~Brittany

Charles Spurgeon on What Hinders Us From Enjoying Our Savior's Presence

During a recent road trip, we took the time as a family to listen to the unabridged and amplified Pilgrim's Progress Part 1.  It is always such an encouragement to us spiritually, and it was nice to be able to listen to it again.  Between Pilgrims Progress and some recent passages I have been reading in Luke during my personal devotions, I've been thinking a good bit on the lives we as Christians should be living.  Our lives are not to be ones of seeking pleasure and giving in to our flesh and the world, but ones of seriousness, devotion, and striving to be Christ like, pleasing to Him, serving Him, and unstained.  When I read these devotionals by Charles Spurgeon yesterday, they went right along with many of the thoughts and impressions that have been on my heart this past week.  I hope they will be an encouragement to some of you.  May we each, by His grace, keep pressing toward our Savior and not grow cold!

Morning

“Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.”

- Song of Solomon 2:15

A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ, that he will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk with his people unless they drive out every known sin. He says, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Some Christians very seldom enjoy their Saviour’s presence. How is this? Surely it must be an affliction for a tender child to be separated from his father. Art thou a child of God, and yet satisfied to go on without seeing thy Father’s face? What! thou the spouse of Christ, and yet content without his company! Surely, thou hast fallen into a sad state, for the chaste spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate, when he has left her. Ask, then, the question, what has driven Christ from thee? He hides his face behind the wall of thy sins. That wall may be built up of little pebbles, as easily as of great stones. The sea is made of drops; the rocks are made of grains: and the sea which divides thee from Christ may be filled with the drops of thy little sins; and the rock which has well nigh wrecked thy barque, may have been made by the daily working of the coral insects of thy little sins. If thou wouldst live with Christ, and walk with Christ, and see Christ, and have fellowship with Christ, take heed of “the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Jesus invites you to go with him and take them. He will surely, like Samson, take the foxes at once and easily. Go with him to the hunting.

Evening

“That henceforth we should not serve sin.”

- Romans 6:6

Christian, what hast thou to do with sin? Hath it not cost thee enough already? Burnt child, wilt thou play with the fire? What! when thou hast already been between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den? Hast thou not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all thy veins once, and wilt thou play upon the hole of the asp, and put thy hand upon the cockatrice’s den a second time? Oh, be not so mad! so foolish! Did sin ever yield thee real pleasure? Didst thou find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go back to thine old drudgery, and wear the chain again, if it delight thee. But inasmuch as sin did never give thee what it promised to bestow, but deluded thee with lies, be not a second time snared by the old fowler- be free, and let the remembrance of thy ancient bondage forbid thee to enter the net again! It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which all have an eye to thy purity and holiness; therefore run not counter to the purposes of thy Lord. Another thought should restrain thee from sin. Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore be not the serf and bondman of sin. There is yet a higher argument: each time you “serve sin” you have “Crucified the Lord afresh, and put him to an open shame.” Can you bear that thought? Oh! if you have fallen into any special sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this admonition this evening, to bring you back before you have backslidden very far. Turn thee to Jesus anew; he has not forgotten his love to thee; his grace is still the same. With weeping and repentance, come thou to his footstool, and thou shalt be once more received into his heart; thou shalt be set upon a rock again, and thy goings shall be established.

- Charles Spurgeon's Meditations for May 30th

~Brittany

God's Presence and Guidance

"His promise is, 'Lo, I am with you alway.'  Let there be but a moments 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 labor, and capable of every suffering.  If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be strenthened, 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 favored with His company."

- Charles Spurgeon -

(taken from his Evening Meditation for December 26th)

"Tremble no, 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."

- Charles Spurgeon -

(taken from his Evening Meditation for December 27th)

~Brittany

Look back, believer: think of your doubting God

when He has been so faithful to you -

think of your foolish outcry of "Not so, my Father,"

when He crossed His hands in affliction to give you the larger blessing;

think of the many times when you have read His providences in the dark,

misinterpreted His dispensations, and groaned out,

"All these things are against me,"

when they are all working together for your good!

Think how often you have chosen sin because of its pleasure,

when indeed, that pleasure was a root of bitterness to you!

Surely if we know our own heart we must plead guilty

to the indictment of a sinful folly;

and conscious of this "folishness,"

we must make David's consequent resolve our own -

"Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel."

-- Charles Spurgeon --

"Man has a claim on God,

a divine claim for any pain, want, disappointment, or misery

that will help to make him what he ought to be.

 He has a claim to be punished,

and to be spared not one pang that may urge him toward repentance;

yea, he has a claim to be compelled to repent;

to be hedged in on every side,

to have one after another of the strong, sharp-toothed sheep-dogs

of the Great Shepherd sent after him,

to thwart him in any desire,

foil him in any plan,

frustrate him of any hope,

until he comes to see at length that nothing will ease his pain,

nothing make life a thing worth having,

but the presence of the living God within him;

that nothing is good but the will of God;

nothing noble enough for the desire of the heart of man

but oneness with the eternal.

For this God must make him yield his very being,

that He himself may enter in and dwell with him."

-- George MacDonald --

God Governs Your Circumstances

 "God doesn't drive an ambulance,

He never shows up afterwards and tries to put the pieces back together.

Its not how He works.  God governs the chaos.

We need to put roots there, because the world is broken.

We need to put roots there, because there will be a day,

if you have not been there yet, where you are perplexed but not crushed;

where you are confused and its hard to reconcile

the goodness of God with your circumstances."

-- Matt Chandler--

~Brittany