, Gleanings among the Sheaves)

"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

Unless the heart is kept quiet and peaceable--the life will not be happy. If calm does not reign over that inner lake within the soul which feeds the rivers of our life--the rivers themselves will always be in storm. Our outward acts will always manifest that they were born in tempests--by being tempestuous themselves.

We all desire to lead a peaceful and joyous life; the bright eye and the elastic foot are things which each of us desire; to carry about a contented mind is that to which most people are continually aspiring. Let us remember that the only way to keep our life peaceful and happy--is to keep the heart at rest--for come poverty, come wealth, come honor, come shame, come plenty, or come scarcity--if the heart is quiet, there will be peace and happiness manifested in the life!

But no matter how bright the sun shines outside--if the heart is troubled--the whole life must be troubled too!

"You will keep in perfect peace--all whose thoughts are fixed on You--because he trusts in You!" Isaiah 26:3

Our Trials And God's Glory

2009-07-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

Deuteronomy 5:24

God's great design in all his works is the manifestation of his own glory. Any aim less than this were unworthy of himself. But how shall the glory of God be manifested to such fallen creatures as we are? Man's eye is not single, he has ever a side glance towards his own honour, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. It is clear, then, that self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted; and this is the reason why he bringeth his people ofttimes into straits and difficulties, that, being made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when he comes forth to work their deliverance. He whose life is one even and smooth path, will see but little of the glory of the Lord, for he has few occasions of self-emptying, and hence, but little fitness for being filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little streams and shallow creeks, know but little of the God of tempests; but they who do business in great waters, these see his wonders in the deep. Among the huge Atlantic-waves of bereavement, poverty, temptation, and reproach, we learn the power of Jehovah, because we feel the littleness of man. Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road: it is this which has given you your experience of God's greatness and lovingkindness. Your troubles have enriched you with a wealth of knowledge to be gained by no other means: your trials have been the cleft of the rock in which Jehovah has set you, as he did his servant Moses, that you might behold his glory as it passed by. Praise God that you have not been left to the darkness and ignorance which continued prosperity might have involved, but that in the great fight of affliction, you have been capacitated for the outshinings of his glory in his wonderful dealings with you.

The Secret of Being Content

2009-07-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

"There is many a thing which the world calls 'disappointment', but there is no such a word in the 'dictionary of faith'. What to others are disappointments, are divine appointments to believers."
~John Newton

Three Wonders

2009-06-29T13:31:00.001-07:00

(from the letters of John Newton)

If I ever reach heaven, I expect to find three wonders there:

first, to meet some I would not have expected to be there;

second, to miss some I would have expected to be there;

third, the greatest wonder of all--to find myself there!

"By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10

For Our Good

2009-05-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

(From the letters of John Newton)

"I know, O Lord, that Your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness You have afflicted me!" Psalm 119:75

"God disciplines us for our good--that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

In Scripture, we read much concerning the emptiness, vanity and uncertainty of the present world.

When our minds are enlightened by the Holy Spirit--then we receive and acknowledge what His Word declares to be truth. Yet if we remain long without changes and trials, and when our path is very smooth--we are for the most part but faintly affected with what we profess to believe. But when some of our dearest friends die, or we ourselves are brought low with pain and sickness--then we not only say, but feel that this world must not, cannot be our rest!

We know by experience, that though afflictions in themselves are not joyous--but grievous--yet in due season they yield the peaceful fruits of righteousness. Various are the blessed fruits which afflictions produce:

By affliction, prayer is quickened--for our prayers are very apt to grow languid and formal in a time of ease.

Affliction greatly helps us to understand the Scriptures, especially the promises; most of which are made to times of trouble. We cannot so well know their fullness, sweetness and certainty--as when we have been in the situation to which they are suited, have been enabled to trust and plead them, and found them fulfilled in our own case.

We are usually indebted to affliction--as the means or occasion of the most signal discoveries we are favored with--of the wisdom, power, and faithfulness of the Lord. These are best observed by the evident proofs we have--that He is near to support us under trouble, and that He can and does deliver us out of it.

Likewise, many of our graces cannot thrive or manifest themselves, without trials--such as resignation, patience, meekness and long-suffering. Strength of grace is not ordinarily acquired by those who sit still and live at ease.

Afflictions do us good likewise, as they make us more acquainted with what is in our own hearts, and thereby promote humiliation and self-abasement. There are abominations which, like nests of vipers, lie so quietly within our hearts, that we hardly suspect they are there--until the rod of affliction rouses them! Then they hiss and spit their venom! This discovery is indeed very distressing--yet, until it is made, we are prone to think ourselves much less vile than we really are, and cannot so heartily abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes.

I must write a sermon rather than a letter--if I would enumerate all the good fruits which, by the power of sanctifying grace, are produced from this bitter tree of affliction!

While we have such a depraved nature, and live in such a polluted world; while the roots of pride, vanity, self-dependence and self-seeking, are so strong within us--we need a variety of sharp afflictions to keep us from cleaving to the dust!

"Before I was afflicted I went astray--but now I obey Your Word." Psalm 119:67

He Does As He Pleases!

2009-05-22T09:55:00.001-07:00

(by Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God)

"For the Lord Almighty has purposed--and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out--and who can turn it back?" Isaiah 14:27

To say that God is sovereign, is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth--so that none can . . .
defeat His counsels,
thwart His purpose,
or resist His will.

Whatever takes place in time--is but the outworking of that which He has decreed in eternity.

The sovereignty of the God of Scripture, is . . .
absolute,
irresistible
and infinite!

We insist that God does . . .
as He pleases,
only as He pleases,
always as He pleases!

"But our God is in the heavens--He has done whatever He has pleased!" Psalm 115:3

"The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths!" Psalm 135:6

"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: What have you done?" Daniel 4:35

If Left to Yourself, You'd Never Come

2009-05-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

(by Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God)

"You will not come to Me--that you might have life." John 5:40

"No one can come to Me--unless the Father who sent Me draws him." John 6:44

Why is it, that no one can come to Christ unless he is 'drawn'? The answer is, Because his wicked heart loves sin--and hates Christ! The heart of the every man is so "desperately wicked" that if he is left to himself--he will never come to Christ!

For the sinner to come to Christ that he might have life, is for him . . .
to realize the awful danger of his situation;
to see that the sword of Divine justice is suspended over his head;
to awaken to the fact that there is but a step between him and death, and that after death is the 'judgment'! And in consequence of this discovery, to earnestly strive . . .
to flee from the wrath to come,
to cry unto God for mercy, and
to agonize to enter in at the 'strait gate'!

To come to Christ for life, is for the sinner . . .
to feel and acknowledge that he is utterly destitute of any claim upon God's favor;
to see himself as 'without strength,' lost and undone;
to admit that he is deserving of nothing but eternal wrath, thus taking side with God against himself;
to cast himself into the dust before God, and humbly sue for Divine mercy.

To come to Christ for life, is for the sinner . . .
to abandon his own righteousness;
to disown his own wisdom--and be guided by Jesus;
to repudiate his own will--and be ruled by Jesus;
to unreservedly receive the Lord Jesus as his Savior and Lord, as his All in all.

Such, in part and in brief, is what is implied and involved in "coming to Christ." But is the sinner willing to take such an attitude before God? No! For in the first place, he does not realize the danger of his situation, and in consequence makes no earnest attempt to escape. Instead, men are for the most part at ease, and whenever they are disturbed by the alarms of conscience or the dispensations of providence, they flee to any other refuge but Christ!

They will not acknowledge that all their 'good works' are as filthy rags but, like the Pharisee, will thank God they are not as bad as other heinous sinners.

They are not ready to receive Christ as their Lord--for they are unwilling to part with their idols! They had rather hazard their soul's eternal welfare--than give them up!

Hence we say that, if left to himself, the natural man is so depraved at heart--that he has no moral and spiritual ability to come to Christ!

"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God!" Romans 8:7, 8

A Radical Transformation

2009-05-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

(by Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God)

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

In the new birth, God exerts a quickening influence or power upon His own elect. Regeneration is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears because of some temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf--but is the inception and reception of a new life! It is no mere reformation, but a radical transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle--the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!

In the new birth:

God lays hold of one who is spiritually dead--and quickens him into newness of life!

God takes up one who was shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin--and conforms him to the image of His Son!

God seizes a drudge of the Devil--and makes him a member of His holy family!

God picks up a destitute beggar--and makes him joint-heir with Christ!

God comes to one who is full of enmity against Him--and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him!

God stoops to one who by nature is a rebel--and works in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure!

By His irresistible power, God transforms . . .
a sinner--into a saint;
an enemy--into His friend,
a drudge of the Devil--into His beloved child!

Are You Pressed by Want?

2009-05-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

(a quote taken from John Flavel's On Keeping the Heart)

"When Luther began to be pressed by want, he said, 'Let us be contented with our hard fare; for do not we feast upon Christ, the bread of life?' 'Blessed be God (said Paul) who hath abounded to us in all spiritual blessings.'"

Psalm 119

2009-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

by Isaac Watts
PSALM 119 PART 12
C. M.

Breathing after comfort and deliverance.

ver. 153, 39, 116, 122, 135, 82, 132

My God, consider my distress,
Let mercy plead my cause;
Though I have sinned against thy grace,
I can't forget thy laws.

Forbid, forbid the sharp reproach
Which I so justly fear;
Uphold my life, uphold my hopes,
Not let my shame appear.

Be thou a surety, Lord, for me,
Nor let the proud oppress;
But make thy waiting servant see
The shinings of thy face.

My eyes with expectation fail,
My heart within me cries,
"When will the Lord his truth fulfil,
And make my comforts rise?"

Look down upon my sorrows, Lord,
And show thy grace the same
As thou art ever wont t' afford
To those that love thy name.

Of God's Decree Part 2

2009-05-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

1689 London Confession of Faith

CHAP. III

Of God's Decree

2. Although God knoweth whatsoever may, or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions; yet hath he not decreed anything, because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

Of God's Decree Part 1

2009-05-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

CHAP. III.
Of God's Decree.

1. God hath decreed in himself from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin, nor hath fellowship with any therein, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty, or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather, established, in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power, and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree.

Affliction and Contentment

2009-04-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

(a quote by John Flavel, On Keeping the Heart)

"Affliction is a pill, which, being wrapped up in patience and quiet submission, may be easily swallowed; but discontent chews the pill, and so embitters the soul. God throws away some comfort which he saw would hurt you, and you will throw away your peace after it; he shoots an arrow which sticks in your clothes, and was never intended to hurt, but only to drive you from sin, and you will thrust it deeper, to the piercing of your very heart, by despondency and discontent."

Go Beyond Contentment

2009-04-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

(a quote by C. H. Spurgeon)

"Contentment should be natural to those who are born of the Spirit of God; yea, we ought to go beyond contentment, and cry, 'Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits.'"

God Moves In A Mysterious Way

2009-04-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

(a hymn by William Cowper)

(Light shining out of darkness)

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the LORD by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
GOD is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

The Wisdom Of God In The Formation Of Man

2009-04-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

PSALM 139
(a hymn by Isaac Watts)

When I with pleasing wonder stand,
And all my frame survey,
Lord, 'tis thy work I own thy hand
Thus built my humble clay.

Thy hand my heart and reins possessed
Where unborn nature grew;
Thy wisdom all my features traced,
And all my members drew.

Thine eye with nicest care surveyed
The growth of every part;
Till the whole scheme thy thoughts had laid
Was copied by thy art.

Heav'n, earth, and sea, and fire, and wind,
Show me thy wondrous skill
But I review myself, and find
Diviner wonders still.

Thy aweful glories round me shine,
My flesh proclaims thy praise;
Lord, to thy works of nature join
Thy miracles of grace.

Do Not Think Lightly Of Sin

2009-03-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'Sin . . . exceeding sinful.'-Romans 7:13

Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, 'Is it not a little one?' Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: 'We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent.' So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be 'exceeding sinful.'

Trials Are Part Of Our Lot

2009-03-10T09:40:00.001-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.'-Acts 14:22

God's people have their trials. It was never designed by God, when He chose His people, that they should be an untried people. They were chosen in the furnace of affliction; they were never chosen to worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of mortality was never promised them; but when their Lord drew up the charter of privileges, He included chastisements amongst the things to which they should inevitably be heirs. Trials are a part of our lot; they were predestinated for us in Christ's last legacy. So surely as the stars are fashioned by his hands, and their orbits fixed by Him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: He has ordained their season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us. Good men must never expect to escape troubles; if they do, they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them. Mark the patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his trials, and by his faith under them, he became the 'Father of the faithful.' Note well the biographies of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and you shall discover none of those whom God made vessels of mercy, who were not made to pass through the fire of affliction. It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should be engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the royal mark whereby the King's vessels of honour are distinguished. But although tribulation is thus the path of God's children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has traversed it before them; they have His presence and sympathy to cheer them, His grace to support them, and His example to teach them how to endure; and when they reach 'the kingdom,' it will more than make amends for the 'much tribulation' through which they passed to enter it.

Regeneration: A Supernatural Work

2009-03-08T11:44:00.001-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'Ye must be born again.'-John 3:7

Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are 'born again,' for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it-the being 'born again,' is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. 'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.' Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been 'born again,' your acknowledgment will be, 'O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, Thou art my spiritual Parent; unless Thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day 'dead in trespasses and sins.' My heavenly life is wholly derived from Thee, to Thee I ascribe it. 'My life is hid with Christ in God.' It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.' May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.

Made Poor In Spirit

2009-03-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

(by Arthur Pink, Unworthiness 1940)

GRACE is favor shown to the undeserving and ill-deserving.

When Divine grace bestows salvation upon the ill-deserving, it makes them conscious of the infinite favor that has been shown them. Fallen man is naturally proud, self-complacent, and self-righteous.

But wherever the miracle of regenerating grace is wrought--all this is reversed. Its subject is stripped of his peacock feathers, made poor in spirit, and humbled into the dust before God. He is made painfully aware of the loathsome plague of his heart, given a sight of his vileness in the light of God's holiness, and brought to realize that he is a spiritual pauper, dependent upon Divine charity. He now readily acknowledges that he is a Hell-deserving sinner.

"I am not worthy of the least of all Your mercies and unfailing love, which You have shown to me, Your servant" (Genesis 32:10). This is the confession made by all who are the recipients of the saving grace of God. Whenever a miracle of saving grace is wrought in the heart--pride is subdued, self is effaced, and a sense of ill-desert takes possession of the heart.

One of the elements of great faith--is deep humility. "For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not worthy to be called an Apostle" (1 Cor. 15:9). "I am less than the least of all saints" (Eph. 3:8). What complete self-abasement! The most eminent Christians--are always the most lowly ones; those most honored in Christ's service--are deeply conscious of their unprofitableness.

Keep Yourself Awake!

2009-03-05T09:30:00.001-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'Let us not sleep, as do others.'-1 Thessalonians 5:6

There are many ways of promoting Christian wakefulness. Among the rest, let me strongly advise Christians to converse together concerning the ways of the Lord. Christian and Hopeful, as they journeyed towards the Celestial City, said to themselves, 'To prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse.' Christian enquired, 'Brother, where shall we begin?' And Hopeful answered, 'Where God began with us.' Then Christian sang this song-

'When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither,

And hear how these two pilgrims talk together;

Yea, let them learn of them, in any wise,

Thus to keep open their drowsy slumb'ring eyes.

Saints' fellowship, if it be managed well,

Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell.'

Christians who isolate themselves and walk alone, are very liable to grow drowsy. Hold Christian company, and you will be kept wakeful by it, and refreshed and encouraged to make quicker progress in the road to heaven. But as you thus take 'sweet counsel' with others in the ways of God, take care that the theme of your converse is the Lord Jesus. Let the eye of faith be constantly looking unto Him; let your heart be full of Him; let your lips speak of His worth. Friend, live near to the cross, and thou wilt not sleep. Labour to impress thyself with a deep sense of the value of the place to which thou art going. If thou rememberest that thou art going to heaven, thou wilt not sleep on the road. If thou thinkest that hell is behind thee, and the devil pursuing thee, thou wilt not loiter. Would the manslayer sleep with the avenger of blood behind him, and the city of refuge before him? Christian, wilt thou sleep whilst the pearly gates are open-the songs of angels waiting for thee to join them-a crown of gold ready for thy brow? Ah! no; in holy fellowship continue to watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.

He Has Been Sufficient

2009-03-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'My grace is sufficient for thee.'-2 Corinthians 12:9

If none of God's saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say, 'Still will I trust in the Lord,' or when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honour it reflects on the gospel. God's grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring-that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace. There is a lighthouse out at sea: it is a calm night-I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm; the tempest must rage about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit's work: if it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we should not know that it was true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we should not know how firm and secure it was. The master-works of God are those men who stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable,-

'Calm mid the bewildering cry,

Confident of victory.'

He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it-hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end.

He Is My Habitation

2009-02-27T09:43:00.001-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'Thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation.'-Psalm 91:9

The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar stayed its motion, the tents were pitched; but tomorrow, ere the morning sun had risen, the trumpet sounded, the ark was in motion, and the fiery, cloudy pillar was leading the way through the narrow defiles of the mountain, up the hillside, or along the arid waste of the wilderness. They had scarcely time to rest a little before they heard the sound of 'Away! this is not your rest; you must still be onward journeying towards Canaan!' They were never long in one place. Even wells and palm trees could not detain them. Yet they had an abiding home in their God, His cloudy pillar was their roof-tree, and its flame by night their household fire. They must go onward from place to place, continually changing, never having time to settle, and to say, 'Now we are secure; in this place we shall dwell.' 'Yet,' says Moses, 'though we are always changing, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.' The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich to-day and poor to-morrow; he may be sickly to-day and well to-morrow; he may be in happiness to-day, to-morrow he may be distressed-but there is no change with regard to his relationship to God. If He loved me yesterday, He loves me to-day. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Let prospects be blighted; let hopes be blasted; let joy be withered; let mildews destroy everything; I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is 'my strong habitation whereunto I can continually resort.' I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation.

Psalm 36:5-12

2009-02-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

Psalm 36:5-12

5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise.

A Letter From Jonathan Edwards To His Daughter

2009-02-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

(A letter from Jonathan Edwards, to his daughter, Mary)

My dear child,
You may well think it is natural for a parent to be concerned for a child at so great a distance away, so far out of view, and so far out of the reach of communication; where, if you should be stricken with any dangerous sickness, which should issue in death--you might probably be in your grave before we would hear of your danger. But yet, my greatest concern is not for your health, or temporal welfare--but for the good of your soul.

Though you are at so great a distance from us--yet God is everywhere. You are much out of the reach of our care--but you are in His hands every moment! We have not the comfort of seeing you--but He sees you! His eye is always upon you. And if you may but live sensibly near to God, and have His gracious presence, it is no great matter if you are far distant from us. I had rather you should remain hundreds of miles distant from us--and have God near to you--than to have you always with us, and live at a distance from God.

And if the next news we would hear of you, would be of your death, though that would be very sad; yet, if at the same time we had the best grounds to hope, that you had died in the Lord--how much more comfortable would this be to us--than if you died without the grace and favor of God!

It is comfortable to have the presence of earthly friends, especially in sickness, and on a death-bed; but the great thing is to have God as our friend, and to be united to Christ, who can never die--and from whom our own death cannot separate us.

My desire and daily prayer is, that you may meet with God where you are, and have much of His divine influences on your heart, wherever you may be; and that, in God's due time, you may be returned to us again, in prosperous circumstances in your soul.

I hope that you will maintain a strict and constant watch over yourself, against all temptations, that you do not forsake or forget God; and particularly, that you do not grow slack in secret piety. Retire often from this vain world, from all its bubbles and empty shadows, and vain amusements; and converse with God alone. Seek for that Divine grace and comfort--the least drop of which is worth more than all the riches, gaiety, pleasures, and entertainments of the whole world!

May you be sensible of your dependence on the care and kindness of God--and of the vanity of all human helps. May you seek His face, to trust in Him, and walk closely with Him. Commending you to the care and special favor of our heavenly Father,

Your very affectionate father,
Jonathan Edwards, July 26, 1749
Northampton, Massachusetts

Salvation Is Of The Lord

2009-02-26T09:31:00.001-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'Salvation is of the Lord.'-Jonah 2:9

Salvation is the work of God. It is He alone who quickens the soul 'dead in trespasses and sins,' and it is He also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both 'Alpha and Omega.' 'Salvation is of the Lord.' If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; if I have graces, they are God's gifts to me; if I hold on in a consistent life, it is because He upholds me with His hand. I do nothing whatever towards my own preservation, except what God Himself first does in me. Whatever I have, all my goodness is of the Lord alone. Wherein I sin, that is my own; but wherein I act rightly, that is of God, wholly and completely. If I have repulsed a spiritual enemy, the Lord's strength nerved my arm. Do I live before men a consecrated life? It is not I, but Christ who liveth in me. Am I sanctified? I did not cleanse myself: God's Holy Spirit sanctifies me. Am I weaned from the world? I am weaned by God's chastisements sanctified to my good. Do I grow in knowledge? The great Instructor teaches me. All my jewels were fashioned by heavenly art. I find in God all that I want; but I find in myself nothing but sin and misery. 'He only is my rock and my salvation.' Do I feed on the Word? That Word would be no food for me unless the Lord made it food for my soul, and helped me to feed upon it. Do I live on the manna which comes down from heaven? What is that manna but Jesus Christ himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink? Am I continually receiving fresh increase of strength? Where do I gather my might? My help cometh from heaven's hills: without Jesus I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in Him. What Jonah learned in the great deep, let me learn this morning in my closet: 'Salvation is of the Lord.'

A Puritan Prayer

2009-02-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

(A Puritan Prayer)

Blessed Lord Jesus,
Before Your cross I kneel and see . . .
the heinousness of my sin,
my iniquity that caused You to be made a curse,
the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.

Show me the enormity of my guilt by . . .
Your crown of thorns,
Your pierced hands and feet,
Your bruised body,
Your dying cries.

Infinite must be the evil and guilt--
which demands such a price! Sin is . . .
my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
born in my birth,
alive in my life,
strong in my character,
dominating my faculties,
following me as a shadow,
intermingling with my every thought,
the chain which holds my soul captive.

Sinner that I am, why should . . .
the sun give me light,
the air supply breath,
the earth bear my tread,
its fruits nourish me,
its creatures serve my needs?

