The following is taken from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening:
"Do not be content with forming schemes and talking of them. One good deed is worth a thousand theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities or for a different kind of work, but do the things we find to do day by day. We have no other time in which to live; past is gone, future not arrived. We never have any time but the present.
Serve God! Do it with all your might. Do it promptly. Do not fritter away your life in thinking what you intend to do tomorrow as if that would recompense for the idleness of today. No man served God by doing things tomorrow. Do it today with heart, soul and strength.
And remember, your might is not in yourself. NO, you are perfect weakness. Your might is in the Lord of hosts. Seed His help. Then wait in prayer and faith for His blessing. Only then will what we do be well done and not fail in its effect."
And adding to this, I recently went to the funeral of a young man and this was said of him: It was not a big work that he did, but it was the everyday details of life lived well that made him great. One man wrote of him: "he did not seek to impress but by his very life that is exactly what he did."
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Refuge in the Name
"But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people, and they will take refuge in the name of the LORD." Zephaniah 3:12
Prayers of the Puritans are humbling at best. I've been reading "Valley of Vision" in my devotion time recently and have written down some excerpts that go along with the above passage:
"No comfort in anything apart from enjoying thee and being engaged in thy service. I rejoice to think that all things are at thy disposal and it delights me to leave them there."
"When thou art present, evil cannot abide; in thy fellowship is fullness of joy, beneath thy smile is peace of conscience, by thy side no fears disturb, no apprehensions banish rest of mind."
"Thou art all good in times of peace, my only support in days of trouble, my one sufficiency when life shall end."
Let us take refuge in the name of the LORD.
Prayers of the Puritans are humbling at best. I've been reading "Valley of Vision" in my devotion time recently and have written down some excerpts that go along with the above passage:
"No comfort in anything apart from enjoying thee and being engaged in thy service. I rejoice to think that all things are at thy disposal and it delights me to leave them there."
"When thou art present, evil cannot abide; in thy fellowship is fullness of joy, beneath thy smile is peace of conscience, by thy side no fears disturb, no apprehensions banish rest of mind."
"Thou art all good in times of peace, my only support in days of trouble, my one sufficiency when life shall end."
Let us take refuge in the name of the LORD.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Christian Contest
Sometimes I fear, we as believers forget about Jesus and begin competing for a holiness we have learned but forgot why. Daily, and I do mean daily, we MUST meditate on Jesus. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. We would not even understand the Bible apart from Him. Don't think you have any holiness to boast of that He has not put there. We are not in a contest, a Christian competition! We are in love with a Savior who has bought us with His own blood, has called us by His own grace and will keep us by His own power. If we don't love Him, then back we must go to the beginning to seek Him.
Spurgeon said, "He did not shed His precious blood to make you a hypocrite." "You will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
Spurgeon said, "He did not shed His precious blood to make you a hypocrite." "You will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
Perform the Word
I thought the following verses would be a good start to 2014. They are from 2 Chronicles written about King Josiah, who became king at the age of eight. I know there are a multiplicity of scriptures to use to start off a new year but this just happens to be what I'm teaching this week.
"He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of this father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left." Several years later, God said this about him, "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you." And last but not least, "Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book."
So, in a nutshell: Do right in God's sight. Stay the course. Be tender-hearted and humble. Weep over sin. Walk hard after God to keep His Word with all your heart and soul. Perform the words. [I really like that: "PERFORM THE WORDS" (34:31)]
Happy New Year! May we grow in love with our Savior. May He become more and we become less. May we be fruitful, may we bear much fruit.
"He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of this father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left." Several years later, God said this about him, "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you." And last but not least, "Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book."
So, in a nutshell: Do right in God's sight. Stay the course. Be tender-hearted and humble. Weep over sin. Walk hard after God to keep His Word with all your heart and soul. Perform the words. [I really like that: "PERFORM THE WORDS" (34:31)]
Happy New Year! May we grow in love with our Savior. May He become more and we become less. May we be fruitful, may we bear much fruit.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
"Smoldering Firebrands"
In Isaiah, chapter seven, God speaks through Isaiah to King Ahaz. God is trying to encourage Ahaz to trust Him. In this one chapter, God seemingly bends over backwards to wrap Ahaz in His protective arms but Ahaz is far too earthbound to receive this comfort.
One of the encouragements is in verse four, when God tries to comfort Ahaz in the face of an enemy nation about to attack. "Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands..." I had read this passage last week in studying for a class and it came home to me this morning. As the fire in our fireplace began dying, one of the logs started to smoke profusely. It wasn't hot enough to ignite a real fire, just hot enough to be annoying, as smoke began pouring into the room. I began moving it around, trying to put it into a place where the red hot coals could gain access and set it ablaze.
There are more than a few spiritual illustrations here. Some for us as believers as to why God allows the "fire" of pain or hard situations. But what I thought of the most was the passage I had read last week about this enemy nation who thought themselves unconquerable and God called them "stubs of smoldering firebrands"!! As I watched that smoking log, I realized the impotence of any enemy in the face of the living God.
One of the encouragements is in verse four, when God tries to comfort Ahaz in the face of an enemy nation about to attack. "Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands..." I had read this passage last week in studying for a class and it came home to me this morning. As the fire in our fireplace began dying, one of the logs started to smoke profusely. It wasn't hot enough to ignite a real fire, just hot enough to be annoying, as smoke began pouring into the room. I began moving it around, trying to put it into a place where the red hot coals could gain access and set it ablaze.
There are more than a few spiritual illustrations here. Some for us as believers as to why God allows the "fire" of pain or hard situations. But what I thought of the most was the passage I had read last week about this enemy nation who thought themselves unconquerable and God called them "stubs of smoldering firebrands"!! As I watched that smoking log, I realized the impotence of any enemy in the face of the living God.
Questions??
People have lots of questions about Christianity that many times stumps them up and causes them to reject or fall away from the gospel. Questions abound when it comes to the things of God. He's God! There is no way we can completely discover the full depth of Him or His ways. He has given us one book not because that's all there is but because it is all that is needed for us to seek Him and find Him. I'm not saying questions are bad. But I am saying that some questions will not be answered here in this life. That's where faith and trust come in. That's where God's Word to us (which great minds have not exhausted) comes in and carries us through to the end. I will not go into the many questions that men have about God. But what I would like to do is share a devotion I read this week about such things and challenge believers with important questions that do not need to be neglected.
This devotion is from Charles Spurgeon, November 19th, morning:
"Avoid foolish questions." Titus 3:9
"Our days are few, and are far better spent in doing good, than in disputing over matters which are, at best, of minor importance... Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them altogether... if we observe [the verse] to be careful to maintain good works, we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy, contentious, and needless strivings."
He goes on to list the questions we should be asking: "Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I renewed in the spirit of my mind? Am I walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit? Am I growing in grace? Does my conversation adorn the doctrine of God my Savior? Am I looking for the coming of the Lord, and watching as a servant should do who expects his master? What more can I do for Jesus? Such enquiries as these urgently demand our attention; and if we have been at all given to cavilling, [whine, nag, gripe, bellyache] let us now turn our critical abilities to a service so much more profitable. Let us be peacemakers, and endeavour to lead others both by our precept and example, to 'avoid foolish questions'."
This devotion is from Charles Spurgeon, November 19th, morning:
"Avoid foolish questions." Titus 3:9
"Our days are few, and are far better spent in doing good, than in disputing over matters which are, at best, of minor importance... Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them altogether... if we observe [the verse] to be careful to maintain good works, we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy, contentious, and needless strivings."
He goes on to list the questions we should be asking: "Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I renewed in the spirit of my mind? Am I walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit? Am I growing in grace? Does my conversation adorn the doctrine of God my Savior? Am I looking for the coming of the Lord, and watching as a servant should do who expects his master? What more can I do for Jesus? Such enquiries as these urgently demand our attention; and if we have been at all given to cavilling, [whine, nag, gripe, bellyache] let us now turn our critical abilities to a service so much more profitable. Let us be peacemakers, and endeavour to lead others both by our precept and example, to 'avoid foolish questions'."
Monday, November 4, 2013
Thankfulness
Paul mourns over his sinfulness in Romans 7 (a passage for which I'm especially thankful), "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" I am tracking with Paul this morning as I'm convicted of the sin of my whining. I fret over everything. For a few weeks now, I wake up saying, "God help me. There's too much to do." I prayed last night, "God, how can I get it all done?" I prayed this morning, "God, help me to just worship you this morning" and before I knew it, I was whining about everything in my life that seems to be amiss.
Then it hit me...are you thankful? Thankful!! Oh, my, why am I so slow? How long has it been since I've thanked God? On my prayer walk, I had decided to come home and make a list of everything in my life that I perceive as a problem. When I began to think of the "thankful" aspect, I decided that's the list I really need to make! How convicting as I began thinking of all the wonderful, right things in my life!! What a list that is!!
"Oh, my GOD!! Forgive me! The me fog has blocked Your gifts from my mind. Thank You for reminding me of all the wonderful blessings You have richly bestowed on me." Being thankful is God's will for us. "In everything, give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18) And the most Wonderful gift God has given: Jesus Christ! It is He that will "deliver us from this body of death."
Then it hit me...are you thankful? Thankful!! Oh, my, why am I so slow? How long has it been since I've thanked God? On my prayer walk, I had decided to come home and make a list of everything in my life that I perceive as a problem. When I began to think of the "thankful" aspect, I decided that's the list I really need to make! How convicting as I began thinking of all the wonderful, right things in my life!! What a list that is!!
"Oh, my GOD!! Forgive me! The me fog has blocked Your gifts from my mind. Thank You for reminding me of all the wonderful blessings You have richly bestowed on me." Being thankful is God's will for us. "In everything, give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18) And the most Wonderful gift God has given: Jesus Christ! It is He that will "deliver us from this body of death."
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