Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 01.02.16

C_H__Spurgeon

Saturday, January 02, 2016

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


Conquest to Victory

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. (Romans 16:20)

This promise follows well upon that of yesterday. We are evidently to be conformed to our covenant Head, not only in His being bruised in His heel but in His conquest of the evil one. Even under our feet is the old dragon to be bruised. The Roman believers were grieved with strife in the church; but their God was “the God of peace” and gave them rest of soul. The archenemy tripped up the feet of the unwary and deceived the hearts of the simple; but he was to get the worst of it and to be trodden down by those whom he had troubled. This victory would not come to the people of God through their own skill or power; but God Himself would bruise Satan. Though it would be under their feet, yet the bruising would be of the Lord alone.

Let us bravely tread upon the tempter! Not only inferior spirits but the prince of darkness himself must go down before us. In unquestioning confidence in God let us look for speedy victory. “Shortly.” Happy word! Shortly we shall set our foot on the old serpent! What a joy to crush evil! What dishonor to Satan to have his head bruised by human feet! Let us by faith in Jesus tread the tempter down.

Today’s Bible Verse ~ 01.02.16

Your Word My Light

Psalm 90:12

“So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts
unto wisdom”

King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 01.02.16

C_H__Spurgeon

Saturday, January 02, 2016

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“Continue in prayer.”—Colossians 4:2.

IT is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;” and just as we are about to close the volume, the “Amen” of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob—there a Daniel who prayed three times a day—and a David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands, and myriads of promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.

If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? Then, I fear thou dost not know thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then, may the Lord’s mercy show thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father’s face, and live in thy Father’s love.

Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of His love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto for this year must be, “Continue in prayer.”

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 01.01.16

 C_H__Spurgeon

friday, January 01, 2016

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“We will be glad and rejoice in Thee.”
~ Song of Solomon 1:4 ~

WE will be glad and rejoice in Thee. We will not open the gates of the year to the dolorous notes of the sackbut, but to the sweet strains of the harp of joy, and the high sounding cymbals of gladness. “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation.” We, the called and faithful and chosen, we will drive away our griefs, and set up our banners of confidence in the name of God.

Let others lament over their troubles, we who have the sweetening tree to cast into Marah’s bitter pool, with joy will magnify the Lord. Eternal Spirit, our effectual Comforter, we who are the temples in which Thou dwellest, will never cease from adoring and blessing the name of Jesus. We WILL, we are resolved about it, Jesus must have the crown of our heart’s delight; we will not dishonour our Bridegroom by mourning in His presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies, let us rehearse our everlasting anthem before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem. We will BE GLAD AND REJOICE: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now?

Do not men of grace find their Lord to be camphire and spikenard, calamus and cinnamon even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will be glad and rejoice IN THEE. That last word is the meat in the dish, the kernel of the nut, the soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, ay, and every drop of their fulness in Him! Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness, that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in Thee. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