Yet Your compassion yearns over me,
Your heart hastens to my rescue,
Your love endured my curse,
Your mercy bore my deserved stripes.

Let me walk humbly . . .
in the lowest depths of humiliation,
bathed in Your blood,
tender of conscience,
triumphing gloriously, as an heir of salvation.

A Sermon Which Peter Never Forgot

2009-02-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

(by J. C. Ryle, The Gospel of Luke 1858)

See the infinite mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"At that moment the Lord turned and
looked straight at Peter." Luke 22:61

There was a deep meaning in that look.

It was a sermon which Peter never forgot.

The love of Christ toward His people, is a deep
well which has no bottom! Let us never measure
it by comparison with any kind of love of man or
woman. It exceeds all other love--as far as the
sun exceeds the candle light. There is about it
a mine of compassion, and patience, and readiness
to forgive sin--of whose riches we have but a faint
conception.

Let us not be afraid to trust that love--when we
first feel our sins. No man need despair, however
far he may have fallen, if he will only repent and
turn to Christ. If the heart of Jesus was so gracious
when He was a prisoner in the judgment hall--we
surely need not think it is less gracious, when He
sits in glory at the right hand of the Father!

God's Sovereign Election

2009-02-20T09:48:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, The God of Jacob)

"Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works, but by Him who calls--she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved--but Esau I hated.'" Romans 9:10-13

Jacob supplies us with the clearest and most unmistakable illustration of God's sovereign election to be met with in all the Bible. The case of Jacob gives the most emphatic refutation to the theory that God's choice is dependent upon something in the creature--something either actual or foreseen--and shows that the eternal election of certain individuals unto salvation--is due to no worthiness in the subjects--but results solely from God's sovereign grace. The case of Jacob proves conclusively, that God's choice is . . .
entirely sovereign,
wholly gratuitous, and
based upon nothing but His own good pleasure.

The God of Scripture then, is the God who chooses one--and passes by another. He is the One who exercises and exhibits His own sovereign will. He is one who shows Himself to be the Most High God, ruling in heaven and earth and disposing of His creatures according to His own eternal purpose. He is the One who singles out the most unlikely and unworthy objects--to be fashioned into vessels of glory. Yet, He is the One who necessarily always acts in harmony with His own divine perfections.

Election is not as some have supposed--harsh and unjust--but is a most merciful provision on the part of God. Had He not from the beginning, chosen SOME to salvation--ALL would have perished! Had he not before the foundation of the world chosen certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son--the death of Christ would have been in vain, so far as the human race is concerned!

Reduced to its simplest terms, ELECTION means that God chose me--before I chose Him. Our Lord said, "You have not chosen Me--but I have chosen you." (John 15:16) We love Him--because He first loved us. Election means that before I was born, yes, before the foundation of the world--I was chosen in Christ and predestined unto a place in God's family! Election means that we believed--because He made us willing in the day of His power. Election then,
strips the creature of all merit,
removes all ground of boasting,
strikes us helpless in the dust,
and ascribes all the glory to God!

Coming To Christ

2009-02-11T09:36:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, The Call of Christ)

"Come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden--and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

What did our Lord here signify, when He bade all the weary and heavy laden to come unto Him?

It is quite evident that coming to Christ is something more than a physical act. Coming to Christ in the sense He here invited, is a going out of the soul after Him, a desire for Him, a seeking after Him, a personal embracing of and trusting in Him. It is the heart turning from the love of sin--to the love of holiness; from SELF--to the Savior!

A saving coming to Christ denotes a turning our backs upon the world--and turning our hearts unto Him as our only Hope and Portion. It is the abandoning of every idol--and the surrendering of ourselves to His Lordship. It is the repudiation of our own righteousness and every dependency, and the heart going out to Him in loving submission and trustful confidence. It is the entire going out of SELF with all its resolutions and performances, to cast ourselves upon His grace and mercy. It is the will yielding itself up to His authority to be molded by Him, and to follow Him wherever He may lead.

In short, coming to Christ is the whole soul of a guilty and self-condemned sinner--turning unto a whole Christ, in the exercise of all our facilities, responding to His claims upon us, prepared to unreservedly trust, sincerely love, and devotedly serve Him.

Rest For The Soul

2009-02-05T09:38:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, The Rest of Christ)

"Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden--and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"I will give you rest." What a claim to make! To impart rest of soul to another, lies beyond the power of the most exalted creature. Neither Confucius, Buddha, nor Mohammed ever made such a claim as this!

As Christ is the only One who can bestow rest of soul--so there is no true rest to be found apart from Him. The creature cannot impart it. The world cannot communicate it. We ourselves cannot, by any efforts of our own, manufacture it. One of the most pathetic sights in this world, is to behold the unregenerate, vainly seeking happiness and contentment in the things of time and sense--and finding that these are all broken cisterns which can hold no water. They are like the poor woman mentioned in Mark 5:26, who "had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better--she grew worse!"

What is the nature of this "rest" which Christ gives to all who truly come to Him? It is a spiritual rest, a satisfying rest, "rest for the soul" as the Savior declares later in this passage. It is such a rest as this world can neither give--nor take away.

It is a rest from that vain and wearisome quest, which engages and absorbs the sinner, before the Spirit of God opens his eyes to see his folly--and moves him to seek after the true riches. It is indeed pitiful--to behold those who are made for eternity--wasting their time and energies wandering from object to object, searching for that which cannot satisfy them--only to be vexed by repeated and incessant disappointments. And thus it is with all--until they come to Christ, for He has written over all the pursuits and pleasures of this world, "Whoever drinks of this water--shall thirst again!" (John 4:13)

Forcibly was that fact exemplified by the case of Solomon, who was provided with everything which the carnal heart could desire, and who gratified his lusts to the full, only to find that, "Behold, all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind!" (Eccl. 1:14). It is from this vexation of spirit, that Christ delivers His people, for He declares "whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him--shall never thirst!" (John 4:14)

The Perfect Righteousness of Christ

2009-02-04T09:58:00.001-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

'The Lord our Righteousness.'-Jeremiah 23:6

It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace, to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ. How often are the saints of God downcast and sad! I do not think they ought to be. I do not think they would if they could always see their perfection in Christ. There are some who are always talking about corruption, and the depravity of the heart, and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not go a little further, and remember that we are 'perfect in Christ Jesus.' It is no wonder that those who are dwelling upon their own corruption should wear such downcast looks; but surely if we call to mind that 'Christ is made unto us righteousness,' we shall be of good cheer. What though distresses afflict me, though Satan assault me, though there may be many things to be experienced before I get to heaven, those are done for me in the covenant of divine grace; there is nothing wanting in my Lord, Christ hath done it all. On the cross He said, 'It is finished!' and if it be finished, then am I complete in Him, and can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 'Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.' You will not find on this side heaven a holier people than those who receive into their hearts the doctrine of Christ's righteousness. When the believer says, 'I live on Christ alone; I rest on Him solely for salvation; and I believe that, however unworthy, I am still saved in Jesus;' then there rises up as a motive of gratitude this thought- 'Shall I not live to Christ? Shall I not love Him and serve Him, seeing that I am saved by His merits?' 'The love of Christ constraineth us,' 'that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto Him which died for them.' If saved by imputed righteousness, we shall greatly value imparted righteousness.

Psalm 71:14-19

2009-02-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Psalm 71:14-19

14 But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.

16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.

19 Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?

That You May Put The Precepts Into Practice

2009-01-22T10:00:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, Bible Study)

"Desire the sincere milk of the Word--that you may grow thereby." 1 Peter 2:2

The Bible consists of a series of letters from the Heavenly Father, to His dear children. Then let us cherish them as such, and act accordingly. A few verses that are thoughtfully and prayerfully pondered, will advantage us far more than two or three whole chapters, merely skimmed through.

That against which we are protesting--is the God-dishonoring idea that His Word is merely a piece of literature, which may be "mastered" by a course of "study." We would warn against an undue occupation with the technical aspects of the Bible. God's blessed Word is not for dissection by the knife of cold intellectuality. It is not given for us to display our cleverness and "brilliance" upon--but to be bowed before in true humility. It is not designed for mental entertainment--but for the regulation of our daily lives!

Our motive when approaching the Word, should be to seek that which will subdue pride and bring us as supplicants to the footstool of Mercy--not to acquire that which will puff us up in our own conceit. Of what value is a knowledge of the original Hebrew and Greek--or a thorough acquaintance with the history, geography, and chronology of the Bible--if the heart is left cold and hard toward its Author!

I seriously doubt if God has called or requires us, merely to 'study' His Word. What we need to do, is FEED thereon. How much nourishment would your body derive from a study of the chemical properties of foods--or from seeking to ascertain the various sorts of soil in which they are grown--or the meaning of their Latin names? None whatever! And I am persuaded that much of the modern 'study of the Bible' is equally profitless spiritually!

By all means, "search the Scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11); slowly ponder each word in every verse. Pray constantly for the guidance and illumination of the Spirit, that He may open to you its Divine mysteries. Above all, beg God to write His Word more legibly and fully upon the tablets of your heart--that you may put the precepts into practice.

"Nourished up in the Words of Faith" (1 Timothy 4:6). God's Word is the only nutritive food for the soul! This is why the Holy Scriptures are given to us--that we may grow in love and reverence for them, and be more and more regulated by them. It is only by feeding on this Heavenly Manna, that strength is obtained for our pilgrim walk, for our warfare with sin and Satan, and for our service unto God and our fellows.

Jesus Is Mighty To Save!

2009-01-15T09:38:00.001-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

"Mighty to save."
--Isaiah 63:1

By the words "to save" we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parro: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only "mighty to save" those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by "the Mighty God." The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in his fear and love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ's might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is "mighty to save." You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is "mighty to save;" the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy!

A Jewel More Worth Than a World

2009-01-15T09:33:00.001-08:00

(by Thomas Brooks, The Hypocrite Detected)

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
Ephesians 5:16

Time is a jewel more worth than a world!

Time is not yours to dispose of as you please; it is
a glorious talent, which men must be accountable
for--as well as any other talent. Of all talents, time
is the hardest to improve well. Ah, beloved, have
not you need to improve your time--who have
much work to do, in so short a time:
your souls to save,
a God to honor,
a Christ to exalt,
a hell to escape,
a race to run,
a crown to win,
temptations to withstand,
corruptions to conquer,
afflictions to bear,
mercies to improve, and
your generation to serve!

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we
may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

What Is Most Needed Today

2009-01-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, Eternal Punishment)

It is the deepening conviction of the writer,
that what is most needed today, is a wide
proclamation of those truths which are the
least acceptable to the flesh.

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting
forth of the character of God--
His absolute sovereignty,
His ineffable holiness,
His inflexible justice,
His unchanging veracity.

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting
forth of the condition of the natural man--
his total depravity,
his spiritual insensibility,
his inveterate hostility to God,
the fact that he is "condemned already"
and that the wrath of a sin-hating God
is even now abiding upon him!

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting
forth of the alarming danger which sinners
are in--the indescribably awful doom which
awaits them, the fact that if they follow their
present course only a little further--they shall
most certainly suffer the due penalty of their
iniquities!

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting
forth of the nature of that dreadful punishment
which awaits the lost--
the awfulness of it,
the hopelessness of it,
the unendurableness of it,
the endlessness of it!
Excepting the Cross of Christ, nothing else
so manifests the heinousness of sin--as the
doctrine of eternal punishment.

It is just because these truths have been
withheld so much from public ministry to
the saints--that we now find so many
backboneless, sentimental, lop-sided
Christians in our assemblies!

A clearer vision of the awe-inspiring attributes
of God--would banish much of our levity and
irreverence.

A better understanding of our depravity by
nature--would humble us, and make us see
our deep need of using the appointed means
of grace.

A facing of the alarming danger of the lost
sinner--would cause us to "consider our ways"
and make us more diligent to make our "calling
and election sure."

A realization of the unspeakable misery which
awaits the lost (and which each of us fully merited)
would immeasurably deepen our gratitude, and bring
us to thank God more fervently--that we have been
snatched as brands from the burning, and delivered
from the wrath to come! It would also make us far
more earnest in our prayers--as we supplicate God
on behalf of the unsaved.

There Is One Who Careth For You

2009-01-15T09:25:00.001-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional)

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."
--1 Peter 5:7

It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel--"HE careth for me." Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to Him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to

"Lie passive in God's hands, And know no will but His."

O child of suffering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. There is One who careth for you. His eye is fixed on you, His heart beats with pity for your woe, and his hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning. He, if thou art one of His family, will bind up thy wounds, and heal thy broken heart. Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! have done with fretful care, and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God.

God Disciplines Us For Our Good

2009-01-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

(The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod
or, The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes,
by Thomas Brooks, 1659, London.)

"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and
punishes every son whom He receives."
Hebrews 12:6

"Why should any living man complain--when
punished for his sins?" Lamentations 3:39

He who has deserved a hanging--has no
reason to charge the judge with cruelty--if
he escapes with a whipping!

And we who have deserved a damning--have
no reason to charge God for being too severe
--if we escape with a fatherly lashing!

"God disciplines us for our good---that we
may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

The Golden Idol Is But Clay After All!

2009-01-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, A Fourfold Salvation, 1938)

God delivers us from the love and pollution of sin--by bitter disappointments. God has plainly warned us of the vanity of all earthly pursuits. "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11) This was written by one who was permitted to gratify the physical senses as no other ever has. Yet we do not take this warning to heart, for we do not really believe it. On the contrary, we persuade ourselves that satisfaction is to be found in things under the sun--that the creature can give contentment to our hearts. As well attempt to fill a circle with a square! The heart was made for God--and He alone can meet its needs. But by nature we are idolaters, putting things in His place. Those things we invest with pleasing qualities which they do not possess, and sooner or later our delusions are rudely exposed to us, and we discover that the pleasing images in our minds are only dreams--that the golden idol is but clay after all!

God may so order His providences, that our earthly nest is destroyed. The winds of adversity compel us to leave the downy bed of carnal ease and luxury. Grievous losses are experienced in some form or other. Trusted friends prove fickle, and in the hour of need fail us. The family circle, which had so long sheltered us and where peace and happiness were found, is broken up by the grim hand of death. Health fails, and weary nights are our portion. These trying experiences, these bitter disappointments, are another of the means which our gracious God employs to save us from the love and pollution of sin. By them, He reveals to us the vanity and vexation of the creature. By them, He weans us more completely from the world. By them, He teaches us that the objects in which we sought satisfaction, are but "broken cisterns," --that we may turn to Christ and draw from Him who is the living water, the One who alone can supply true satisfaction of soul.

The Helm is in His Hand

2009-01-07T09:49:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, Divine Providence)

"How countless are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures! Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number--living things both large and small. All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time. When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust!" Psalm 104:24, 25, 27-29

The providence of God is His care of and provision which He makes for His creatures; with His supervision and superintendence of them. The providence of God in His government of the world is a subject of deep importance to the Christian, for by proper views thereof, he will learn to see God's activities--in the daily works of His hands. Yet, though Christians assent to this truth, nevertheless they are prone to overlook it in exercise, and thereby to be deprived in great measure of that poise of mind and comfort of heart, which a deep and constant improvement of this doctrine is calculated to impart.

Nothing is more strengthening to faith, stabilizing to the mind, and tranquilizing to the heart of a Christian--than for him to be enabled to discern his Father's hand guiding, shaping, and controlling everything which enters his life; and not only so, but that He is also governing this world, and all people and events in it. Alas, we are living in an age of terrible skepticism, when most of what happens is attributed to natural causes, while God is more and more banished from the world, in the consideration of His creatures. It is not only a fact that God governs the world in a general sense, but He also regulates all its affairs, and controls all creatures in it, "working all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11).

God is not troubled by anything that is now taking place in His world--either in its political, social, or religious sphere; nor should we be troubled. The helm is still in His hand; and Satan himself cannot so much as touch a hair of our heads, without His direct permission.

"We ought to see the hand of God in the most trifling things. Nothing is so small as to be below His attention! Nothing is too great for His Providence to effect!" ~Carson

Free Grace

2009-01-07T09:40:00.001-08:00

(by Thomas Brooks, A Cabinet of Choice Jewels, 1669)

"It is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:5

All the links of the golden chain of salvation are
made up of free grace! The people of God are . . .
freely loved, Deuteronomy 7:6-8;
freely chosen, John 15:16-19, Ephesians 1:4;
freely accepted, Ephesians 1:6;
freely adopted, Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5-6;
freely reconciled, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20;
freely justified, Romans 3:24;
freely saved, Ephesians 2:5, 8.

Free grace is the foundation of all spiritual and eternal
mercies. Free grace is the solid bottom and foundation
of all a Christian's comfort in this world. Were we to
measure the love of God to us by . . .
our fruitfulness,
our holiness,
our humbleness,
our spiritualness,
our heavenly-mindedness, or
our gracious behavior towards Him
--how would our hope and our confidence be
every moment staggered--if not vanquished!

But all is of grace--of free grace! O sirs! it is free grace . . .
which will strengthen you in all your duties,
which will sweeten all your mercies,
which will support you under all your changes,
which will arm you against all temptations!

"For it is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:8

The Devil's Delusion

2009-01-07T09:38:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, Another Gospel)

"If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:3

Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers through hiding the light of the Gospel of Christ, and he does this by substituting his own gospel. Appropriately he designated, "that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray!" (Revelation 12:9)

The gospel of Satan is not a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war--but aims at peace and unity. It does not seek to drag down the natural man--but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation, and appeals to the "best that is within us." It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world--that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence; and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts--that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

The gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God, on the ground of human merits. It is a bloodless gospel, and presents a crossless Christ, who is received merely, as the Ideal Man.

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers--but are for the most part ordained ministers! Their message may sound very plausible, and their aim appear very praiseworthy--yet we read of them, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

In Proverbs 14:12 we read, "There is a way that seems right to a man--but in the end it leads to death." This "way" which ends in "death" is the Devil's Delusion--the gospel of Satan--a way of salvation by human attainment. It is a way which "seems right," that is to say, it is presented in such a plausible way that it appeals to the natural man. It is set forth in such a subtle and attractive manner, that it commends itself to the minds of its hearers. By virtue of the fact that it appropriates to itself religious terminology, sometimes appeals to the Bible for its support (whenever this suits its purpose), holds up before men lofty ideals, and is proclaimed by those who have graduated from our theological institutions, countless multitudes are decoyed and deceived by it!

It as been said with considerable truth, that the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. There will be many in the Lake of Fire who lived with good intentions, honest resolutions and exalted ideals; who were just in their dealings and charitable in all their ways; men who prided themselves in their integrity--but who sought to justify themselves before God by their own righteousness; men who were moral and kind--but who never saw themselves as guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinners, needing a Savior. Such is the way which "seems right." Such is the way that commends itself to the carnal mind and recommends itself to multitudes of deluded ones today. The Devil's Delusion is that we can be saved by our own works, and justified by our own deeds!

"He saved us--not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy." Titus 3:5

Do Not Expect a Smooth and Easy Path!

2009-01-07T09:34:00.001-08:00

(by Arthur Pink, David's Flight)

Prosperity is often a mixed blessing, and adversity is far from being an unmixed calamity!

Alternating spiritual prosperity and adversity, is the lot of God's people on this earth. All is not unclouded sunshine with them--nor is it unrelieved gloom and storm. There is a mingling of both:
joys--and sorrows;
victories--and defeats;
assistance from friends--and injuries from foes;
smiles from the Lord's countenance--and the hidings of His face.

By such changes, opportunities are afforded for the development and exercise of different graces, so that we may, in our measure, "know how to be abased--and how to abound . . . both to be full--and to be empty" (Phil. 4:12). But above all, that we may, amid varying circumstances, prove the unchanging faithfulness of God--and His sufficiency to supply our every need.

Ah, my reader, if you are one of God's elect--do not expect a smooth and easy path through this earthly wilderness--but be prepared for varying circumstances and drastic changes. The Christian's resting place is not in this world, for "here have we no continuing city" (Hebrews 13:14). The Christian is a "pilgrim," on a journey; he is a "soldier," called on to fight the good fight of faith. The more this is realized, the less keen will be the disappointment, when our ease is disturbed, and our outward peace harshly broken in upon.

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and if 'troubles' do not come to us in one form--they most certainly will in another! If we really appropriate this promise--then we shall not be so staggered when afflictions come upon us. It is written that, "it is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22), and therefore we should make up our minds to expect the same, and to "not to think it strange" (1 Peter 4:12) when we are called upon to pass through "the fiery trial." Affliction, tribulation, and fiery trial--are a times, our portion here on earth.

Changing circumstances afford opportunity for the development and exercise of different graces. Some graces are of the active and aggressive kind--while others are of a passive order, requiring quite another setting for their display. Some of the traits which mark the soldier on a battlefield, would be altogether out of place were he languishing on a bed of sickness. Both spiritual joy and godly sorrow--are equally beautiful in their season.

As there are certain vegetables, fruits, and flowers which cannot be grown in lands which are unvisited by nipping winds and biting frosts--so there are some fruits of the Spirit which are only produced in the soil of severe trials, troubles and tribulations!

Rend Our Hearts

2008-12-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

"Rend your heart, and not your garments."
--Joel 2:13

Garment-rendering and other outward signs of religious emotion, are easily manifested and are frequently hypocritical; but to feel true repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Men will attend to the most multiplied and minute ceremonial regulations--for such things are pleasing to the flesh--but true religion is too humbling, too heart-searching, too thorough for the tastes of the carnal men; they prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly. Outward observances are temporarily comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self- righteousness is puffed up: but they are ultimately delusive, for in the article of death, and at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than ceremonies and rituals to lean upon. Apart from vital godliness all religion is utterly vain; offered without a sincere heart, every form of worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of heaven.
HEART-RENDING is divinely wrought and solemnly felt. It is a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form, but as a deep, soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of and believed in, but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the living God. It is powerfully humiliating, and completely sin-purging; but then it is sweetly preparative for those gracious consolations which proud unhumbled spirits are unable to receive; and it is distinctly discriminating, for it belongs to the elect of God, and to them alone.
The text commands us to rend our hearts, but they are naturally hard as marble: how, then, can this be done? We must take them to Calvary: a dying Saviour's voice rent the rocks once, and it is as powerful now. O blessed Spirit, let us hear the death-cries of Jesus, and our hearts shall be rent even as men rend their vestures in the day of lamentation.

He Remembers Even the Sparrows

2008-12-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

"The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."
--Proverbs 16:33

If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the a simple casting of a lot is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire life--especially when we are told by our blessed Saviour: "The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father." It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are serving himself. If you would "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ's business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying "providing" work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether He will let you starve while He has laid up so great an abundance in His garner? Look at His heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at His inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while He pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If He remembers even sparrows, will He forget one of the least of His poor children? "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved."

My soul, rest happy in thy low estate,

Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great;

To take the impress of the Will Divine,

Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.

Are You Fearless of Falling?

2008-12-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

(by William Secker, The Consistent Christian, 1660)

"Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22

He who now gives way to the least sin--may yet be given up to the greatest sins. We are never far enough from lust--while we are on earth; or near enough to Christ--while we are out of heaven. O, stand far off from the devil's mark--unless you would be hit by his arrows!

The drawing near to the appearance of evil--is the first step to the accomplishment of the most enormous evil. A spark--will easily catch a box of tinder on fire. Little streams--will find a passage to the great sea. Christian reader! Why should you venture on slippery places--when you can scarcely stand upon the firmest ground? Who will pity that man whose house is blown up with gun-powder--if he stores it in the chimney corner?

Such is the monstrous wickedness of men, that though the streams and currents of their own lusts carry them too swiftly already--yet they hoist up sails to catch the devil's winds!

The fowler spreads his net--but the wings of the bird carry her into it! If you would not step into the harlot's house--you should not go by the harlot's door! If you would not gather the forbidden fruit--then beware how you look on the luscious tree!

To pray against temptations, and yet to rush into occasions to sin--is to thrust your fingers into the fire--and then pray that they might not be burnt! If you hold the stirrup for him--no wonder if Satan get into the saddle!

"Watch and pray--so that you will not fall into temptation." Matthew 26:41. That man who is the most watchful--is the least sinful. A soul without its watch--is like a city without its wall, exposed to the attack of all its enemies!

Those who would not fall into the river--should beware how they approach too near to its banks. He who crushes the egg--need not fear the biting of the serpent. He who would not drink of the wine of divine wrath--let him not touch the cup of sinful pleasure.

A person who carries gun-powder with him--can never stand too far from the fire. If we accompany sin one mile--it will compel us to go two. Sin swells like Elijah's cloud, from the size of a man's hand to such an expansion, as to cover the whole sky.

"Let him who thinks he stands--take heed, lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12. You will quickly lose your standing--if you are fearless of falling.

Leave the Result to God

2008-12-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

"Do what you do right thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God."
~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A Little Gift Goes a Long Way...Home

2008-12-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

by Cathy Steere

Imagine it is the middle of summer and it is unbelievably hot. Your neighbors, away at work for the day, have left the remodeling construction project to the hired contractors. Truck engines roar from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The bulldozer grinds and plows its path outside your open window. The heat smothers you, the endless pounding and noise make you feel like your head will explode any minute, and, on top of all of this, your other neighbor left his barking dog outside for the day while he's gone. The rumble of the trucks wages competition with the bark of the dog. Both truck and dog seem determined to win the sound war. Even the most patient person, I'm guessing, would find himself becoming just a bit edgy by the end of the day. Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever experienced the feeling that if something doesn't give, and give immediately, you will surely go mad? When you live with a child who has autism many of your days can easily push you to feel this way.

While each child who has autism is very different from the other, one common feature, or symptom, they share is that of obsessive and compulsive type behaviors. When our son, Drew, was very young, he would obsess that the cupboard doors stayed closed, that his toy cars got lined up just so, and that the pillows on the sofa were placed in a particular way. When any thing was not "right" in his universe, well, we all had to endure a major frustration tantrum. Like the maddening state of mind that an incessant bark of a neighbor's dog, and the unrelenting noise of a dump truck outside your window, would create, so, too, would living day to day with a child who has obsessions.

Over the years, however, by the grace and mercy of God, our son has made great strides in development. The feeling of intense bondage in those early years with our son has subsided. And while he no longer obsesses over ceiling fans and his rocking horse, he maintains his obsessiveness in different ways. One of those ways is in his undying appetite for the game of baseball. The good thing about this obsession is that it appears quite normal for a boy going on eleven years. He has a baseball fact book which he sleeps with, and he loves to spew forth fact upon fact about baseball players in history. He knows by memory, players' stats, birth dates, wins, losses, teams played on, and even the dates of their deaths. He listens to the games on the radio and follows any baseball news in print. The ironic part is that Drew, with his low muscle tone and proprioception problems, runs slowly and isn't very coordinated. Physically, he just wouldn't make the team.

Every year our church gathers for a picnic on Labor Day. After we eat, the men form teams and play a game of baseball while the rest of us look on. Before last summer Drew had no interest in the game; the baseball obsession had not yet hit. He didn't understand the game and would sit with me on my blanket and simply endure it until it was time to go home. Last summer was different. He couldn't wait for the picnic. It was all about the game.

My husband, David, whispered something to one of the men and I watched the man nod. David approached us and held the bat out to Drew.

"You wanna play?" he asked.

Drew eagerly reached for the bat, and rose, "Sure!"

They headed for home plate. Drew took his place, raised the bat, turned and squinted at the pitcher. After several pitches, the bat and ball actually made contact. The ball dropped to the ground and rolled a few feet. Drew was so astonished he just stood there until he heard me cry, "RUN!" This jarred him to gently set the bat at his feet and take off to first base. He ran awkwardly, as though he were running waist-deep in water. And though he had not been blessed with an athletic form or build, he was blessed with a church that loved him.

After a brief pause the crowd now became involved and joined me to yell, "RUN TO SECOND!" So Drew ran. Somehow he flit past the opposing team players as they threw the ball to each other, dropping it, chasing it, and tossing it back and forth, with nobody managing to tag Drew out. As he rounded third base, all yelled, "GO HOME!" GO ON TO HOME PLATE!" He ran. He ran with all of his might. He made it home. The crowd went wild. He had never been happier, and for me, the noise of "dogs and trucks" had, for the moment, been silenced by cheers. He had scored a home run...well, at least he believed he had. He was so completely giddy he jumped one of his gleeful lemur leaps over home plate.

What Drew did not realize was that he had not really earned that home run. It had been a gift to him from the entire group of men. The men, all worthy ball players, purposely fumbled and bumbled with the ball long enough to bring a hoping boy to his dream.

In Drew's constant chatter about baseball, he tells me his plans for the future. He thinks he will "choose" the New York Yankees team to play on. I just smile at him not having the heart to tell him that isn't the way it works. But, with a lifetime of the brethren in Christ making the time to encourage him, and those like him, on his way and taking the trouble to create in him, a boy who struggles with nearly everything he tries in life, a sense of success, who knows, he just might.

(This article was written in the summer of 2003)

Serve God Today!

2008-12-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." (Ec 9:10)

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do", refers to works that are possible. There are many things which our heart findeth to do which we never shall do. It is well it is in our heart; but if we would be eminently useful, we must not be content with forming schemes in our heart, and talking of them; we must practically carry out "whatsoever our hand findeth to do." One good deed is worth more than a thousand brilliant theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities, or for a different kind of work, but do just the things we "find to do" day by day. We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavour now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do"do it with thy might." Do it promptly; do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow as if that could recompense for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we honour Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do today. Whatever you do for Christ throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labour, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve him, do it with heart, and soul, and strength.

But where is the might of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lieth in the Lord of Hosts. Then let us seek his help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our "hand findeth to do", let us wait upon the Lord for his blessing. What we do thus will be well done, and will not fail in its effect

Knowledge and Good Works

2008-12-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

(by William Secker, The Consistent Christian 1660)

"If you know these things--you are blessed if you do them." John 13:17

To obey the truth, and not to know it--is impossible.
To know the truth, and not obey it--is unprofitable.

For, "Not everyone who says unto me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven--but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Saving knowledge is not as the light of the moon--to sleep by; but as the light of the sun--to work by. It is not a loiterer in the market-place--but a laborer in the vineyard.

A man may be a great scholar--and yet be a great sinner. Judas the traitor--was Judas the preacher! The snake which has a pearl in its head--has poison in its body! The tree of knowledge has often been planted, and flourished--where the tree of life never grew! All abilities and gifts--without grace and holiness--are but like Uriah's letters, which were the death warrants of those who carried them!

Mere head knowledge will be as unhelpful to the soul, in the judgment day--as a painted fire is unhelpful to the frozen body, in a cold day. Theoretical knowledge may make the head giddy--but it will never make the heart holy. How many professors are there, who have light enough to know what should be done--but have not love enough to do what they know! Give me the Christian who perfectly sees the way he should go--and readily goes the way he sees!

That is barren ground--which brings forth no fruit. "To him who knows to do good, and does it not--to him it is sin." The sins of ignorance are most numerous--but the sins of knowledge are most dangerous! That sinner's darkness will be the greatest in hell--whose light was the clearest on earth!

There are many who set a crown of glory upon the head of Christ by a good profession, and yet put a crown of thorns upon his head by an evil conversation. By the words of our mouth--we may affect to adore religion; but it is by the works of our lives--that we adorn religion.

As trees without fruits are unprofitable--so knowledge without good works is abominable! Leah and Rachel are fit emblems of knowledge and obedience. Knowledge, like Rachel--is beautiful. But obedience, like Leah--is fruitful.

To God be the Glory

2008-12-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'To whom be glory for ever. Amen'-Romans 11:36

'To whom be glory for ever.' This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and tributary to this one. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this-'To Him be glory for ever.' He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that 'To Him may be glory for ever.' You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord's glory. As a Christian, you are 'of God, and through God,' then live 'to God.' Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to Him. Let this ambition fire your soul; be this the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your zeal would grow chill; make God your only object. Depend upon it, where self begins sorrow begins; but if God be my supreme delight and only object,

'To me 'tis equal whether love ordain

My life or death-appoint me ease or pain.'

Let your desire for God's glory be a growing desire. You blessed Him in your youth, do not be content with such praises as you gave Him then. Has God prospered you in business? Give Him more as He has given you more. Has God given you experience? Praise Him by stronger faith than you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been restored from sickness, and has your sorrow been turned into peace and joy? Then give Him more music; put more coals and more sweet frankincense into the censer of your praise. Practically in your life give Him honour, putting the 'Amen' to this doxology to your great and gracious Lord, by your own individual service and increasing holiness.

Walk in Him

2008-11-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'So walk ye in Him.'-Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ Himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate acquaintance with Him by a walk of faith in Him. Walking implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, 'He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ.' Walking signifies progress. 'So walk ye in Him'; proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with Him, treading in His steps and doing His will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man's walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenour of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget Him; sometimes call Him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in Him. We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him. 'As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him'; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same till life's end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

Refined in the Furnace of Suffering

2008-11-14T09:51:00.001-08:00

(by William Secker, The Consistent Christian 1660)

Sin is pleasant--but unprofitable.
Affliction is unpleasant--but profitable.

By affliction, the Lord separates the sin that He hates--from the soul that He loves. He sends affliction--to take the dirt of the world out of the hearts of His children! "Before I was afflicted I went astray--but now I keep Your word!" Psalm 119:67

As waters are purest, when they are in motion--so saints are generally holiest, when in affliction. Some Christians resemble those doltish children, who will learn their lessons--no longer than while the rod is on their backs! In the greatest affliction--the Lord has sealed the sweetest instruction, "It was good for me to be afflicted--so that I could learn Your statutes!" Psalm 119:71

Many Christians are not bettered by the judgments they see--when they have bettered by the judgments they have felt. The gold is refined--by being in the furnace! Likewise, with the Christian, "I have refined you in the furnace of suffering!" Isaiah 48:10

The Free Grace of God!

2008-11-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

(Letters of John Newton)

"By the grace of God I am what I am!"
1 Corinthians 15:10

The true Christian is sensible and mindful of
indwelling sin. He confesses that in everything
he comes exceedingly short, and that his best
services are not only defective--but defiled. He
accounts himself as an unprofitable servant--and
is abased in his own eyes. He knows that all that
distinguishes him from the vilest of men--is the
free grace of God!

He derives all his hope and comfort, as well as his
strength--from Jesus, whom he has known, received
and loved, and to whom he has committed his soul.
He renounces all confidence in the flesh, and esteems
all things as loss--compared to the surpassing greatness
of knowing Jesus Christ his Lord, for whose sake he has
lost all things--considering them rubbish, that he may
gain Christ!

This Wretched State of Sin and Temptation

2008-11-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

(Letters of John Newton)

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death!" Romans 7:24

Though we can fall of ourselves--we cannot rise without God's help! Indeed, every sin, in its own nature, has a tendency towards a final apostasy! By our repeated slips and falls into sin, we gain a more emphatic conviction of our own vileness and depravity; and we experimentally learn and feel our own weakness.

In His own time, Jesus returns to convince, humble, pardon, comfort and renew the soul. We begin at length to learn that we are nothing, have nothing, call do nothing--but sin! And thus we are gradually prepared to live more outside of ourselves--and to derive all our sufficiency of every kind from Jesus, the fountain of all grace. We learn to tread more warily; to trust less to our own strength; to have lower thoughts of ourselves, and higher thoughts of Jesus!

This wretched state of sin and temptation, makes the thoughts of death and eternity desirable. Then this conflict shall cease! Then I shall sin and wander no more, shall see Him as he is, and be like Him forever!

Murmuring, Dissatisfaction, and Discontent

2008-11-04T15:23:00.001-08:00

(by J. C. Ryle, Be Content 1885)

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with such things as you have, because God has said--Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

These words are very simple. A little child might easily understand them. They contain no high doctrine; they involve no deep metaphysical question; and yet, as simple as they are--the duty which these words enjoin on us, is of highest practical importance to all Christians.

Contentment is one of the rarest graces. Like all precious things--it is most uncommon. To practice contentment, is very hard. To talk of contentment in the day of health and prosperity is easy enough; but to be content in the midst of poverty, sickness, trouble, disappointments, and losses--is a state of mind to which very few can attain!

The fallen angels had heaven itself to dwell in, and the immediate presence and favor of God--but they were not content. Adam and Eve had the garden of Eden to live in, with a free grant of everything in it excepting one tree--but they were not content. Ahab had his throne and kingdom, but so long as Naboth's vineyard was not his--he was not content. Haman was the chief favorite of the Persian king--but so long as Mordecai sat at the gate--he was not content.

It is just the same everywhere in the present day. Murmuring, dissatisfaction, discontent with what we have, meet us at every turn. To say, with Jacob, "I have enough," seems flatly contrary to the grain of human nature. To say, "I want more," seems the mother tongue of every child of Adam.

Paul's direction ought to come with power to all our consciences: "Be content with such things as you have," not with such things as you once used to have--not with such things as you hope to have--but with such things as you now have. With such things, whatever they may be--we are to be content. With such a dwelling, such a family, such health, such income, such work, such circumstances as we now have--we are to be content.

Ah! reader, if you would be truly happy--seek it where alone it can be found. Seek it not in money, seek it not in pleasure, nor in friends, nor in learning. Seek it in having a will in perfect harmony with the will of God. Seek it in studying to be content.

You may say, that is fine talking--but how can we be always content in such a world? I answer, that you need to cast away your pride, and know your deserts, in order to be thankful in any condition. If men really knew that they deserve nothing, and are debtors to God's mercy every day--they would soon cease to complain.

Let me tell you why there is so little contentment in the world. The simple answer is, because there is so little grace, and true godliness. Few know their own sin; few feel their desert; and so few are content with such things as they have. Humility, self-knowledge, a clear sight of our own utter vileness and corruption; these are the true roots of contentment.

Let me tell you--what you should do, if you would be content. You must know your own heart, seek God for your portion, take Christ for your Savior, and use God's Word for your daily food. Contentment must be learned at the feet of Jesus Christ. He who has God for his friend, and heaven for his home--can wait for his good things, and be content with little here below.

Why Does the Lord Afflict His People?

2008-10-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant?'-Numbers 11:11

Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord's faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father's countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,' is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His people, which are His own handiwork. When 'tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope,' the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified? There are many other comfortable answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse upon it all day long.

Grow in Your Knowledge of God

2008-10-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'The people that do know their God shall be strong.'-Daniel 11:32

Every believer understands that to know God is the highest and best form of knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the Christian. It strengthens his faith. Believers are constantly spoken of in the Scriptures as being persons who are enlightened and taught of the Lord; they are said to 'have an unction from the Holy One,' and it is the Spirit's peculiar office to lead them into all truth, and all this for the increase and the fostering of their faith. Knowledge strengthens love, as well as faith. Knowledge opens the door, and then through that door we see our Saviour. Or, to use another similitude, knowledge paints the portrait of Jesus, and when we see that portrait then we love Him, we cannot love a Christ whom we do not know, at least, in some degree. If we know but little of the excellences of Jesus, what He has done for us, and what He is doing now, we cannot love Him much; but the more we know Him, the more we shall love Him. Knowledge also strengthens hope. How can we hope for a thing if we do not know of its existence? Hope may be the telescope, but till we receive instruction, our ignorance stands in the front of the glass, and we can see nothing whatever; knowledge removes the interposing object, and when we look through the bright optic glass we discern the glory to be revealed, and anticipate it with joyous confidence. Knowledge supplies us reasons for patience. How shall we have patience unless we know something of the sympathy of Christ, and understand the good which is to come out of the correction which our heavenly Father sends us? Nor is there one single grace of the Christian which, under God, will not be fostered and brought to perfection by holy knowledge. How important, then, is it that we should grow not only in grace, but in the 'knowledge' of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

In the Furnace of Affliction

2008-10-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, Living Without Worry)

Sooner or later, affliction and sorrow come to every Christian. We ought, therefore, to have true views about pain, about the divine reasons for sending it, and about the mission on which it comes. We ought to know, also, how to endure suffering so as to get from it the blessing, which its hot hand brings to us.

While they do not solve all the mystery of human suffering, the Scriptures show, at least, that suffering is no accident in God's world--but is one of His messengers; and that it comes not as an enemy--but as a friend on an errand of blessing. The design of God, in all the afflictions which He sends upon His people--is to make them more holy, to advance their purification of character.

It is very clearly taught in the Word of God, that suffering is necessary in preparing sinful souls in this world, for heavenly glory. "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." There is no easy way to glory. There is so much evil in us, even after we are born again, that nothing less than the discipline of pain, can cleanse our nature.

Tribulation is God's threshing, not to harm us or to destroy us--but to separate what is heavenly and spiritual in us--from what is earthly and fleshly. Nothing less than blows of pain will do this. Evil clings strongly, even to the godly. The golden wheat of godliness is so wrapped up in the strong chaff of the flesh--that only the heavy flail of suffering can produce the separation. Godly character can never be attained, but through suffering. Holiness cannot be reached, without cost. Those who would gain the lofty heights--must climb the cold, rough steeps which lead to them.

It is God's design, in all the pain which He sends--to make us more Christlike. His puts us in the fire of purification, until His own image shines reflected in the gold! His prunings mean greater fruitfulness. In whatever form the suffering comes--the purpose of the pain is merciful. In all our life in this world, God is purifying us--and suffering is one of the chief agents which He employs.

"We also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope." Romans 5:3-4. Suffering develops in us, qualities of Christian character, which cannot be developed in any other way.

But not all afflictions make people better. They do not always produce endurance. Chastening does not always yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. We all have seen people suffering--who became only more impatient, irritable, ill-tempered, and selfish--as they suffered. Many a life in the furnace of affliction, loses all the beauty it ever had. It is not by any means universally true--that we are made more holy and Christlike, by pain.

Afflictions must be received as God's messengers. They often come in very somber garb, and it is only when we receive them in faith, that they disclose to us their merciful aspect and mission.

We should therefore receive afflictions reverently, as sent from God. We may be assured that there is always some blessing for us, in pain's hot hand. There is some golden fruit, wrapped up in the rough husk. God designs to burn off some sins from us, in every fire through which He calls us to pass. No one who murmurs under God's chastening hand, is ever made better by it.

The true aim of suffering is to get from it--
more purity of soul,
greater revelations of God's face,
more love to Christ,
deeper joy in the heart,
holier living, and
fresh strength for obedience and all duty.

Repentance

2008-10-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'Godly sorrow worketh repentance.'-2 Corinthians 7:10

Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature's garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature's thorns never produced a single fig. 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.'

True repentance has a distinct reference to the Saviour. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross, or it will be better still if we fix both our eyes upon Christ and see our transgressions only, in the light of His love.

True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally-as a burnt child dreads fire. We shall be as much afraid of it, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway; and we shall shun it-shun it in everything-not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great snakes. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against Him.

Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This dropping well is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time, but this dear sorrow grows with our growth, and it is so sweet a bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter our eternal rest.

Though he meant well, I sure hope he's wrong!

2008-09-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Yippee! My package finally arrived!

I ripped open the box and immediately tried on the contents.

Bummer.

Boots, too big. Pants, too big.

Elliot: "Don't worry, Mom, you'll grow into them."

Me: "Hmm, do you think so?" (He actually thinks he's making me feel better!)

Elliot: "Sure you will," he assures me.

Not quite what I wanted to hear...But I know he meant well.

He's a dear.

Never Cease to Pray for Them!

2008-09-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

'Bring him unto me.'-Mark 9:19

Despairingly the poor disappointed father turned away from the disciples to their Master. His son was in the worst possible condition, and all means had failed, but the miserable child was soon delivered from the evil one when the parent in faith obeyed the Lord Jesus' word, 'Bring him unto me.' Children are a precious gift from God, but much anxiety comes with them. They may be a great joy or a great bitterness to their parents; they may be filled with the Spirit of God, or possessed with the spirit of evil. In all cases, the Word of God gives us one receipt for the curing of all their ills, 'Bring him unto me.' O for more agonizing prayer on their behalf while they are yet babes! Sin is there, let our prayers begin to attack it. Our cries for our offspring should precede those cries which betoken their actual advent into a world of sin. In the days of their youth we shall see sad tokens of that dumb and deaf spirit which will neither pray aright, nor hear the voice of God in the soul, but Jesus still commands, 'Bring them unto me.' When they are grown up they may wallow in sin and foam with enmity against God; then when our hearts are breaking we should remember the great Physician's words, 'Bring them unto me.' Never must we cease to pray until they cease to breathe. No case is hopeless while Jesus lives.

The Lord sometimes suffers His people to be driven into a corner that they may experimentally know how necessary He is to them. Ungodly children, when they show us our own powerlessness against the depravity of their hearts, drive us to flee to the strong for strength, and this is a great blessing to us. Whatever our morning's need may be, let it like a strong current bear us to the ocean of divine love. Jesus can soon remove our sorrow, He delights to comfort us. Let us hasten to Him while He waits to meet us.

The Purpose of God for Our LIfe

2008-09-16T16:55:00.001-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, Garden of the Heart 1906)

We should get it settled in our minds, that the purpose of God for our life on earth, is to have us grow into Christ's image. We are not in this world merely to accomplish a certain amount of work--but to be fashioned into strength and beauty of character. If we would always remember this, we would not be perplexed so often by the mysteries of our lives.

If joy is ours--it is to make us better and a greater blessing to others.

If sorrow is ours--it is to purify us and bring out some line of Christ's image in us more clearly.

If our hopes are disappointed--it is because God has some better things for us, than that which we so earnestly desired.

If we are called to endure pain--it is because the best in us can be called out only by pain.

If bereavement comes and we are left without the strong human arm we have leaned upon heretofore--it is because there are elements of strength in our life, which never could be developed unless the human supports were taken away.

If our burdens are heavy--it is because we grow best under burdens.

If we are wronged by others--it is to teach us better, the great lessons of patience and sweet temper.

If our circumstances are uncongenial and our condition hard--it is that we may be disciplined into self-control, and may learn to be content in whatever state we are in.

The Master is always teaching us new lessons, making us into the beauty of the pattern He has set for us, and preparing us for greater usefulness and better service.

He Loves Us to the Uttermost

2008-09-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, The Every Day of Life 1892)

"Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end!" John 13:1

Jesus takes us as we are, and does not get weary of us--whatever faults and sins He discovers in us. There is infinite comfort in this for us. We are conscious of our faults, blemishes and infirmities; and the unworthiness and the unloveliness which is in our souls. Many of us have pages in our biography, which we would not dare to spread out before the eyes of anyone!

There are in our inner heart--feelings, desires, longings, cravings, jealousies, motives--which we would not feel secure in laying bare to our dearest, truest, and most patient and gentle friend. Yet Christ knows them all. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. To Him there is perfect revealing of the innermost springs of our being. Yet we need not be afraid that His friendship for us will change, or grow less, or withdraw itself--when He discovers repulsive things in us. Yet He loves us--loves unto the uttermost! Christ loves us not according to our worthiness--but according to the richness of His own gracious heart!

"May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should--how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!" Ephesians 3:18-19

The Lord Trieth the Righteous

2008-09-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

The Lord trieth the righteous.-Psalm 11:5

All events are under the control of Providence; consequently all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the great First Cause. Out of the golden gate of God's ordinance the armies of trial march forth in array, clad in their iron armour, and armed with weapons of war. All providences are doors to trial. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may be drowned in seas of prosperity as well as in rivers of affliction. Our mountains are not too high, and our valleys are not too low for temptations: trials lurk on all roads. Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset and surrounded with dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening cloud; every drop has its order ere it hastens to the earth. The trials which come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our graces, and so at once to illustrate the power of divine grace, to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their energy. Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened. You would never have possessed the precious faith which now supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold upon the precious truths of the covenant grace. Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich towards God.

Shine as Lights in the World

2008-09-05T17:25:00.001-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.'-Philippians 2:15

We use lights to make manifest. A Christian man should so shine in his life, that a person could not live with him a week without knowing the gospel. His conversation should be such that all who are about him should clearly perceive whose he is, and whom he serves; and should see the image of Jesus reflected in his daily actions. Lights are intended for guidance. We are to help those around us who are in the dark. We are to hold forth to them the Word of life. We are to point sinners to the Saviour, and the weary to a divine resting-place. Men sometimes read their Bibles, and fail to understand them; we should be ready, like Philip, to instruct the inquirer in the meaning of God's Word, the way of salvation, and the life of godliness. Lights are also used for warning. On our rocks and shoals a light-house is sure to be erected. Christian men should know that there are many false lights shown everywhere in the world, and therefore the right light is needed. The wreckers of Satan are always abroad, tempting the ungodly to sin under the name of pleasure; they hoist the wrong light, be it ours to put up the true light upon every dangerous rock, to point out every sin, and tell what it leads to, that so we may be clear of the blood of all men, shining as lights in the world. Lights also have a very cheering influence, and so have Christians. A Christian ought to be a comforter, with kind words on his lips, and sympathy in his heart; he should carry sunshine wherever he goes, and diffuse happiness around him.

Gracious Spirit dwell with me;

I myself would gracious be,

And with words that help and heal

Would thy life in mine reveal,

And with actions bold and meek

Would for Christ my Saviour speak.

How I Taught My Child to Read for Less Than $1

2008-09-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

http://crosswalk.com/homeschool/11581097

by Cathy Steere
Contributing Writer

Did you know that the Puritans’ primary objective in teaching their children to read was so that they could read the Bible? Many learned to read using the Bible as their only text!

Compare that to the myriad of reading/phonics curricula available to today’s homeschooling parent. If you’ve been to a homeschool convention, you know what I’m talking about—our options are quite overwhelming! And yet, with all the fancy, well-packaged, and well-researched (not to mention well-priced) methods available to teach our children to read, some parents still find it a frustrating and seemingly hopeless endeavor.

If you are looking for a method that works, or if you happen to have a special needs learner, as I do, then I have some good news for you. I want to share what I did to help both of my boys (one with autism and the other a neurotypical learner) learn to read. The same method worked for both, and the best news is that it was virtually free! The only cost was for a black marker and some white index cards. My motto is “simplicity with consistency.”

My oldest son wasn’t diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum until he was nearly 4 years old. I had a special needs child and didn’t even know it! The amazing thing was that I had already taught him to read by the time we found out about his challenges. I mention this only to show that it wasn’t because we were super-smart or wise about teaching an autistic child, or because we had an extraordinary plan mapped out for our special learner—it just happened in a natural progression. I wish I could say that I taught my son to read using the Bible alone, but that wasn’t the case.

Before we had children, we heard Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, do a radio interview on a Christian show. He inspired me so much that I picked up his book. He cites a report entitled Becoming a Nation of Readers which stated, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” For this, and for many other reasons he gives, we determined to make reading aloud to our children paramount. We had no idea the importance this activity would have for our son, who, we would later learn, had autism.

I began reading to him several times every day when he was only an infant, propping him up in his baby seat next to me. By the time he was a couple years old, we were spending several hours a day with picture books. It wasn’t until years later that I learned how much this had benefited him. He heard language and associated it with visual cues. Two of the best things he learned, however, were the character lessons of self-control and attentiveness. We all know that if our children can’t or won’t be attentive, their learning, no matter what we are trying to teach them, will be hindered. Reading aloud was the foundation for teaching our son to read.

Because of the regular dose of picture books in our son’s life, learning the alphabet came completely naturally to him. Our son couldn’t talk to us back then, but that didn’t stop us from showing him the letters of the alphabet along with the pictures that went with them. One day, when he was only 2 years old, he sat on the floor, surrounded by library books, pointing to the letters of the alphabet and whispering them to himself. I’m sure he had no idea what they meant or what they were for, but the daily input of this information was captured in his head.

Later, a friend loaned me the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, by Engelmann, Haddox, and Bruner. (Check it out from your local library). Now, before you roll your eyes and say, “But I already tried that and it didn’t work!” let me tell you how we used it. We did not use it the way it was intended to be used. We did not do the handwriting part of the program, we did not labor over each lesson for 20 minutes a day of sitting, and we did not use the book itself for the stories until much later.

What I did do was make flashcards of all of the sounds the book uses. In the front of the book is a list of the 44 letters and blends used in the book, along with a pronunciation guide. I made my letters and blends exactly how they appeared in the book, using a black marker on white index cards.

For five minutes, several times throughout the day, I would show a few of the cards to my son. I pointed to the letter/blend and said the sound. That’s it. I didn’t test him or grill him or make it a deep, serious, “I’m teaching you to read” session. It was just as natural as it had been when he “got” the names of all the letters of the alphabet. We were taking it in tiny baby steps by adding the sounds. It took just one month for him to memorize the list of sounds associated with the letters/blends. I knew when he was ready to move on when I would point to the card without saying anything, and Drew, on his own, would “fill in the blank.”

Next, after I was positive he had all of the letter sounds memorized, I made flashcards of the words used in the book. I wrote them in the exact style the book shows. Decoding a word clicked rapidly for him—it was the natural, next step up. I added new cards to our stack every day.

The key wasn’t so much in the book or method we used: It was in our attitude about the whole thing. Remember, my motto was to keep it simple and repetitive/consistent. I didn’t make it a big deal, I didn’t push him, and I didn’t get upset when he didn’t “get it.” I simply kept giving him short doses of decoding throughout the day. Lots and lots of pure, clean (free of extraneous visual and auditory information) input. I did the decoding in front of him, showing him how to do it over and over in short, quick sessions, until it clicked for him.

My “method” was ultra-simple and ultra-cheap, and it worked! Today, my sons are 13 and 15 years old and are great readers, able to both decode and comprehend what is written. I continue to read aloud to them; it’s my favorite time of the day. And the blessing I get when I see my boys read the Bible makes me think I’m really not so very different from those Puritans of old.

Cathy Steere is the author of Too Wise to Be Mistaken, Too Good to Be Unkind: Christian Parents Contend With Autism, published by Grace & Truth Books (http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/)

This article was originally published in the July/Aug 2008 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more information, and to request a FREE sample issue, visit http://homeschoolenrichment.com/

That He May Dwell In Your Heart

2008-09-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.'-Ephesians 3:17

Beyond measure it is desirable that we, as believers, should have the person of Jesus constantly before us, to inflame our love towards Him, and to increase our knowledge of Him. I would to God that my readers were all entered as diligent scholars in Jesus' college, students of Corpus Christi, or the body of Christ, resolved to attain unto a good degree in the learning of the cross. But to have Jesus ever near, the heart must be full of Him, welling up with His love, even to overrunning; hence the apostle prays 'that Christ may dwell in your hearts.' See how near he would have Jesus to be! You cannot get a subject closer to you than to have it in the heart itself. 'That He may dwell'; not that He may call upon you sometimes, as a casual visitor enters into a house and tarries for a night, but that He may dwell; that Jesus may become the Lord and Tenant of your inmost being, never more to go out.

Observe the words-that He may dwell in your heart, that best room of the house of manhood; not in your thoughts alone, but in your affections; not merely in the mind's meditations, but in the heart's emotions. We should pant after love to Christ of a most abiding character, not a love that flames up and then dies out into the darkness of a few embers, but a constant flame, fed by sacred fuel, like the fire upon the altar which never went out. This cannot be accomplished except by faith. Faith must be strong, or love will not be fervent; the root of the flower must be healthy, or we cannot expect the bloom to be sweet. Faith is the lily's root, and love is the lily's bloom. Now, reader, Jesus cannot be in your heart's love except you have a firm hold of Him by your heart's faith; and, therefore, pray that you may always trust Christ in order that you may always love Him. If love be cold, be sure that faith is drooping.

No Words Can Declare

2008-08-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hymn by
John Newton
(10,10,11,11)

No words can declare,
No fancy can paint,
What rage and despair,
What hopeless complaint,
Fill Satan’s dark dwelling,
The prison beneath;
What weeping and yelling,
And gnashing of teeth!

Yet sinners will choose
This dreadful abode,
Each madly persues
The dangerous road;
Though God give them warning
They onward will go,
They answer with scorning,
And onward do go.

How sad to behold
The rich and the poor,
The young and the old,
All blindly secure!
All posting to ruin,
Refusing to stop;
Ah! think what you’re doing,
While yet there is hope!

How weak is your hand
To fight with the LORD!
How can you withstand
The edge of his sword?
What hope of escaping
For those who oppose,
When hell is wide gaping
To swallow his foes?

How oft have you dared
The Lord to his face!
Yet still you are spared
To hear of his grace;
O pray for repentance
And life–giving faith,
Before the just sentence
Consign you to death.

It is not too late
To JESUS to flee,
His mercy is great,
His pardon is free;
His blood has such virtue
For all that believe,
That nothing can hurt you,
If him you receive.

Do Not Judge!

2008-08-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, Judging Others 1894)

"Do not judge--or you too will be judged."
Matthew 7:1

It is better to have eyes for beauty--than for blemish. It is better to be able to see the roses--than the thorns. It is better to have learned to look for things to commend in others--than for things to condemn. Of course, other people have faults--and we are not blind to them. But then, we have faults of our own--and this should make us charitable!

We have a divine teaching on the subject. Our Lord Jesus said, "Do not judge--or you too will be judged." We need to understand just what the words mean. We cannot help judging others. We ought to be able to read character, and to know whether men are good or bad. As we watch men's acts--we cannot help forming opinions about them. The holier we grow, and the more like Christ--the keener will our moral judgments be. We are not bidden to shut our eyes--and to be blind to people's faults and sins.

What, then, do our Lord's words mean? It is uncharitable judgment against which He warns us. We are not to look for the evil things in others. We are not to see others through the warped glasses of prejudice and unkindly feeling. We are not to arrogate to ourselves the function of judging--as if others were answerable to us! We are to avoid a critical or censorious spirit. Nothing is said against speaking of the good in those we see and know; it is uncharitable judging and speaking, which Jesus condemns.

One reason why judging is wrong--is because it is putting one's self in God's place. He is the only Judge, with whom every human soul has to do. Judgment is not ours--but God's. "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12. In condemning and censuring others--we are thrusting ourselves into God's place, taking His scepter into our hands, and presuming to exercise one of His sole prerogatives!

Another reason for this command--is that we cannot judge others justly and fairly. We have not sufficient knowledge of them. Paul says: "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts." 1 Corinthians 4:5. Our judgments cannot be anything but faulty, partial and superficial.

Precarious, Insufficient, and Ensnaring

2008-08-21T17:25:00.001-07:00

(by John Newton)

All the temporal blessings and accommodations which
God provides to sweeten life, and make our passage
through this wilderness more agreeable--will fail and
disappoint us, and produce us more thorns than roses
--unless we can keep sight of His hand in bestowing
them, and hold and use the gifts in some due
subservience to what we owe to the Giver.

But, alas! we are poor creatures, prone to wander,
prone to admire our gourds, cleave to our cisterns,
and think of building tabernacles, and taking our
rest in this polluted world!

Hence the Lord often sees it necessary,
in mercy to His children . . .
to embitter their sweets,
to break their cisterns,
send a worm to their gourds, and
draw a dark cloud over their pleasing prospects.

His Word tells us, that all here is vanity--compared
with the light of His countenance. And if we cannot
or will not believe it upon the authority of His Word,
we must learn it by experience.

May He enable you to settle it in your hearts, that
'creature comforts' are precarious, insufficient,
and ensnaring; that all good comes from His hand;
and that nothing can do us good, but so far as He is
pleased to make it the instrument of communicating,
as a stream, that goodness which is in Him as a
fountain.

Even the bread which we eat, without the influence
of His promise and blessing, would no more support
us than a stone. But His blessing makes everything
good, gives a tenfold value to our comforts, and
greatly diminishes the weight of every cross.

Just One Little Day

2008-08-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, The Building of Character 1894)

"Give us today our daily bread." Matthew 6:11

One secret of sweet and happy Christian life--is in
learning to LIVE BY THE DAY. It is the long stretches
which tire us. We say that "we cannot carry this load
until we are eighty--or that we cannot fight this battle
continually for half a century." But really, there are no
long stretches. Life does not come to us in lifetimes; it
comes only a day at a time. Even tomorrow is never
ours--until it becomes today; and we have nothing
whatever to do with it--but to pass down to it a fair
and good inheritance in today's work well done and
today's life well lived.

It is a blessed secret--this of living by the day.

Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy--until
nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard--for
one day. Anyone can live sweetly, quietly, patiently,
lovingly, and purely--until the sun goes down. This
is all the life which we really ever have--just one
little day.

God gives us nights to shut down the curtain of
darkness on our little days. We cannot see beyond
--and we ought not to try to see beyond. Short
horizons make life easier, and give us one of the
blessed secrets of noble, happy, holy living.

We ought not to be content to live otherwise--than
beautifully. We can live our life only once. We cannot
go over life again--to correct its mistakes or amend
its faults. We ought therefore to live it well. And to
do this, we must make every day beautiful, as it
passes. Lost days must always remain blanks in the
records; and stained days must carry their stains.
Beautiful days make beautiful years, and beautiful
years make a beautiful life!

"As your days--so shall your strength be."
Deuteronomy 33:25

We Are in Debt to Everybody!

2008-08-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

(by J. R. Miller, The Building of Character 1894)

"Little children, we must not love in word or speech--but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:18

"Do not owe anyone anything--except to love one another." Romans 13:8

We are in debt to everybody! Love is a debt which never can be altogether settled. You may pay it all off today--but tomorrow you will find it as heavy as ever. It is a debt which everybody owes to everybody. Nor can it be paid off with any mere sentimental love. It cost Paul a great deal, to settle his obligations and pay his debts to others.

There is a sort of philanthropic sentiment which some people have, which does not cost them very much. But to pay his debts of love, Paul gave up all he had, and then gave himself up to service, suffering, and sacrifice to the very uttermost. True love always costs! Love's essential quality, is unselfish helpfulness, the carrying of the life with all its rich gifts and powers in such a way--that it may be a blessing to every other life which it touches.

As Christians, we owe love to everyone--and love always serves. Serving is an essential quality of love. The true standard of greatness--is service. It is not what our life is in gifts, in culture, in strength--but what we do with our life, which is the real test of character. Our Lord taught this truth when he said, "Whoever wants to become great among you--must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first--must be slave of all." Mark 10:43-44. He who serves the most fully and the most unselfishly, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Love seeks to give, to minister, to be of use, to do good to others. The true Christian desires to serve others, to minister to their comfort, to be a help and a blessing to them. It is thus, that we should relate ourselves to every person who comes within our influence. Love will lead us to ask concerning everyone who passes before us, "What can I do to help this brother of mine, to add to his happiness, to relieve his trouble, to put him in the way of holiness, to comfort his sorrow?" If this were the habitual attitude of our love, paradise would soon be restored. It would put an end to all our miserable pride, to all our petty tyrannies and despotisms.

Love works most effectively--when it works unconsciously, almost instinctively, inspired from within. That is the best service, which flows out of the heart and life--as light from the sun, as fragrance from a flower. There is no other way of paying our debt of love to others, which is so Christlike as this. We are to be to others--what Jesus would be, if He were in our place!

God's Glory

2008-08-15T17:08:00.001-07:00

(by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning/Evening Devotional)

'Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.'-Psalm 29:2

God's glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and lovely in God, that He must be glorious. The actions which flow from His character are also glorious; but while He intends that they should manifest to His creatures His goodness, and mercy, and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be given only to Himself. Nor is there aught in ourselves in which we may glory; for who maketh us to differ from another? And what have we that we did not receive from the God of all grace? Then how careful ought we to be to walk humbly before the Lord! The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall the insect of an hour glorify itself against the sun which warmed it into life? Shall the potsherd exalt itself above the man who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of the ocean struggle with the tempest? Give unto the Lord, all ye righteous, give unto the Lord glory and strength; give unto Him the honour that is due unto His name. Yet it is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the Christian life to learn this sentence-'Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name be glory.' It is a lesson which God is ever teaching us, and teaching us sometimes by most painful discipline. Let a Christian begin to boast, 'I can do all things,' without adding 'through Christ which strengtheneth me,' and before long he will have to groan, 'I can do nothing,' and bemoan himself in the dust. When we do anything for the Lord, and He is pleased to accept of our doings, let us lay our crown at His feet, and exclaim, 'Not I, but the grace of God which was with me!'

Matters To Moo About

Afterwards you will understand

Something better is given

Needful Grace

Contentment comes from within

Forsake me not, O Lord

Leave Your Cares In His Hands

He Cannot Love You More!

Prepare for it and be improved by it

The Only Refuge In Sorrow

I Know That He Has Chosen Me

Morning and Evening: Daily Readingsby C. H. Spurgeon

Because Our Father Is Caring For Us

The Smallest Trifles

For He is Able To Do All Things!

Morning and Evening: Daily Readingsby C. H. Spurgeon

A review of Rest Assured Hymns CD

The school of pain!

God's Aim In Dealing With Man

The Lord Will Sustain You

Where Real Satisfaction Is Found

Get Up, Get Busy

Walking Along the Narrow Way

Watering Others Humbles Us

It Is Done In Love

God's Trees

God rules all, governs wisely, and brings good out of evil

The eye of Divine Providence

Perfect Peace

Our Trials And God's Glory

The Secret of Being Content

Three Wonders

For Our Good

He Does As He Pleases!

If Left to Yourself, You'd Never Come

A Radical Transformation

Are You Pressed by Want?

Psalm 119

Of God's Decree Part 2

Of God's Decree Part 1

Affliction and Contentment

Go Beyond Contentment

God Moves In A Mysterious Way

The Wisdom Of God In The Formation Of Man

Do Not Think Lightly Of Sin

Trials Are Part Of Our Lot

Regeneration: A Supernatural Work

Made Poor In Spirit

Keep Yourself Awake!

He Has Been Sufficient

He Is My Habitation

Psalm 36:5-12

A Letter From Jonathan Edwards To His Daughter

Salvation Is Of The Lord

A Puritan Prayer

A Sermon Which Peter Never Forgot

God's Sovereign Election

Coming To Christ

Rest For The Soul

The Perfect Righteousness of Christ

Psalm 71:14-19

That You May Put The Precepts Into Practice

Jesus Is Mighty To Save!

A Jewel More Worth Than a World

What Is Most Needed Today

There Is One Who Careth For You

God Disciplines Us For Our Good

The Golden Idol Is But Clay After All!

The Helm is in His Hand

Free Grace

The Devil's Delusion

Do Not Expect a Smooth and Easy Path!

Rend Our Hearts

He Remembers Even the Sparrows

Are You Fearless of Falling?

Leave the Result to God

A Little Gift Goes a Long Way...Home

Serve God Today!

Knowledge and Good Works

To God be the Glory

Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon

Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon