Today is Reformation Day! Reformation Day post and video from Geneva~ After Darkness....Light

 

First part of a post from Desiring God Blog by John Piper

Dear Friends,

Today is Reformation Day. Martin Luther posted his explosive 95 theses October 31, 1517. In the wake of Luther’s life, an army of Reformers soon emerged. Foremost among them was John Calvin. Together they recovered for the church the supreme authority and clarity of the Scriptures. Grace-erasing tradition had buried the glory of the gospel. But now light was breaking out. So the Reformers took up a Latin phrase to describe the wonder: “Post Tenebras Lux”—“After Darkness... Light.”

In honor of Calvin’s ministry and, even more, in celebration of the God who restored the gospel to his church, we are making this video available today. My prayer is that it would stir in your heart a fresh passion for the majesty of the word of God.

In spite of his flaws, the essential meaning of Calvin's life and preaching is that he recovered and embodied a passion for the majesty of God and his word. The labor of exposition through preaching was the supreme work of his life.

I am no John Calvin. But I do stand with him as a fellow preacher of the majesty of God’s word. Preaching has been the central labor of my life. I pray that God will give me a mind and voice that enables me to preach this word as long as I live. What a gift and privilege that would be.

~To read the rest of the post, please click HERE

Martha and Mary

Seth shared this passage with us tonight during our family worship time.  We were all so challenged by it and it caused us to think about this passage in a fresh way.  Hope it will be a blessing to you as well and cause you to draw closer to our Lord. 

(Luke 10:38-42)

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

A woman named Martha welcomed him into her house:

I have welcomed Jesus Christ into my house upon conversion.  How goes His stay?  He is Lord of my house but I am often blind to, and not cognitive of His presence and lordship.

Martha was distracted with much serving:

"Or was drawn off", from hearing the word, from attending on Christ; being taken up in providing for him… so that she had a great deal of business upon her head and hands, which distracted her thoughts, or took them off of divine things, and put her in great hurry and concern.

John Gill

Oh how often I am drawn off, instead of seeking the Lord in Word and prayer, and distracted by my own thoughts and business of life!

She came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?

She therefore applies to Christ, as believing that he would, with her, look upon it as a very reasonable thing that she should take her part with her… And she seems to speak… as if he had not showed that care and concern in this matter, which she thought was necessary. However, she was willing to have his sense of her sister's conduct, and hoped, and even doubted not, but that he would be of the same mind with her: 

John Gill

When I am drawn off I even think that Christ is concerned the most, as well as I, on the business into which I place my attention, the whole while leaving the things of God and attending the things of my own perceived importance.

But the Lord answered her… you are anxious and troubled about many things:

I place my thoughts and attention onto so many things, in the name doing the will of God – work of sorts.  I worry and fret in the business of life, the whole while blind to the presence of Christ, wherein the answer to all my concerns lies.

But one thing is necessary:

Christ's meaning seems plainly to be, that Mary hearing the word from his mouth, and at his feet, was one necessary thing. 

John Gill

The one necessary thing for me, as apposed to the business of the things of this world, is to read the scriptures and be on my knees communing with the Lord in prayer.

Teach us to Pray

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, etc.”
- Mat_6:9
This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption,  

“Our Father.” There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, “I will arise, and go unto my Father.” This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father “in heaven,” and ascends to devout adoration, “Hallowed be thy name.” The child lisping, “Abba, Father,” grows into the cherub crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration- 

”Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God- 

”Give us this day our daily bread.” Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he entreats for mercy,  

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:” and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance,  

“Lead us not into temptation.” The man who is really forgiven, is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. “Forgive us our debts,” that is justification; “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms. As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise,  

“Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen.” We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end. Thus from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us thus to pray.

Charles Spurgeon Morning and Evening Devotional Oct 29

THE WOODEN BOWL

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and a four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass often milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor."

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day building blocks are being laid for the child's future.


 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
(Pro 23:22-26)

Thank you David Barry for sharing this on Google+

Guest Post from Isak Westraad in Mozambique, Africa~ Salvation: What I thought it was and what it really is

I am so glad to have this opportunity to speak to you all today, and I would like to share with you something that has had a huge impact on my life.  I want to share with you what I thought salvation was, and what I  have learned it to be in reality.

 I grew up in a very Christian home, my parents are missionaries.  My parents taught me the Bible from a very young age.  I prayed a prayer several times when I was small to invite Jesus into my heart, as I’m sure most of you have done, and I thought I was saved for many years.

But when I hit my teens, God showed me what a heinous sinner I really was.  Outwardly I was a real goody-two-shoes, but on the inside I was very, very ugly, and if anyone could have known what was going on in me and what I was doing secretly, they would have been just shocked and disgusted.

I knew this was wrong, and I looked at the Bible which is very clear that if I’m really a Christian, then I can’t live like this.  God really showed me that I’m not really saved, but that I’m lost.  I tried to stop my sin, I tried to be good, but it was such a failure!  I can remember sooo many times calling out to God, “Please save me! Please change me!”  I would then get up, and promise myself that this time it’s going to be real.  Only problem was, it never lasted for more than a few days.

But the reason I share this with you, is I have had so many misconceptions about salvation, I think many of us do.  The Lord has really dealt with me in this area, and I’d like to share some of the things with you that the Lord taught me.

One thing that we often think is that we are just as good as the next guy, that we really aren’t that bad.  I mean come on, I don’t break the biggies?!  Well, you don’t have to, to be condemned by God.  Outward things are not what make us guilty, it’s what’s in the heart that condemns us.  Jesus said, ““But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile a man.”

 

Maybe you feel you are not that bad, your heart isn’t that evil.  Well, let me ask you this:  if I could take your whole thought life, and put it on TV, and show it to everyone in this room, how would you feel about that?  Because what you think, is who you really are!  We may not see what you think, but God does!

Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”  Be careful that your heart isn’t deceiving you, because it will tell you that you aren’t that bad, just like mine told me.

Our hearts are desperately wicked!  And this is a big problem for us, because God is JUST and HOLY.  He’s not like us at all!  We often think that God thinks like us, is kind of like us, but He isn’t!  We have created a god in our imagination, who is just the way we want him. We must go back to the Bible to see who God really is!

And the God of the Bible is just; therefore our sins must be punished. God would be unjust if He didn’t punish our sin.

Now we try all kinds of things to save ourselves, or at least I did.  You know I tried to leave my sin, I tried to live the Christian life.  I said I was a Christian, I prayed a prayer and asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me, but none of those things worked!  I was still a lost sinner, straight on my way to hell.

You know what I was doing wrong?? I was trusting MYSELF.  I was trusting in what I was doing.  Jesus Christ died on the Cross, and on that Cross He carried my sin, and God poured out His wrath that was meant for me, on Christ.  I kept trying to make myself acceptable, instead of coming to Christ just like I was, trusting in the finished work on the Cross!

So one night, I just gave up, and just told the Lord, that I give up.  I can’t save myself. If He doesn’t save me, there is no hope.  

And you know, I really wasn’t expecting an answer, but that night I went to bed with a PEACE in my heart.  I KNEW the Lord had heard me and had saved me.  

And I know I was really saved this time, because the Lord has continued to work in me, changing me bit by bit into the image of Christ.  

You know, if you have had an experience in your life that you believe is when the Lord saved you, yet your life remained the same, you were not saved that time. I had emotional experiences before, but they never lasted. The question isn’t whether you had an experience, but whether it lasted.  Are you still changing today? Is the Lord still working in your life?

Paul said this about people who trust in their professions yet live Godless lives, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing any good.”  

I’m not saying a Christian will be perfect, he won’t; but there will be a marked difference, and he will have a lifestyle of following after God.

 Salvation is a supernatural work of God, where He justifies a man, and makes him a NEW creature!  As it says in 2 Corinthians, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come!”  

And I can tell you that is true, because the Lord changed me from being a self-righteous hypocrite, trusting in my own goodness, to someone who is trusting in Christ for his salvation, and whom the Lord is changing more to be like Christ.  

I would like to challenge you.  We young people think we have our whole lives ahead of us, but we don’t know when we are going to die.  We can die at any moment.  If you were to die tonight, where will you go?

Life is short, my friends; death is coming, and hell is real.  I ask you to make sure that you are not the way I was, living a hypocritical life, bound for hell.

There’s a reason it says in 2 Corinthians, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.”

So examine yourselves, my friends; see if you really do know our Lord, if He really has done a work of salvation in your life.  And if He hasn’t?  Seek Him; He says if we seek Him we will find Him.  

~This is actually a speech he will be giving to a group of young people this Thursday.  However, he sent it to our family and gave me permission to post it here for the edification and encouragment of us all!  Thank you so much for sharing Isak!  May God bless you and continue this work He has begun in your life and in each of our lives for His glory and honor!  :-)

King of Kings, Majesty! ~Song

Amen and amen!  This song so touched me!  I hope it stirs in you a praise and rejoicing in God our Savior, as it did me!  May we be filled with the fullness of Him and rejoice in who He is!   He is so worth living for!

He promises to love us FREELY!

                                                          "I will love them freely."—Hosea 14:4.

HIS sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who understands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive into its fulness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation of the glorious message of salvation which was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. The sense hinges upon the word "freely." This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are. The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: "I will love them freely." Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then He would not love us freely, at least, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands, "I will love you freely."We complain, "Lord, my heart is so hard." "I will love you freely." "But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish." "I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely." "But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could desire." Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may venture upon the promise of God which was made to us in Christ Jesus, when He said, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned." It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price! "I will love them freely." These words invite backsliders to return: indeed, the text was specially written for such—"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely." Backslider! surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return, and seek your injured Father's face.

~Spurgeon's Morning Meditation

Go Be Alone With Christ, In a Quiet Place, To Get Rest

There is a tendency to leave the Bible out of the prayer-closet. We hear a great deal of earnest counsel concerning secret prayer:
  we must both open and close the day at God's feet;
  prayer is the Christian's vital breath;
  if we would live strong, noble, beautiful, radiant, and useful Christian lives--we must get seasons of secret prayer into all our busy days.

But we must take our Bibles with us into the prayer-closet. While we talk to God--we must also let God talk to us. God feeds us through His Word. It is "into all truth" (John 16:13) that the Holy Spirit leads Christ's disciples. Seasons of prayer without meditation on some portion of the Word of God, cannot yield the full blessing that we need.

Life is hard for most of us; at least, it is hard to live nobly, lovingly, purely, Christianly. We can do so only by getting a great deal of help from Christ. We need, therefore, daily to heed His invitation, "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." (Mark 6:31). In communion with Him--we shall receive strength and blessing to enable us to live each day more beautifully, more victoriously, more radiantly, more lovingly. We shall rob ourselves therefore, of divine help--if we do not make room in our busiest days, for quiet retreats from noise and strife--to be alone with Christ, where we may sit at His feet to hear His words; or lie on His bosom to absorb His spirit--for the refreshing and transforming of our lives.

 
(J. R. Miller, Daily Bible Readings in the Life of Christ, 1890)

Commentary on Matthew 16:24 by John Gill

Matthew 16:24

Then said Jesus unto his disciples,.... Knowing that they had all imbibed the same notion of a temporal kingdom, and were in expectation of worldly riches, honour, and pleasure; he took this opportunity of preaching the doctrine of the cross to them, and of letting them know, that they must prepare for persecutions, sufferings, and death; which they must expect to endure, as well as he, if they would be his disciples: 

if any man will come after me: that is, be a disciple and follower of him, it being usual for the master to go before, and the disciple to follow after him: now let it be who it will, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, young or old, male or female, that have any inclination and desire, or have took up a resolution in the strength of grace, to be a disciple of Christ, 

let him deny himself: let him deny sinful self, ungodliness, and worldly lusts; and part with them, and his former sinful companions, which were as a part of himself: let him deny righteous self, and renounce all his own works of righteousness, in the business of justification and salvation; let him deny himself the pleasures and profits of this world, when in competition with Christ; let him drop and banish all his notions and expectations of an earthly kingdom, and worldly grandeur, and think of nothing but reproach, persecution, and death, for the sake of his Lord and Master: and 

take up his cross; cheerfully receive, and patiently bear, every affliction and evil, however shameful and painful it may be, which is appointed for him, and he is called unto; which is his peculiar cross, as every Christian has his own; to which he should quietly submit, and carry, with an entire resignation to the will of God, in imitation of his Lord: 

and follow me; in the exercise of grace, as humility, zeal, patience, and self-denial; and in the discharge of every duty, moral, or evangelical; and through sufferings and death, to his kingdom and glory. The allusion is, to Christ's bearing his own cross, and Simeon's carrying it after him, which afterwards came to pass.

John Gill

Our Maker Gives Songs In The Night

"God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night."—Job 35:10.

Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow—the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by—who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God's praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless He Himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon Him for the music. O Thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune Thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving.

-Charles Spurgeon's Evening Meditation, October 19th

Ever wondered what's really happening when you pop popcorn? Gather the family around for this one!

If you've ever wondered how a corn kernel turns into popcorn, the video above may give you a clue. A kernel of corn contains both moisture and oil, along with a hard, dense starch inside. As the kernel is heated, the moisture in the kernel gets turned into steam, which is held inside of the strong hull.

This turns the dense starch into a soft, pliable material, and as the steam continues to build pressure and heat, the hull ruptures suddenly and the starch expands into an airy foam that sets into the popcorn you're familiar with.

 

If you love popcorn and can't imagine giving it up, make your own at home using organic popping corn and coconut oil or butter. Place the oil or butter in a large pot, turn it on to medium heat and add your kernels. When the popping slows to one or two "pops" every few seconds, you're all done. Add your own natural seasonings like grass-fed, raw butter and Himalayan salt for a natural popcorn snack without all the artificial ingredients and chemicals that are inevitable with the microwave variety.

Dr. Mercola

Beautiful Submission

This post was written by Luma Simms on Desiring God blog.

 

It's easy to tell a woman to submit, or to tell a husband to love his wife as Christ loves the church, but it can be excruciating to live out. It's easy to throw these Bible verses around like the rock in David's sling hoping to knock down that Goliath of 'My Way.'

In a marriage, there's a lot of submission and a lot of loving that's supposed to be going on. But who wants to serve, who wants to sacrifice, who wants to lay down their life for another? Who wants to humble themselves for the good of another human?

The answer: Jesus Christ.

I remember when submission was first presented to me as something I must do in order to be obedient and godly. I kicked against it. Because it wasn’t taught to me through the gospel, all I could see was subjugation. I had all kinds of arguments to throw against it; you just couldn't talk to me about submission.

How can you talk to a person about submission when they don't have a good grasp of the Godhead and are hazy minded about who God is?

Who God Is

We can't fully comprehend the beauty of headship and submission until we have a sober understanding of who God is: the true God, the Triune God . . . Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It is never wise to start with what is required of man. We must start with who God is, proceed to what he has done and only then can we coherently speak to what is required of us. It is at these junctures where we find out just how important it is for us all to understand the doctrine of the trinity.

What brought me to faithful submission to my husband was not a “how to be a better wife” book. It was an understanding of the person and cross work of Christ. It was the gospel being pressed into every corner of my being.

Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” If I am to be conformed to the image of Christ I need to know what his characteristics are so that through abiding in him and walking in the Spirit I can approximate the image of Christ in this life. If I am to live in relationship to others, I need to know how Christ lives within the trinity and among men.

One of the things Christ says about himself is, “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Paul writes in Philippians 2:5–8,

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Who is Christ? He is God the Son.
What is he like? Gentle, humble in heart, equal with God, in human form.
What did he do? He did not grasp for his equality but instead humbled himself to become obedient to the point of death on a cross.
Who was he obedient to? God the Father with whom he had, and has, equality.

In Practice

How does this instruct me as I seek to live my life like Christ?

Kathy Keller says in The Meaning of Marriage, “Both women and men get to 'play the Jesus role' in marriage — Jesus in his sacrificial authority, Jesus in his sacrificial submission.”

As a wife I see my role in relationship to Christ in the words of the Apostle Paul: “I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3).

As a woman I already have a Jesus role — the sacrificial gifting of my submission to my husband. Should I try to “grasp” for his “Jesus role?” Should I try to swap my Jesus role for his? To what end? If Jesus being equal with God did not grasp for his equality but instead submitted himself to the plan and will of the Father, should I as my husband's equal “grasp” for mine? How can that possibly transform me into the image of Christ?

To understand any of our roles we first have to understand the Godhead. Only then will any of this stuff make sense. Only then will it be shown that these roles are not cultural or social constructs but part of the warp and weft of objective reality.

Song~Amazing Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mistrust Without A Cause

"And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul."—1 Samuel 27:1.

The thought of David's heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God's anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted His servant; he had been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him. The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had not assumed one form only, but many—yet in every case He who sent the trial had also graciously ordained a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, "Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me," for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would be his defender still. But is it not just in the same way that we doubt God's help? Is it not mistrust without a cause? Have we ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father's goodness? Have not His loving-kindnesses been marvelous? Has He once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone forth amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our head He has held aloft the shield of our defense. We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our past experience is, that He who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God, proves that He will keep us to the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our unbelief, and let the dogs devour it.

- Charles Spurgeon's Morning Meditation, October 17th

Evening Meditation by Charles Spurgeon

"And be not conformed to this world."—Romans 12:2.

If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Would you attain the full assurance of faith? you cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian—you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world. It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king's enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one.

Morning Meditation by Charles Spurgeon

"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.

Morning Meditation by Charles Spurgeon

"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."—Lamentations 3:41.

The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust. Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labour of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God's young eaglets, that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer girds the loins of God's warriors, and sends them forth to combat with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader cometh out of his closet, even as the sun ariseth from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua; it is the arrow shot from the chamber of the prophet foreboding defeat to the Syrians. Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do! We thank thee, great God, for the mercy-seat, a choice proof of thy marvellous lovingkindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day!

Tribulations, Difficulties and Disappointments~ Words of Encouragment by John Newton

Letters of John Newton

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is!" 1 John 3:2

Let us not be greatly discouraged at the many tribulations, difficulties, and disappointments which lie in the path which leads to glory--seeing that our Lord has foretold us of them, has made a suitable provision for every case we can meet with, and is Himself always near to those who call upon Him in His almighty strength--as a sure refuge, and a never-failing, ever-present help in every time of trouble!

Note likewise, that He Himself was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief for our sakes. He drank off the full cup of unmixed wrath for us--shall we then refuse to taste of the cup of affliction at His appointment, especially when His wisdom and love prepare it for us, and proportion every circumstance to our strength? He puts it into our hands, not in anger but in tender mercy--to do us good, to bring us near to Himself; and He sweetens every bitter draught, with those comforts which none but He can give!

The time is short, the world is passing away, all its cares and all its vanities will soon be at an end! Yet a little while, and "we shall see Him as He is!" Every veil shall be taken away--every seeming frown be removed from His face--and every tear wiped away from ours! We shall also be like Him!

Morning Meditation by Charles Spurgeon, October 6th

"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst."—John 4:14.

He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fulness in Christ that He alone is the believer's all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more—except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus' love. One in days of yore said, "I have been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself to my lips, and drink right on." Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of Him;, and to have closer fellowship with Him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, "Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved."

Pray and Be Alone With God . . . Paul Washer

How great then, is the blessedness of true believers!

God says, "I will be their God--and they shall be My people." 2 Corinthians 6:15. This is a promise in which every other promise is included. Sometimes God says to the Christian: I will be your strength, your righteousness, your deliverer, your shield, your reward; but these are nothing but modifications of the former.

Believer! endeavor to realize something of the blessedness involved in having God for your God. For this purpose, think of the representations He gives of Himself in His word. Think of Him . . .
  in all the perfections of His nature,
  in His unsearchable riches,
  in His unspeakable glory,
  in His omnipotent power,
  in His universal dominion,
  in His spotless purity,
  in His eternal veracity,
  and, above all, in His infinite grace and mercy!
And having viewed Him thus, you may venture to say, with unwavering faith and adoring gratitude, "This God is my God forever and ever, and He will be my guide even unto death!" Psalm 48:14. How great then, is the blessedness of true believers!

 (John MacDuff, "Looking unto Jesus!" 1856)

You Are God Alone!!!!!!

Awesome, powerful song!  No matter what you're going through, God is God alone and on His throne!  Also very comforting when thinking on the current state of our country.  Really, when we know who God is, why would we fear?  Whom shall we fear when such an awesome God is on our side?