New Beginnings ~

~ CHRISTian poetry by deborahann ~ New Birth IBible Verses
A fresh start,
 new beginnings too
 not just for today . . .
 but, all year through.
If you let Jesus,
 be your resolution
 He will bring to you
 a glorious restoration.
Putting behind the past,
 pressing into the goal
 believing in God with . . .
 your whole heart and soul.
Letting Him change you,
 from the inside out . . .
 pushing back your fears
 giving Him your doubt.
A fresh new start,
 is waiting for you . . .
 oh, the mighty things
 Jesus wants to do!
~~~~~~~~
Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart,
 O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
King James Version
 by Public Domain
Copyright 2015
 Deborah Ann Belka

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 01.01.16

C_H__Spurgeon

Friday, January 01, 2016

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


 

The Bible’s First Promise

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

This is the first promise to fallen man. It contains the whole gospel and the essence of the covenant of grace. It has been in great measure fulfilled. The seed of the woman, even our Lord Jesus, was bruised in His heel, and a terrible bruising it was. How terrible will be the final bruising of the serpent’s head!

This was virtually done when Jesus took away sin, vanquished death, and broke the power of Satan; but it awaits a still fuller accomplishment at our Lord’s second advent and in the Day of Judgment. To us the promise stands as a prophecy that we shall be afflicted by the powers of evil in our lower nature, and thus bruised in our heel; but we shall triumph in Christ, who sets His foot on the old serpent’s head.

Throughout this year we may have to learn the first part of this promise by experience, through the temptations of the devil and the unkindness of the ungodly, who are his seed. They may so bruise us that we may limp with our sore heel; but let us grasp the second part of the text, and we shall not be dismayed. By faith let us rejoice that we shall still reign in Christ Jesus, the woman’s seed.

 

Today’s Bible Verse ~ 01.01.16

Your Word My Light

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.”

 

  King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 01.01.16

C_H__Spurgeon

Friday, January 01, 2016

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”
~ Joshua 5:12 ~

ISRAEL’S weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight.

To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “for ever with the Lord.”

A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; He gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too.

Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in His love, and we have perfect peace in Him: they hymn His praise, and it is our privilege to bless Him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon 12.31.15

 C_H__Spurgeon

Thursday, December 31, 2015

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”
~ Jeremiah 8:20 ~

NOT saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ.

All these hopeful seasons have come and gone—your summer and your harvest have past—and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let me ask you—will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you—the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection—what more can be done for you?

Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death for ever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!

Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. A brother’s voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year’s midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, NOW, NOW believe, and live.

“ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE;
LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE,
NEITHER STAY THOU
IN ALL THE PLAIN;
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN,
LEST THOU BE CONSUMED.”
 

New Year ~ New Day ~

New Year Resolutions ~ CHRISTian poetry by deborah ann
New year, new days
 hours, minutes too
 given to us ~ Lord . . .
 to be used for You.
Let us not waste,
 or whittle away
 the precious time
 for us to display.
The love, the hope,
 the joy we’ve found
 as we spread . . .
 the Good News around.
Let us not squander,
 of fritter away
 every second counts
 for us to portray.
The peace, the bliss,
 the freedom You bring
 the strength we have
 in all things.
New year, new days
 hours, minutes too
 for us to sway Lord . . .
 others to You!
~~~~~
Romans 1:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
 for it is the power of God unto salvation
 to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
 and also to the Greek.”
King James Version
 by Public Domain
Copyright 2015
 Deborah Ann Belka

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 12.31.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


No Stranger in Heaven

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (Psalm 73:24)

From day to day and from year to year my faith believes in the wisdom and love of God, and I know that I shall not believe in vain. No good word of His has ever failed, and I am sure that none shall ever fall to the ground.

I put myself into His hand for guidance. I know not the way that I should choose: the Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me. I need counsel and advice; for my duties are intricate, and my condition is involved… The counsel of the infallible God I seek in preference to my own judgment or the advice of friends…

Soon the end will come: a few more years and I must depart out of this world unto the Father. My Lord will be near my bed. He will meet me at heaven’s gate: He will welcome me to the gloryland. I shall not be a stranger in heaven: my own God and Father will receive me to its endless bliss.

Glory be to Him who
Will guide me here,
And receive me hereafter. Amen.
 

 

Today’s Bible Verse 12.31.15

Your Word My Light

Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

“Thus saith the Lord, which maketh
a way in the sea, and a path in
the mighty waters;

Remember ye not the former things,
neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now
it shall spring forth; shall ye
not know it? I will even make a
way in the wilderness, and
rivers in the desert”

  King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.31.15

C_H__Spurgeon

thursday, December 31, 2015

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”
~ Joshua 5:1 ~

ISRAEL’S weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “for ever with the Lord.”

A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; He gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in His love, and we have perfect peace in Him: they hymn His praise, and it is our privilege to bless Him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.30.15

 C_H__Spurgeon

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?”
~ 2 Samuel 2:26 ~

FF, O my reader! thou art merely a professor, and not a possessor of the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the following lines are a true ketch of thine end. You are a respectable attendant at a place of worship; you go because others go, not because your heart is right with God. This is your beginning. I will suppose that for the next twenty or thirty years you will be spared to go on as you do now, professing religion by an outward attendance upon the means of grace, but having no heart in the matter.

Tread softly, for I must show you the deathbed of such a one as yourself. Let us gaze upon him gently. A clammy sweat is on his brow, and he wakes up crying, “O God, it is hard to die. Did you send for my minister?” “Yes, he is coming.” The minister comes. “Sir, I fear that I am dying!” “Have you any hope?” “I cannot say that I have. I fear to stand before my God; oh! pray for me.” The prayer is offered for him with sincere earnestness, and the way of salvation is for the ten-thousandth time put before him, but before he has grasped the rope, I see him sink. I may put my finger upon those cold eyelids, for they will never see anything here again.

But where is the man, and where are the man’s true eyes? It is written, “In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.” Ah! why did he not lift up his eyes before? Because he was so accustomed to hear the gospel that his soul slept under it. Alas! if you should lift up your eyes there, how bitter will be your wailings. Let the Saviour’s own words reveal the woe: “Father Abraham, send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.” There is a frightful meaning in those words. May you never have to spell it out by the red light of Jehovah’s wrath!

A Confident New Year ~


A Confident New Year ~ CHRISTian poetry by deborah ann
A New Year is before me,
 I know not what it brings
 but I have confidence
 God’s in control of all things.
I don’t know what is ahead,
 the trials of each new day
 but I have confidence
 Jesus will show me the way.
I may not fully understand,
 what the New Year will hold
 but I have confidence
 He is fitting me to His mold.
I may have incredible gain,
 or suffer enormous loss,
 but I have confidence
 it all leads me to the cross.
A New Year is before me,
 I know God’s in control
 for I have confidence
 His love will renew my soul!
~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm 63:3
 King James Version
“Because thy loving kindness is better than
 life, my lips shall praise thee.”
Copyright 2013
 Deborah Ann Belka

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 12.30.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


Loved to Perfection

Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1)

This fact is essentially a promise; for what our Lord was He is, and what He was to those with whom He lived on earth, He will be to all His beloved so long as the moon endureth.

“Having loved”: here was the wonder! That He should ever have loved men at all is the marvel. What was there in His poor disciples that He should love them? What is there in me?

But when He has once begun to love, it is His nature to continue to do so. Love made the saints “his own”—what a choice title! He purchased them with blood, and they became His treasure. Being His own, He will not lose them. Being His beloved, He will not cease to love them. My soul, He will not cease to love thee!

The text is well as it stands: “to the end.” Even till His death the ruling passion of love to His own reigned in His sacred bosom. It means also to the uttermost. He could not love them more: He gave Himself for them. Some read it, to perfection. Truly He lavished upon them a perfect love, in which there was no flaw nor failure, no unwisdom, no unfaithfulness.

Such is the love of Jesus to each one of His people. Let us sing to our Well-beloved a song.

 

 

Today’s Bible Verse 12.30.15

Your Word My Light

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

  King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.30.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


 

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”
~ Ecclesiastes 7:8 ~

LOOK at David’s Lord and Master; see His beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Would you see the end? He sits at His Father’s right hand, expecting until His enemies be made his footstool. “As He is, so are we also in this world.”

You must bear the cross, or you shall never wear the crown; you must wade through the mire, or you shall never walk the golden pavement. Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” See that creeping worm, how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flower bells, full of happiness and life; that is the end thereof. That caterpillar is yourself, until you are wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ shall appear you shall be like Him, for you shall see Him as He is.

Be content to be like Him, a worm and no man, that like Him you may be satisfied when you wake up in His likeness. That rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the lapidary. He cuts it on all sides. It loses much—much that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head with trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that very diamond which was just now so sorely vexed by the lapidary. You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process.

Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown shall be set upon the head of the King, Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be Mine,” saith the Lord, “in the day when I make up My jewels.” “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.29.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“What think ye of Christ?”—Matthew 22:42.

THE great test of your soul’s health is, What think you of Christ? Is He to you “fairer than the children of men”—”the chief among ten thousand”—the “altogether lovely”? Wherever Christ is thus esteemed, all the faculties of the spiritual man exercise themselves with energy.

I will judge of your piety by this barometer: does Christ stand high or low with you? If you have thought little of Christ, if you have been content to live without His presence, if you have cared little for His honour, if you have been neglectful of His laws, then I know that your soul is sick—God grant that it may not be sick unto death! But if the first thought of your spirit has been, How can I honour Jesus?

If the daily desire of your soul has been, “O that I knew where I might find Him!” I tell you that you may have a thousand infirmities, and even scarcely know whether you are a child of God at all, and yet I am persuaded, beyond a doubt, that you are safe, since Jesus is great in your esteem. I care not for thy rags, what thinkest thou of His royal apparel? I care not for thy wounds, though they bleed in torrents, what thinkest thou of His wounds? are they like glittering rubies in thine esteem?

I think none the less of thee, though thou liest like Lazarus on the dunghill, and the dogs do lick thee—I judge thee not by thy poverty: what thinkest thou of the King in His beauty? Has He a glorious high throne in thy heart? Wouldst thou set Him higher if thou couldst? Wouldst thou be willing to die if thou couldst but add another trumpet to the strain which proclaims His praise? Ah! then it is well with thee. Whatever thou mayst think of thyself, if Christ be great to thee, thou shalt be with Him ere long.

“Though all the world my choice deride,
Yet Jesus shall my portion be;
For I am pleased with none beside,
The fairest of the fair is He”
 

Be Not Anxious ~


be-not-anxious CHRISTian poetry by deborah ann
Be not anxious,
 trouble not your heart
 I am still with you . . .
 though, I had to depart.
I am with My Father,
 one day, you’ll be with Us
 so there’s no need to worry
 just continue to always trust.
I would never leave you,
 my Spirit is always there
 so you can cast upon Me
 your every fearful care.
My Father is waiting,
 for those who come to Me
 who let My grace set them
 from their bondage free.
I am preparing a place,
 where joy will never cease
 I am getting it ready
 with endless eternal peace.
Be not anxious,
 trouble not your heart
 soon we will be together
 never again ~ shall I part!
~~~~~~~~~~~
John 14:1-3
“Let not your heart be troubled:
 ye believe in God, believe also in me.
 In my Father’s house are many mansions:
 if it were not so, I would have told you.
 I go to prepare a place for you.
 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
 I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
 that where I am, there ye may be also.”
King James Version
 by Public Domain
Copyright 2015
 Deborah Ann Belka

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 12.29.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


 

He Will Carry Us Home

And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4)

The year is very old, and here is a promise for our aged friends; yes, and for us all, as age creeps over us. Let us live long enough, and we shall all have hoar hairs; therefore we may as well enjoy this promise by the foresight of faith.

When we grow old our God will still be the I AM, abiding evermore the same. Hoar hairs tell of our decay, but He decayeth not. When we cannot carry a burden and can hardly carry ourselves, the Lord will carry us. Even as in our young days He carried us like lambs in His bosom, so will He in our years of infirmity.

He made us, and He will care for us. When we become a burden to our friends and a burden to ourselves, the Lord will not shake us off, but the rather He will take us up and carry and deliver us more fully than ever. In many cases the Lord give His servants a long and calm evening. They worked hard all day and wore themselves out in their Master’s service, and so He said to them, “Now rest in anticipation of that eternal Sabbath which I have prepared for you.” Let us not dread old age. Let us grow old graciously since the Lord Himself is with us in fullness of grace.

 

 

Today’s Bible Verse 12.29.15

Your Word My Light

John 14:1-3

“Let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

  King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.29.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


 

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”—1 Samuel 7:12.

THE word “hitherto” seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet, “hitherto the Lord hath helped!” Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honour, in dishonour, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “hitherto hath the Lord helped us!”

We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves; even so look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy overhead, and the strong pillars of lovingkindness and faithfulness which bear up your joys. Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received “hitherto.”

But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark and writes “hitherto,” he is not yet at the end, there is still a distance to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over now? No! there is more yet-awakening in Jesu’s likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fulness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. O be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy “Ebenezer,” for —

He who hath helped thee hitherto Will help
thee all thy journey through. When read in
heaven’s light how glorious and marvellous
a prospect will thy “hitherto”unfold to
thy grateful eye!

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.28.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Monday, December 28, 2015

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword.”—Matthew 10:34.

THE Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if to do the right, and to believe the I true, should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will count it but a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be yet more friendly, and reveal Himself to him more graciously than ever. O ye who have taken up His cross, know ye not what your Master said? “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother; and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Christ is the great Peacemaker; but before peace, He brings war.

Where the light cometh, the darkness must retire. Where truth is, the lie must flee; or, if it abideth, there must be a stern conflict, for the truth cannot and will not lower its standard, and the lie must be trodden under foot. If you follow Christ, you shall have all the dogs of the world yelping at your heels. If you would live so as to stand the test of the last tribunal, depend upon it the world will not speak well of you. He who has the friendship of the world is an enemy to God; but if you are true and faithful to the Most High, men will resent your unflinching fidelity, since it is a testimony against their iniquities.

Fearless of all consequences, you must do the right. You will need the courage of a lion unhesitatingly to pursue a course which shall turn your best friend into your fiercest foe; but for the love of Jesus you must thus be courageous. For the truth’s sake to hazard reputation and affection, is such a deed that to do it constantly you will need a degree of moral principle which only the Spirit of God can work in you; yet turn not your back like a coward, but play the man. Follow right manfully in your Master’s steps, for He has traversed this rough way before you. Better a brief warfare and eternal rest, than false peace and everlasting torment

Recipe For A Happy New Year ~

Recipe Card
Take a cup of Forgiveness,
 stir in some of God’s grace
 then fold it into your heart
 and this recipe you’ll embrace.
For, you’ll need to keep adding,
 more ingredients as you go
 if you plan on having a year
 where Love can rise and grow.
You’re going to need Patience,
 at least a cup or two
 if your want to have Meekness
 bubbling up inside of you.
At times you’ll need to blend in,
 a heaping spoonful of Goodness
 then beat it into the mixture
 so you can whip up Gentleness.
Don’t forget to add a pinch of Joy,
 as you whisk it into Peace
 a smidgen of Faith and Trust
 will cause Hope to be released.
If you live in the Spirit,
 you’ll need to walk in it too . . .
 if this year you follow this recipe
 it’ll produce His fruit in you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Galatians 5:22-23 
 King James Version
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
 joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
 goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:
 against such there is no law.
Copyright 2014
 Deborah Ann Belka

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 12.28.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Monday, December 28, 2015

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


Absolute Assurance

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt about it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the Lord’s ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God.

This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord’s company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold; His favor is better than fortune.

We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than almighty Goodness.

Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace that thou mayest never leave thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.

 

 

Today’s Bible Verse 12.28.15

Your Word My Light

Matthew 11:28

“Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.”

  King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.28.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Monday, December 28, 2015

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.”—Galatians 2:20.

WHEN the Lord in mercy passed by and saw us in our blood, He first of all said, “Live”; and this He did first, because life is one of the absolutely essential things in spiritual matters, and until it be bestowed we are incapable of partaking in the things of the kingdom. Now the life which grace confers upon the saints at the moment of their quickening is none other than the life of Christ, which, like the sap from the stem, runs into us, the branches, and establishes a living connection between our souls and Jesus. Faith is the grace which perceives this union, having proceeded from it as its firstfruit. It is the neck which joins the body of the Church to its all-glorious Head.

“Oh Faith! thou bond of union with the Lord,
Is not this office thine? and thy fit name,
In the economy of gospel types,
And symbols apposite—the Church’s neck;
Identifying her in will and work
With Him ascended?”

Faith lays hold upon the Lord Jesus with a firm and determined grasp. She knows His excellence and worth, and no temptation can induce her to repose her trust elsewhere; and Christ Jesus is so delighted with this heavenly grace, that He never ceases to strengthen and sustain her by the loving embrace and all-sufficient support of His eternal arms. Here, then, is established a living, sensible, and delightful union which casts forth streams of love, confidence, sympathy, complacency, and joy, whereof both the bride and bridegroom love to drink. When the soul can evidently perceive this oneness between itself and Christ, the pulse may be felt as beating for both, and the one blood as flowing through the veins of each. Then is the heart as near heaven as it can be on earth, and is prepared for the enjoyment of the most sublime and spiritual kind of fellowship.

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.27.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Sunday, December 27, 2015

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“And the LORD shall guide thee continually.”—Isaiah 58:11.

THE Lord shall guide thee.” Not an angel, but JEHOVAH shall guide thee. He said He would not go through the wilderness before His people, an angel should go before them to lead them in the way; but Moses said, “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” Christian, God has not left you in your earthly pilgrimage to an angel’s guidance: He Himself leads the van. You may not see the cloudy, fiery pillar, but Jehovah will never forsake you. Notice the word shall—”The Lord shall guide thee.”

How certain this makes it! How sure it is that God will not forsake us! His precious “shalls” and “wills” are better than men’s oaths. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Then observe the adverb continually. We are not merely to be guided sometimes, but we are to have a perpetual monitor; not occasionally to be left to our own understanding, and so to wander, but we are continually to hear the guiding voice of the Great Shepherd; and if we follow close at His heels, we shall not err, but be led by a right way to a city to dwell in. If you have to change your position in life; if you have to emigrate to distant shores; if it should happen that you are cast into poverty, or uplifted suddenly into a more responsible position than the one you now occupy; if you are thrown among strangers, or cast among foes, yet tremble not, for “the Lord shall guide thee continually.”

There are no dilemmas out of which you shall not be delivered if you live near to God, and your heart be kept warm with holy love. He goes not amiss who goes in the company of God. Like Enoch, walk with God, and you cannot mistake your road. You have infallible wisdom to direct you, immutable love to comfort you, and eternal power to defend you. “Jehovah”—mark the word—”Jehovah shall guide thee continually.”

Jesus is Always There ~

Through all the pain and sorrow,
 the ones we own, the ones we borrow
 the ones we make, the ones we bear
 Jesus is always there . . .
Within all the grief of our tears,
 the ones of love, the ones of fears
 the ones we cause, the ones we share
 Jesus is always there . . .
During all the trials and tribulations,
 the ones of hope, the ones of frustrations
 the ones we conceal, the ones we declare
 Jesus is always there . . .
In all the uncertainties that lay ahead,
 the ones we know, the ones we dread
 the ones we risk, the ones we dare
 Jesus is always there . . .
Throughout the storms of this life,
 the ones of calm, the ones of strife
 the ones we cede, the ones we fare
 Jesus is always there!
~~~~~~~
Hebrews 13:5
 King James Version
 "Let your conversation be without covetousness;
 and be content with such things as ye have:
 for he hath said,
 I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Copyright 2012
 Deborah Ann Belka

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 12.27.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


His Kindness and Covenant

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. (Isaiah 54:10)

One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character. The pillars of the earth may be moved out of their places, but the kindness and the covenant of our merciful Jehovah never depart from His people. How happy my soul feels in a firm belief of this inspired declaration! The year is almost over, and the years of my life are growing few, but time does not change my Lord. New lamps are taking the place of the old; perpetual change is on all things, but our Lord is the same. Force overturns the hills, but no conceivable power can affect the eternal God. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me.

My soul, rest in the eternal kindness of the Lord, who treats thee as one near of kin. Remember also the everlasting covenant. God is ever mindful of it—see that thou art mindful of it too. In Christ Jesus the glorious God has pledged Himself to thee to be thy God and to hold thee as one of His people. Kindness and covenant-dwell on these words as sure and lasting things which eternity itself shall not take from thee.

 

 

Today’s Bible Verse 12.27.15

Your Word My Light

Psalm 103:1-2

“Bless the Lord, O my soul:
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits:”

 

 King James Version
by Public Domain

~ To God Be the Glory ~

Morning’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.27.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Sunday, December 27, 2015

This Morning’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“Can the rush grow up without mire?”—Job 8:11.

THE rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for this day may help me to try myself whether I be a hypocrite or no.

The rush by nature lives in water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture wherein it has taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once. Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from His hands? If so I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that when bodily comforts have been few, and my surroundings have been rather adverse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have still held fast my integrity? then have I hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me

. The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord’s right hand planting can and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend Him out of love to Himself are His own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in Thee, and not in the mire of this world’s favour or gain

Evening’s With Charles Spurgeon ~ 12.26.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Saturday, December 26, 2015

This Evening’s Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon


“Lo, I am with you alway.”—Matthew 28:20.

THE Lord Jesus is in the midst of His church; He walketh among the golden candlesticks; His promise is, “Lo, I am with you alway.” He is as surely with us now as He was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire, and fish laid thereon and bread. Not carnally, but still in real truth, Jesus is with us. And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love becomes inflamed. Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there is nothing like the presence of Jesus!

A glimpse of Him so overcomes us, that we are ready to say, “Turn away Thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me.” Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop from His perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow strong. Let there be but a moment’s leaning of the head upon that gracious bosom, and a reception of His divine love into our poor cold hearts, and we are cold no longer, but glow like seraphs, equal to every labour, and capable of every suffering. If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be strengthened, and we shall cast ourselves into the Lord’s service with heart, and soul, and strength; therefore is the presence of Christ to be desired above all things.

His presence will be most realized by those who are most like Him. If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in conformity to Him. Bring yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with Christ’s desires, and motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be favoured with His company. Remember His presence may be had. His promise is as true as ever. He delights to be with us. If He doth not come, it is because we hinder Him by our indifference. He will reveal Himself to our earnest prayers, and graciously suffer Himself to be detained by our entreaties, and by our tears, for these are the golden chains which bind Jesus to His people.

Faith’s Check Book ~ C.H. Spurgeon 12.26.15

C_H__Spurgeon

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry

C. H. Spurgeon


God Only, You Can Trust

Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. (Matthew 26:33)

“Why,” cries one, “this is no promise of God.” Just so, but it was a promise of man, and therefore it came to nothing. Peter thought that he was saying what he should assuredly carry out; but a promise which has no better foundation than a human resolve will fall to the ground. No sooner did temptations arise than Peter denied his Master and used oaths to confirm his denial.

What is man’s word? An earthen pot broken with a stroke. What is your own resolve? A blossom, which, with God’s care, may come to fruit, but which, left to itself, will fall to the ground with the first wind that moves the bough.

On man’s word hang only what it will bear.

On thine own resolve depend not at all.

On the promise of thy God hang time and eternity, this world and the next, thine all and the all of all thy beloved ones.

This volume is a checkbook for believers, and this page is meant as a warning as to what bank they draw upon and whose signature they accept. Rely upon Jesus without limit. Trust not thyself nor any born of woman, beyond due bounds; but trust thou only and wholly in the Lord.

 

 

%d bloggers like this: