Things I want to share with you.
………”I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness. . . “ John 8:12
Into the dark, Lord Jesus,
Into the dark with Thee.
There hath come to my heart a calling apart,
And a whispered, “Follow Me.”
Take Thou my hand, Lord Jesus,
In Thy mighty clasp divine;
Hold it so close, Lord Jesus,
That it tremble not in Thine;
For my heart shrinks back from the unknown track,
And my feet tread falteringly;
And into the dark I follow –
Into the dark with Thee.
Into the dark, Lord Jesus,
Is it the dark with Thee?
Nay, Thou makest the night about me light,
And mine eyes—mine eyes shall see-
Shall “see the King in His beauty.”
In the land that is far away;
Shall see in the heavenly sunshine,
The path that is hid today.
Then why should I fear what the untried year
May bring to mine or me?
Into the dark I follow –
Nay, into the Light with Thee!
- Edith G. Cherry
Deep sorrows sometimes prove to be God’s masked mercies. The worst sorrows in life are not its losses, and misfortunes, but its fears.
Today's devotional reading in Traveling toward Sunrise by Mrs Charles Cowman.
"You may judge a man by what he groans after." Spurgeon
"Let us not be ashamed to let all people know what Jesus has done for our souls." ~ J.C. Ryle
"A good example is far better than a good precept." Dwight Moody
"Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ." - Spurgeon
"A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know." Dwight Moody
"Only the prayer which comes from our heart can get to God's heart." – Spurgeon
"A rule I have had for years is: to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere doctrine, but it is He Himself we have." Dwight Moody
"It is well said that neglected prayer is the birth-place of all evil" – Spurgeon
"Character is what a man is in the dark." Dwight Moody
"It is a good rule never to look into the face of a man in the morning till you have looked into the face of God" - Spurgeon
"Death may be the King of terrors... but Jesus is the King of kings!" Dwight Moody
"A habit of listening to the sweet inner voice of His presence results in a radical determination to obey that voice." AW Tozer
Here is..." a stark reminder of the vileness of sin in the life of every man. Too often, especially among unbelievers, we become complacent with our sinfulness because we see no evidence of negative repercussions. Because of God’s great patience and benevolence, our lives seem unaffected by our rebellious actions. In fact, in some cases, life seems even better than before. Prosperity abounds and our consciences are easily seared to the point of seeing no harm in our “inconsequential” sin.
Let us not forget, therefore, the reality of the vileness of all sin, even those so-called “lesser” sins of omission, those failures of duty and those shortcomings in spirit that even beset the believer. As the Scriptures tell us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”—1 John 1:8-10.
In conclusion, I leave you with these eloquent words from Charles Spurgeon in response to the above text:
“The Lord will not consent to parley with you on the ground that you are not much of a sinner, and that after all your sin is not a great evil. No, he will meet you where the truth is and nowhere else; when you confess that you are unworthy of his pity, you are owning the truth, and when you feel guilty, you feel what is really fact; on this footing of truth, sad truth though it be, the Lord will meet with you through the atoning blood. It is in your vileness that sovereign grace o’er sin abounding will come to you and cleanse you, and therefore the sooner you come to the honest truth the better for you, for the sooner will you obtain joy and peace through believing in Christ. The text means just this—Treat God truthfully, and he will treat you truthfully. Make no pretensions before God, but lay bare your soul, let him see it as it is, and then he will be faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Mark the beauty of that expression; God will deal with you in faithfulness. His nature is mercy, and you naturally expect that if you confess your sin to a merciful God, he will deal mercifully with you and be faithful to his nature; and he will be so. But he has also given a promise that if the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and turn unto the Lord, he will have mercy upon him; depend upon it he will be faithful to his promise. The blood of Jesus Christ has made a full atonement, and God will be faithful to that atonement. He will deal with you on the grounds of the covenant of grace, of which the sacrifice of Jesus is the seal, and therein also he will be true to you…
“For my own part, I mean to come to him always as a sinner. I know I am saved, but I never hope to get one inch beyond that verse,— ‘The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth me from all sin,’ for only so can I walk in the light as he is in the light.”
Amen."
~ J.C. Ryle
Plenty there to be challenged by!
In acceptance lieth peace,
O my heart be still;
Let thy restless worries cease
And accept His will.
Though this test be not thy choice,
It is His—therefore rejoice.
In His plan there cannot be
Aught to make thee sad:
If this is His choice for thee,
Take it and be glad.
Make from it some lovely thing
To the glory of thy King.
Cease from sighs and murmuring,
Sing His loving grace,
This thing means thy furthering
To a wealthy place.
From thy fears He’ll give release,
In acceptance lieth peace.
—Hannah Hurnard
This poem keeps encouraging and challenging me. I hope it does so for you too!
Take comfort in Christ. Are there any among you who have tasted of this blessed change—who have put off the old man which is corrupt, and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness—who mourn over your own daily shortcomings, and sigh after more holiness, more self-denial, more mortification of the flesh with all its lusts? We bid you take comfort, and remember that Christ is still the same: He called you and gave you the witness of the Spirit, and He will not forsake you. You may waver and tremble: go forward in faith, and He will still support you. ~ J.C. Ryle
The right manner of growth is to grow less in one's own eyes. - Thomas Watson
Your trials may be many and great. Your cross may be very heavy. But the business of your soul is all conducted according to an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. All things are working together for your good. Your sorrows are only purifying your soul for glory; your bereavements are only fashioning you as a polished stone for the temple above, made without hands. From whatever quarter the storms blow, they only drive you nearer to heaven! Whatever weather you may go through it is only ripening you for the garner of God. Your best things are quite safe. ~ J.C. Ryle
“Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.” - John_21:12
In these words the believer is invited to a holy nearness to Jesus. “Come and dine,” implies the same table, the same meat; aye, and sometimes it means to sit side by side, and lean our head upon the Saviour’s bosom. It is being brought into the banqueting-house, where waves the banner of redeeming love. “Come and dine,” gives us a vision of union with Jesus, because the only food that we can feast upon when we dine with Jesus is himself. Oh, what union is this! It is a depth which reason cannot fathom, that we thus feed upon Jesus. “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” It is also an invitation to enjoy fellowship with the saints. Christians may differ on a variety of points, but they have all one spiritual appetite; and if we cannot all feel alike, we can all feed alike on the bread of life sent down from heaven. At the table of fellowship with Jesus we are one bread and one cup. As the loving cup goes round we pledge one another heartily therein. Get nearer to Jesus, and you will find yourself linked more and more in spirit to all who are like yourself, supported by the same heavenly manna. If we were more near to Jesus we should be more near to one another. We likewise see in these words the source of strength for every Christian. To look at Christ is to live, but for strength to serve him you must “come and dine.” We labour under much unnecessary weakness on account of neglecting this percept of the Master. We none of us need to put ourselves on low diet; on the contrary, we should fatten on the marrow and fatness of the gospel that we may accumulate strength therein, and urge every power to its full tension in the Master’s service. Thus, then, if you would realize nearness to Jesus, union with Jesus, love to his people and strength from Jesus, “come and dine” with him by faith.
“With thee is the fountain of life.” - Psalm_36:9
There are times in our spiritual experience when human counsel or sympathy, or religious ordinances, fail to comfort or help us. Why does our gracious God permit this? Perhaps it is because we have been living too much without him, and he therefore takes away everything upon which we have been in the habit of depending, that he may drive us to himself. It is a blessed thing to live at the fountain head. While our skin- bottles are full, we are content, like Hagar and Ishmael, to go into the wilderness; but when those are dry, nothing will serve us but “Thou God seest me.” We are like the prodigal, we love the swine-troughs and forget our Father’s house. Remember, we can make swine-troughs and husks even out of the forms of religion; they are blessed things, but we may put them in God’s place, and then they are of no value. Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God: even the brazen serpent is to be despised as “Nehushtan,” if we worship it instead of God. The prodigal was never safer than when he was driven to his father’s bosom, because he could find sustenance nowhere else. Our Lord favours us with a famine in the land that it may make us seek after himself the more. The best position for a Christian is living wholly and directly on God’s grace-still abiding where he stood at first-”Having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” Let us never for a moment think that our standing is in our sanctification, our mortification, our graces, or our feelings, but know that because Christ offered a full atonement, therefore we are saved; for we are complete in him. Having nothing of our own to trust to, but resting upon the merits of Jesus-his passion and holy life furnish us with the only sure ground of confidence. Beloved, when we are brought to a thirsting condition, we are sure to turn to the fountain of life with eagerness. Spurgeon
All systems of theology, except that which is founded upon free grace, in some way or other take off the edge of guilt. Spurgeon
Within the Scripture there is a balm for every wound, a salve for every sore. Spurgeon
Old-fashioned believers could give you chapter and verse for what they believed; but how few of such remain! Spurgeon
"I want to be one of those rare Christians whose very presence incites others to also be better Christians." AW Tozer
To me the Bible is not God, but it is God’s voice, and I do not hear it without awe. Spurgeon
Let us see now one more proof of the unspeakable importance of the death of Christ. Let us treasure up His gracious sayings. Let us strive to walk in the steps of His holy life. Let us prize His intercession. Let us long for His second coming. But never let us forget that the crowning fact in all we know of Jesus Christ, is His death upon the cross. From that death flow all our hopes. Without that death we would have nothing solid beneath our feet. May we prize that death more and more every year we live; and in all our thoughts about Christ, rejoice in nothing so much as the great fact that He died for us! ~ J.C. Ryle
Devotion to God will be found to be the basis of holiness. If you backslide in secret before God, you will soon err in public before men. Spurgeon
If we only spent more of our time in looking at Him we should soon forget ourselves. - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Emotions are not fired by logic; and yet reasons furnish fuel for the flame. Spurgeon
You must be made miserable before you can know true Christian joy. - M. Lloyd-Jones
Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength. Spurgeon
Indeed the real trouble with the miserable Christian is that he has never been truly made miserable because of conviction of sin- M. Lloyd-Jones
Every sin of the elect was laid upon the great Champion of our salvation, and by the atonement carried away. Spurgeon
Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something; it is something we are to do because of what we already are. M. Lloyd-Jones
If we will only think, we shall begin to thank. Spurgeon
Faith is the refusal to panic - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass—one is that God knows, and the other is that we do not know. Spurgeon
And here's a lovely video: http://www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html
Enjoy!
"The only Christian you want to listen to is the one who gives you more of a hunger for God." AW Tozer
Our Lord’s great object in laying down his life upon the cross was the father’s glory. Spurgeon
"No man has found how far he can go with God because there is in the mysterious depths of God neither limit nor end." AW Tozer
If God be glorified, does it really matter where we are? What becomes of us is of small consequence compared with bringing glory to his name. Spurgeon
"You may be careless about your soul, but the devil is not." ~ J.C. Ryle
If you meet with a system of theology which magnifies man, flee from it as far as you can. Spurgeon
“But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck.” - Exodus_34:20
Every firstborn creature must be the Lord’s, but since the ass was unclean, it could not be presented in sacrifice. What then? Should it be allowed to go free from the universal law? By no means. God admits of no exceptions. The ass is his due, but he will not accept it; he will not abate the claim, but yet he cannot be pleased with the victim. No way of escape remained but redemption-the creature must be saved by the substitution of a lamb in its place; or if not redeemed, it must die. My soul, here is a lesson for thee. That unclean animal is thyself; thou art justly the property of the Lord who made thee and preserves thee, but thou art so sinful that God will not, cannot, accept thee; and it has come to this, the Lamb of God must stand in thy stead, or thou must die eternally. Let all the world know of thy gratitude to that spotless Lamb who has already bled for thee, and so redeemed thee from the fatal curse of the law. Must it not sometimes have been a question with the Israelite which should die, the ass or the lamb? Would not the good man pause to estimate and compare? Assuredly there was no comparison between the value of the soul of man and the life of the Lord Jesus, and yet the Lamb dies, and man the ass is spared. My soul, admire the boundless love of God to thee and others of the human race. Worms are bought with the blood of the Son of the Highest! Dust and ashes redeemed with a price far above silver and gold! What a doom had been mine had not plenteous redemption been found! The breaking of the neck of the ass was but a momentary penalty, but who shall measure the wrath to come to which no limit can be imagined? Inestimably dear is the glorious Lamb who has redeemed us from such a doom. Spurgeon’s Evening by Evening
The wolves discover that wearing a smile is just as effective as wearing sheep’s clothing.
(Here is a link to where I found the above picture! I rather like it!) http://sacredsandwich.com/
As the profane take the liberty to force their irreligion upon you, so you take the liberty to force your religion upon them. Spurgeon
Let us remember this as we look forward to the days yet to come: We know not what our days may be – bright or dark, many or few – but we know that we are in the hands of Him who does all things well. He will not err in any of His dealings with us. He will take away and give – He will move and He will settle – with perfect wisdom, at the right time, in the right way. The great Shepherd of the sheep makes no mistakes. He leads every lamb of His flock by the right way to the city of habitation. ~ J.C. Ryle
Death is no punishment to the believer: it is the gate of endless joy. Spurgeon
"If you profess to be a child of God, leave it to the Lord Jesus to sanctify you in His own way." ~ J.C. Ryle
One of these days you will want a microscope to find a grain of evangelical doctrine in a dozen sermons. Spurgeon
"The glory of God always comes at the sacrifice of self." AW Tozer
Scripture reading is our spiritual meal-time. Spurgeon
"The blood of Christ can cleanse away all sin. But we must 'plead guilty' before God can declare us innocent." ~ J.C. Ryle
The Bible in the memory is better than the Bible in the book case. Spurgeon
G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.
This life is made up of shadows: substance lies elsewhere. Spurgeon
Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee when he has graven thee upon His own palms? Spurgeon
The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus. Oswald Chambers
Not that our salvation should be the effect of our work, but our work should be the evidence of our salvation. Spurgeon
"In the greatest difficulties, in the heaviest trials, in the deepest poverty and necessities, He has never failed me." – George Muller
He is not the God of apostates, for he hath said, “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Spurgeon
"The more my trust rests in God, the less I trust myself." AW Tozer (The Crucified Life)
This would be the first step in apostasy; men first forget the true, and then adore the false. Spurgeon
You could not be saved through any effort of your own, but now that you are saved it is necessary for you to put forward every effort you can to glorify Him. --H.A. Ironside
If you are God’s chosen ones, you will know it by your trusting in Jesus. Simple as that trust is, it is the infallible proof of election. Spurgeon
Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself & my identification with Him. Oswald Chambers
Whatever may be said about election, it is written in the Word of God as with an iron pen; there is no getting rid of it, there it stands. Spurgeon
"HATE SIN! Instead of loving it, cleaving to it, excusing it, playing with it, we ought to hate it with a deadly hatred." ~ J.C. Ryle
There will be no doubt about His having chosen you, when you have chosen Him. Spurgeon
What a beggarly thing it is for a man only to do his work well when he is watched. Such oversight is for boys at school and mere hirelings. Spurgeon
Men and women who hear the Gospel regularly, I often fear much for you. I fear lest you become so familiar with the sounds of its doctrines, that you gradually become dead to its power. I fear lest your religion should sink down into a little vague talk about your own weakness and corruption, and a few sentimental expressions about Christ, while real practical fighting on Christ’s side is altogether neglected. Oh, beware of this state of mind! “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.” No victory—no crown! Fight and overcome! ~ J.C. Ryle
Blessed is he who expects nothing of poor flesh and blood, for he shall never be disappointed. Spurgeon
When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink. Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time. Spurgeon
"Boast not of Christ's work for you, unless you can show us the Spirit's work in you." ~ J.C. Ryle
I am not so much troubled about how evil came into the world as about helping get it out. Spurgeon
"How many Christians really harbor within their own spirit the daily expectation of God's presence?" AW Tozer
I have come to reckon that nothing is worth seeking after but that which will survive the tomb. Spurgeon
Faith obliterates time, annihilates distance, and brings future things at once into its possession. Spurgeon
If you love Christ, never be ashamed to let others see it and know it. Speak for Him. Witness for Him. Live for Him. Work for Him. If He has loved you and washed you from your sins in His own blood, you never need shrink from letting others know that you feel it, and love Him in return. ~ J.C. Ryle
He would have us like children who believe what their father tells them. Spurgeon
"When we allow God to be exalted in our difficulties we are in the perfect place to smell the fragrance of His Presence." AW Tozer
The saints are sinners still. Our best tears need to be wept over, the strongest faith is mixed with unbelief. Spurgeon
"Christians often try to put God in a box. The God who fits in a box isn't the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." AW Tozer
Stagger not at electing love; it is one of the highest notes of heavenly music. Spurgeon
Jesus Christ’s honour is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us? Oswald Chambers
God’s choice of us was not because we were holy, but to make us holy; and God’s purpose will not be fulfilled unless we are made holy. Spurgeon
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. Oswald Chambers
That which is wrought by noise will subside when quiet reigns, as the bubble dies with the wave which bore it. Spurgeon
"Remember that you cannot understand the mind of the Lord, nor the meaning of His dealings." ~ J.C. Ryle
All human work which does not begin and end in the Lord Jesus must be a non-success. Spurgeon
Be challenged!!
“Encourage him.” - Deuteronomy_1:38
"Brethren, take the text as God’s message to you. Labour to help others, and especially strive to encourage them. Talk cheerily to the young and anxious enquirer, lovingly try to remove stumblingblocks out of his way. When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ. Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the desponding. Speak a word in season to him that is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness. God encourages you by his promises; Christ encourages you as he points to the heaven he has won for you, and the spirit encourages you as he works in you to will and to do of his own will and pleasure. Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others."
