Come and drink

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.

—John 7:37

Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast He pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of His Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!

Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, "as though God did beseech you by us." What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo His children to His bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come.

Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul's thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it.

Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.

Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's last day!

No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer's loving voice as He cries to each of us,

"IF ANY MAN THIRST,
LET HIM
COME UNTO ME
AND DRINK."

Charles Spurgeon

The Babylonian books of the present day!

(Charles Spurgeon, "The Greatest Fight in the World")

The history of that human ignorance which calls itself "philosophy", is absolutely identical with the history of fools! If ones were to write the history of folly, he would have to give several chapters to philosophy, and those chapters would be more revealing than any others.

Beware of the Babylonian books of the present day! The truth of God is the only treasure for which we seek, and the Scripture is the only field in which we dig for it! If you keep close to the inspired book, you can suffer no harm; you are at the fountain-head of all moral and spiritual good. This is fit food for the people of God--this is the bread which nourishes the highest life.

The prayerful study of the Word is not only a means of instruction--but an act of devotion wherein the transforming power of grace is often exercised, changing us into the image of Christ, of whom the Word is a mirror.

Within the Scripture, there is a balm for every wound, a salve for every sore. Oh, the wondrous power in the Scripture to create a heart of hope, within the ribs of despair! Amidst sharp and strong temptations, and fierce and bitter trials, the Word of the Lord has preserved us. Amidst discouragements which damped our hopes, and disappointments which wounded our hearts, our Bibles have brought us a secret, unconquerable consolation.

There is no true doctrine which has not been fruitful in good works. Payson wisely said, "If there is one fact, one doctrine, or promise in the Bible, which has produced no practical effect upon your temper or conduct--be assured that you do not truly believe it."

The "doctrines of grace" produce . . .
a fine morality,
a stern integrity,
a delicate purity,
a devout holiness,
consecration in life,
calm resignation in the hour of suffering,
joyful confidence in the article of death.
This must be a true gospel--which can produce such lives as these!

Go forth in Christ's Righteousness

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 31, 2009

O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

Death defeated! The Law stripped of power! No longer crushed beneath the fell weight of the curse! Praise the Lord that the resurrection of Christ has secured your own resurrection, O people of the Almighty! Hell can hold no victory over you, O believer, for you are a child of the Most High, made into a new creation. Perfect! Righteous! Clothed exquisitely and adorned in beauty befitting the bride of Christ Himself! Christ has cleansed you unto righteousness, so go forth in that righteousness, steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the good work that all God's children desire!

Bear the trial to wear the crown

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."

Charles Spurgeon

The smallest trifles

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" Matthew 10:29-30

It is most important for us to learn, that the smallest trifles are as much arranged by the God of Providence, as the most startling events. He who counts the stars--has also numbered the hairs of our heads. Our lives and deaths are predestined--but so, also, are our sitting down and our rising up!

Eternal salvation

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 30, 2009

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28)

If we are truly believers in Christ, then we will also be followers of Him. Because we believe in and follow Jesus, we will live eternally in heaven with Him. Once we have been saved, no one can take away our salvation!

Life in Christ

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.

Charles Spurgeon

A very present help in trouble

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 28, 2009

[[To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.]] God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalms 46:1)

Be assured, O believer, that the Lord your God is with you. He shall shelter your spirit in His mighty house forever. Never need you fear, for He is even now your aid against all manner of trouble. Rejoice, therefore, in His love and power!

No sin, no sinner, no devil!

(Thomas Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

"An undefiled inheritance." 1 Peter 1:4

There are few earthly inheritances--but some defilement or other sticks close to them. Many times they are gotten by fraud, oppression, violence, injustice, etc. And as they are often wickedly gotten--so they are as often wickedly kept!

The heavenly inheritance is the only undefiled inheritance. No sin, no sinner, no devil--can enter to defile or pollute the heavenly inheritance, the incorruptible crown! The serpent got into the earthly paradise, and defiled Adam's crown--yes he robbed him of his crown! But the subtle serpent can never enter into the heavenly paradise!

"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:27

God Hates The Workers Of Iniquity

A Thought From Pastor Johnson:

Psalms 5:5 “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”

We find in the world of religion today such a great misunderstanding of the scriptures that most pastors should be ashamed to preach on Sunday morning. There is in churches today such a great empathies on John 3:16 that other scriptures such as Psalms 5:5 are ignored completely. Please understand John 3:16 is a most wonderful verse and has such a great and wonderful meaning that it disserves much expounding upon in today’s pulpits, however only in it’s true meaning. With Psalms 5:5 and John 3:16 put side by side and put in the context most Pastors preach about John 3:16 greatly contradict God’s word and the first thought every young Minister should learn is God’s word never contradicts itself. Psalms 5:5 is such a profound verse that it condemns all sinners in totality, and puts mankind in a true light as a sinner and the scriptures hath concluded that God hates sinners. We hear so much about God hating sin that some choose to forget that it is the sinner that God truly hates. Now this is not to say God doesn’t hate sin because He does in fact, He hates everything connected with sin, even the one doing the act. If this is true then how is it possible that God loves all of mankind? We hear the old false line “Jesus loves everyone” and that is impossible because God has just concluded that He does not. We must understand God’s true relationship with sin and the sinner in order to understand better grace, mercy, and love. Once we understand how much God hates sin and the sinner then we understand God’s salvation and how salvation is by grace and through faith and how “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:8 – 10. God hates the sinner so much that He has created an eternal punishment in a place called HELL where the fire never extinguishes nor the worm ever dies (that is the suffering and desire to exit ever stops). Man has such a desire to make themselves loved of God that they misuse the scriptures to justify their thinking. John 3:16 is the greatest of examples of this. How is it possible that God loves every living soul and that He wills none to go to hell if He hates the sinner? Well this is were another false concept come into view, they say Psalms 5:5 means that God only hates the worse sinners among us, but this theory still shows to be false because if they suppose that God loves every sinner, then it must be remembered we are suppose to tell everyone that God loves them therefore this concept doesn’t hold water either.

Let us now focus on John 3:16 and the misunderstanding of it. This scripture has been much debated and the reason for this is because I do not believe anyone wants to proclaim the true meaning because they fear hurting someone’s feelings. I have found that John Gill gives the best commentary of this; “Not every man in the world is here meant, or all the individuals of human nature; for all are not the objects of God's special love, which is here designed, as appears from the instance and evidence of it, the gift of his Son: nor is Christ God's gift to every one; for to whomsoever he gives his Son, he gives all things freely with him; which is not the case of every man…the objects of God's special love, and to them Christ is given, and they are brought to believe in him, and shall never perish, but shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; yet rather the Gentiles particularly, and God's elect among them, are meant; who are often called "the world", and "the whole world", and "the nations of the world", as distinct from the Jews.” This commentary by Gill makes so much sense because the word “world means - orderly arrangement, that is, decoration” - and the word “decoration” means - an item, usually one of a group, attached to something to make it look more attractive – or one elected of God before the foundation of the world (one of a group) that (make it look more attractive) through Jesus Christ. Not the entire population but rather those elected by God.

A Biblical Example of Spirit-led Praying

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 25, 2009

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. (Colossians 1:9-10a)

As we have seen, the Lord calls us in various ways to pray without ceasing. We are to engage every issue of life every day in every way through Spirit-led prayer: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). In addition to this extensive call to prayer, the word of God also gives us heavenly insight concerning the general content of our prayers. Our next two meditations reflect this by offering a biblical example of Spirit-led praying.

The Apostle Paul prayed consistently for the believers at Colosse. "We…do not cease to pray for you." God's will was the primary issue about which the Holy Spirit impressed Paul to pray: "to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will." Such praying will ultimately lead people into the word of God, where the will of God is revealed. "This is the will of God, your sanctification…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18). Truly understanding God's will requires heavenly insight: "in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." Of course, this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).

The Lord does not inform us of His will merely for our curiosity. Knowing God's will is to lead to living God's will: "that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him." Our Lord desires that we walk in a manner appropriate for identifying with Him and His great gospel of grace. "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27). He wants us to be interested in what pleases Him, not what pleases self or the world: "proving what is acceptable [well-pleasing] to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10). The Lord wants to work in us the heart seen in David's Messianic confession. "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8). Bringing the will of God into the heart of man is what the new covenant of grace accomplishes. "I will make a new covenant …I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…who also made us sufficient as ministers [servants] of the new covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31, 33 and 2 Corinthians 3:6). Living in prayerful dependence upon the grace of God will make us true "servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart" (Ephesians 6:6)..

Dear Lord, I want to be fully controlled by Your will, pleasing You in every way. From Your word, grant me Holy Spirit insight into Your will. Teach me to pray in this Spirit-led manner, that Your grace might lead me to do Your will from deep within my heart.

Jesus delivers us from our sins

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 25, 2009

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

Long did the world await His coming. Long did the people of God pine for the promised Seed. Long did we desire the advent of the one who would bring about the kingdom of God. And He has come! And He has risen! Christ came to earth in sinless perfection, lived His life in perfect holiness, gave up perfection to become our sin, and took up perfection once more in His resurrection! Praise the Lord for His salvation all you who believe!

The Birth of Our Saviour

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 26, 2009

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

As Christ came as a child to live and die for His people, so too will He come again arrayed in victory, charging forth in holy righteousness to announce the final consummation of His heavenly kingdom! Great shall be that day! Great in sorrow! Great in joy! All authority is given Him: to judge and to save. Trust upon the saving lifeblood of the risen Lord and rejoice in His return! Mighty will be His host and unparalleled the joy that shall reign eternal upon all His people!

He had to 'learn the lesson' just as we do!

(J. R. Miller, "The Wider Life" 1908)

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in need." Philippians 4:11-12

Life is a 'school'. All its experiences are 'lessons'.

We are all in 'Christ's school'--and He is always 'educating' us.

Disciples are 'learners' and all true Christians are disciples. We enter the lowest grade when we begin to be Christians. We have everything to learn. Each new experience, is a new lesson set for us by the great Teacher.

The business of noble Christian living--is learning. We know nothing when we begin. Learning is not confined to what we get from reading books. All of life is a school. 'Christ's books' are ever being put into our hands, and 'lessons' are set for us continually.

Paul tells us of one of the lessons he had learned in the 'school of experience'. "I have learned," he said, "the secret of being content in any and every situation." We are glad to know that Paul had to learn to be contented. We are apt to think that such a man as he was--did not have to learn to live as we common people do; that he always knew, for instance, how to be contented. Here, however, we have the confession that he had to 'learn the lesson' just as we do. He did not always know 'the secret of contentment'. He was well on in years when he said this, from which we conclude that it took him a long time to learn the lesson--and that it was not easy for him to do it. Christ's school is not easy.

Sorrow is a choice lesson in Christ's school. Sorrow is not an accident breaking into our life, without meaning or purpose. God could prevent the coming of the sorrow--if He so desired. He has all power, and nothing can touch the life of any of His children--unless He is willing. Since we know that God loves us and yet permits us to suffer--we may be quite sure that there is a blessing, something good, in whatever it is that brings us pain or sorrow.

We shrink from pain. We would run away from afflictions. We would refuse to accept sorrow. But there are things worth suffering for, things dearer than ease and pleasure. We learn lessons in pain, which repay a thousand times--the cost of our tears!

The Bible tells us that God preserves the tears of His children, putting them in His tear-bottle. Tears are sacred to God, because of the blessings that come through them, to His children. In heaven, we will look back on our lives of pain and sorrow on the earth--and will find that our best lessons have come through our tears!

All the 'Christian graces' have to be learned in 'Christ's school'. There Paul had learned contentment. He never would have learned it, however, if he had had only pleasure and ease all his life. Contentment comes from learning to do without things, which we once supposed to be essential to our comfort. Paul had learned contentment through finding such fullness of blessing in Christ--that he did not need the 'secondary things' any more.

Perhaps we would succeed better in learning this same grace--if we had fewer of life's comforts--if sometimes we had experience of need. The continuity of blessings that flow like a river into our lives--gives us no opportunity to learn contentment.

When sufferings come into our life . . .
disagreeable things--instead of pleasant things;
hunger and poverty--instead of plenty;
rough ways--instead of flower-strewn paths;
God is teaching us the 'lesson of contentment', so that we can say at length, that we have learned the secret of being content!

Another Call to Pray without Ceasing

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 24, 2009

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.. (Ephesians 6:18)

Through His word, God calls us to lives of continual prayerfulness. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus also calls us to this life of prayer, both by His teaching and His example. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Luke 18:1 and Mark 1:35). Our present verse is another call to praying without ceasing.

The context directs us to appropriate, by faith, the powerful spiritual resources that are ours in the Lord. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-11). These heavenly provisions are put on by looking to the Lord unceasingly in prayer: "praying always." This constancy in prayer can be done with "all prayer and supplication." God has arranged many appropriate ways for us to pray, such as confession, repentance, request, thanksgiving, rejoicing, praise, adoration, and more. Note, however, that every type of praying is to be done "in the Spirit." As in all areas of life, we must depend upon the Spirit. He will grant us guidance and wisdom for praying according to the will of God.

Godly praying also includes spiritual alertness: "being watchful to this end." When prayer is especially needed, we can be tempted to slumber. In Gethsemane, the disciples were not alert to the great need to pray. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Mark 14:38). Again, this highlights our need to be led of the Spirit. Further, a part of our need for the Spirit pertains to perseverance: "with all perseverance." Praying requires all kinds of spiritual persistence. Praying requires demanding spiritual labor. The Holy Spirit must sustain us in God's strength, if we are to engage in prayer to the extent that our Lord often desires. Some of this call to persevering prayer involves the battles and needs that others are facing: "with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." It is not wrong for us to cry out to God concerning our own needs. Our Lord invites us to do such. "Let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). Still, the Lord wants to use us in the lives of people near and far through the wonderful avenue of intercession. The vision for prayer given here is quite expansive: "Praying always… all prayer…all perseverance…all the saints."

Dear Lord, this extensive call to prayer humbles my heart. I see much room to grow in my prayer life. Yet, it stirs my faith as well. By Your Spirit of grace at work in me, such praying is possible. O Lord, please make of me such a prayer warrior, Amen.

Christ's sacrifice for His people

For your sakes he became poor.

—2 Corinthians 8:9

The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but "though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor." As the rich saint cannot be true in his communion with his poor brethren unless of his substance he ministers to their necessities, so (the same rule holding with the head as between the members), it is impossible that our Divine Lord could have had fellowship with us unless He had imparted to us of His own abounding wealth, and had become poor to make us rich. Had He remained upon His throne of glory, and had we continued in the ruins of the fall without receiving His salvation, communion would have been impossible on both sides. Our position by the fall, apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to communicate with God as it is for Belial to be in concord with Christ.. In order, therefore, that communion might be compassed, it was necessary that the rich kinsman should bestow his estate upon his poor relatives, that the righteous Saviour should give to His sinning brethren of His own perfection, and that we, the poor and guilty, should receive of His fulness grace for grace; that thus in giving and receiving, the One might descend from the heights, and the other ascend from the depths, and so be able to embrace each other in true and hearty fellowship. Poverty must be enriched by Him in whom are infinite treasures before it can venture to commune; and guilt must lose itself in imputed and imparted righteousness ere the soul can walk in fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe His people in His own garments, or He cannot admit them into His palace of glory; and He must wash them in His own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of His fellowship.

O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus "became poor" that He might lift you up into communion with Himself.

Charles Spurgeon

Christ the only sure foundation

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 24, 2009

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name. (Revelation 3:12)

Believe in the risen Lord of Hosts and you shall evermore taste the gifts of the heavenly throne. Stand firm in Christ 'til that final day and you shall be as a pillar in His heavenly kingdom. Even now, those who believe are given the glorious calling to be a part of the holy house of the Lord. Christ is our chief cornerstone and may we ever be built upon His foundation.

Tangles which our fingers cannot unravel

(J. R. Miller, "For a Busy Day" 1895)

"Show me the way I should walk, for I have come to you in prayer." Psalm 143:8

We cannot know the way ourselves. The path across one little day seems very short, but none of us can find it ourselves. Each day is a hidden world to our eyes, as we enter it in the morning. We cannot see one step before us, as we go forth. An impenetrable veil covers the brightest day, as with night's black robes. It may have joys and prosperities for us--or it may bring to us sorrows and adversities. Our path may lead us into a garden--or the garden may be a Gethsemane. We have our plans as we go out in the morning--but we are not sure that they will be realized. The day will bring duties, responsibilities, temptations, perils, tangles which our fingers cannot unravel, intricate or obscure paths in which we cannot find the way.

What could be more fitting in the morning than the prayer, "Show me the way I should walk!" God knows all that is in the day for us. His eye sees to its close--and He can be our guide.

There is no promise given more repeatedly in the Bible, than that of divine guidance. We have it in the shepherd psalm, "He leads me in the paths of righteousness." Paths of righteousness are right paths. All God's paths are clean and holy. They are the ways of His commandments. But there is another sense in which they are right paths. They are the right ways--the best ways for us. Ofttimes they are not the ways which we would have chosen. They do not seem to be good ways. But nevertheless they are right--and lead to blessing and honor. We are always safe, therefore, in praying this prayer on the morning of any day, "Show me the way I should walk!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesus' Call to Pray without Ceasing

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 23, 2009

Pray without ceasing…Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…"And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?" (1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Luke 18:1, 7)

Praying without ceasing is the way to relate rightly to the God of all grace. Jesus called His followers to live in this prayerful manner when He told a parable that contrasted a godless human judge with God, our righteous judge.

The primary message of this parable would be that men should persistently pray at all times.. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." Jesus used the illustration of a wronged widow who was appealing for help from an unjust judge. At first, the judge had no interest in assisting her. However, when she persisted, he relented and gave her relief. "Though I do not fear God nor regard man, because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me" (Luke 18:4-5). The ungodly judge granted her relief, although he was not motivated by fear of God nor by compassion for man. His action was merely self-serving. Jesus then contrasts this to the holy motivations of our loving God, who responds to the needs of His children, as they call upon His name. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?" (Luke 18:7). The Lord Jesus hereby encourages us to pray without ceasing.

Jesus' own life was an example of praying persistently. At times, Jesus was up before dawn for extended prayer with the Father. "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). On another occasion, He prayed the entire night through. "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). In addition to His rich private prayer life, Jesus prayed regularly in public as well. "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes…Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them… Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me" (Matthew 11:25; Luke 9:16; and John 11:41-42). If Jesus, the Son of God prayed habitually, how clearly we are to do the same.

Jesus, my Lord, I want to heed Your radical call to a path of unceasing prayer. I want to follow Your wonderful example of a life of habitual prayer—in private and in public. Lord, stir my heart to such prayer, by Your empowering grace, Amen.

The night also is Thine.

—Psalm 74:16

Yes, Lord, Thou dost not abdicate Thy throne when the sun goeth down, nor dost Thou leave the world all through these long wintry nights to be the prey of evil; Thine eyes watch us as the stars, and Thine arms surround us as the zodiac belts the sky. The dews of kindly sleep and all the influences of the moon are in Thy hand, and the alarms and solemnities of night are equally with Thee. This is very sweet to me when watching through the midnight hours, or tossing to and fro in anguish. There are precious fruits put forth by the moon as well as by the sun: may my Lord make me to be a favoured partaker in them.

The night of affliction is as much under the arrangement and control of the Lord of Love as the bright summer days when all is bliss. Jesus is in the tempest. His love wraps the night about itself as a mantle, but to the eye of faith the sable robe is scarce a disguise. From the first watch of the night even unto the break of day the eternal Watcher observes His saints, and overrules the shades and dews of midnight for His people's highest good. We believe in no rival deities of good and evil contending for the mastery, but we hear the voice of Jehovah saying, "I create light and I create darkness; I, the Lord, do all these things."

Gloomy seasons of religious indifference and social sin are not exempted from the divine purpose. When the altars of truth are defiled, and the ways of God forsaken, the Lord's servants weep with bitter sorrow, but they may not despair, for the darkest eras are governed by the Lord, and shall come to their end at His bidding. What may seem defeat to us may be victory to Him.

"Though enwrapt in gloomy night,
We perceive no ray of light;
Since the Lord Himself is here,
'Tis not meet that we should fear."

Charles Spurgeon

Grow in Grace

Friend, go up higher.

—Luke 14:10

When first the life of grace begins in the soul, we do indeed draw near to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul conscious of guilt, and humbled thereby, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is cast to the earth by a sense of the grandeur of Jehovah, in whose presence it stands. With unfeigned bashfulness it takes the lowest room.

But, in after life, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will never forget the solemnity of his position, and will never lose that holy awe which must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence of the God who can create or can destroy; yet his fear has all its terror taken out of it; it becomes a holy reverence, and no more an overshadowing dread. He is called up higher, to greater access to God in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking amid the splendours of Deity, and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim, with those twin wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will, reverent and bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of love, of goodness, and of mercy, he will realize rather the covenant character of God than His absolute Deity. He will see in God rather His goodness than His greatness, and more of His love than of His majesty. Then will the soul, bowing still as humbly as aforetime, enjoy a more sacred liberty of intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of the Infinite God, it will be sustained by the refreshing consciousness of being in the presence of boundless mercy and infinite love, and by the realization of acceptance "in the Beloved." Thus the believer is bidden to come up higher, and is enabled to exercise the privilege of rejoicing in God, and drawing near to Him in holy confidence, saying, "Abba, Father."

"So may we go from strength to strength,
And daily grow in grace,
Till in Thine image raised at length,
We see Thee face to face."

Charles Spurgeon

Call upon the Lord

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 23, 2009

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalms 50:15)

Trust ever upon the mercy, goodness, and overwhelming sovereign power of the Lord's might. He will always save His people in their day of trial and He will always keep His children from final judgment. Rejoice, then, in His majesty, for He is your God and you are His people!

I will strengthen thee.

—Isaiah 41:10

God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for He is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth's huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength. While He is able to uphold the universe, dream not that He will prove unable to fulfil His own promises. Remember what He did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how He spake and it was done; how He commanded, and it stood fast. Shall He that created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall He who doth this be unable to support His children? Shall He be unfaithful to His word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth not He ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds His chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand? How can He fail thee? When He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that He has outpromised Himself, and gone beyond His power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer.

O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of Thy grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of Thy strength can never be emptied by Thy friends or rifled by Thine enemies.

"Now let the feeble all be strong,
And make Jehovah's arm their song."

Charles Spurgeon

Praying Without Ceasing to the God of All Grace

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 22, 2009

The God of all grace…pray without ceasing. (1 Peter 5:10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

These two biblical phrases are ideal correlations. The only way that we can live as God intends is by grace. Our God is the source of all grace. We draw upon God's grace through humility and faith. Prayer is the most appropriate expression of humility and faith. We pray, because we need God's help (thereby, expressing humility). We pray, because we believe God will help us (thereby, exercising faith). Consequently, praying without ceasing is a simple, yet profound, way to relate rightly to the God of all grace.

"Pray without ceasing." This command does not require the incessant recitation of prayers. Rather, it is a call to a prayerful way of living: "continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Romans 12:12). Praying without ceasing is primarily an attitude of the heart. To pray without ceasing is to have the inner man humbly dependent upon the Lord, while consistently addressing actual prayers to the Lord.

Paul was such a man of prayer. The Lord was definitely the object of his expectations: "the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope" (1 Timothy 1:1). In addition, he consistently offered prayers unto the Lord: "without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers…do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers…without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day" (Romans 1:9; Ephesians 1:16; and 2 Timothy 1:3). Notice also, Paul's prayers included recurring prayer for others. Those who live by grace develop hearts of intercession, praying that others might enjoy the grace of God as well.

It is common among the spiritual examples of Scripture to find lives of prayer. David was clearly one who prayed without ceasing. A great portion of his Psalms are prayers to the Lord. Some Psalms testify of his habit of prayer. "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (Psalm 55:17). Jeremiah was a man of prayer. "O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction…Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved…Give heed to me, O LORD, and listen to the voice of those who contend with me!" (Jeremiah 16:19; 17:14; and 18:19). Daniel was also a man of prayer. "He knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days" (Daniel 6:10). Likewise, those who truly live by grace increasingly become people of prayer.

O God of all grace, I want to live in humble dependence upon Your abounding grace. Teach me to express humility and faith in a life of unceasing prayer. This I pray through Christ Jesus my Lord, Amen.

The Lord is My Deliverer

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 22, 2009

Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.. (Psalms 34:19)

Though affliction be the promise to the sons of God and though suffering fills their path on this earth, still does the Lord promise deliverance. Still does the Lord promise comfort and still does the Lord promise salvation. And O what a deliverance—what a comfort—what a salvation! For but a moment's trifling pain, what rose jewel is bought the believer! Glory eternal! Love unceasing! Joy unquenchable! For the merest pinprick's bother, the believer is given all. Now rejoice! Take up your heavy cross made weightless by the sustaining power of God, and follow unto the way everlasting!

Once More on Following Jesus as a Disciple

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 21, 2009

"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me…My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (Luke 9:23 and John 10:27)

As we have seen, following Jesus as a disciple is another way to relate rightly to the Lord in humility and faith. Discipleship begins with renouncing the self-life and confessing death for the self-life. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily." Initially and continually, these humble and trusting responses to Jesus deal with self, which is the basic obstruction to following Him. Ultimately, three simple words express the very heart of discipleship: "and follow Me."

All of the Christian life can be summed up and fulfilled in this profound relationship—a humble, dependent walk with the Lord. It is the will of God that we grow in His all-sufficient grace. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Jesus came overflowing with that grace. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). As we follow Him in humble dependence, He pours His grace into our lives.

Jesus has all that we need. In Him, the complete resources of the Godhead for our personal wholeness reside. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him" (Colossians 2:9-10). In Him, all wisdom and knowledge are contained: "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). Jesus is the very life that we are called to live: "Christ who is our life" (Colossians 3:4). He is our "all and in all" (Colossians 3:11).

We need the Lord Jesus like sheep need a shepherd. In fact, our discipleship walk with Christ is portrayed in Scripture as sheep following a shepherd. Those who are in the world are like sheep without a shepherd. What a needy picture that is. "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). Jesus, our shepherd, is the ultimate shepherd. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Having died for us, our shepherd wants to lead us throughout our lives. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27). In humble dependence, we can hear His voice through His word and be led by His Spirit. Thereby, we enter into the fullness of the grace that God has for us during our pilgrimage here on this earth.

Jesus, my Good Shepherd, I need You like a sheep needs a shepherd. I humbly trust You to lead me through life, pouring out upon me the fullness of Your grace, in Your wonderful name, Amen.

Give and receive

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 21, 2009

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:38)

By the degree of generosity of our hearts, so will the blessings of God be poured out upon us. When we give much, much is offered in return. Yet, if we offer little to those around us, we will receive fewer blessings from the Father. The Lord desires to shower His children with all His abundant and wonderful blessings! May we bear the same attitude toward those around us. May we abound in lovingkindness and generosity for those less fortunate.

2 Timothy 2:1 - 4

"Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2.) And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (3.) Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (4.) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

Over Jordan With Singing

"Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee" Deut. 33:29

That arch-enemy, the devil, is a liar from the beginning; but he is so very plausible that, like mother Eve, we are led to believe him. Yet in our experience we shall prove him a liar.

He says that we shall fall from grace, dishonor our profession, and perish with the doom of apostates; but, trusting in the Lord Jesus, we shall hold on our way and prove that Jesus loses none whom His Father gave Him. He tells us that our bread will fail, and we shall starve with our children; yet the Feeder of the ravens has not forgotten us yet, and He will never do so, but will prepare us a table in the presence of our enemies.

He whispers that the Lord will not deliver us out of the trial which is looming in the distance, and he threatens that the last ounce will break the camel's back. What a liar he is! For the Lord will never leave us, nor forsake us. "Let him deliver him now!" cries the false fiend: but the Lord will silence him by coming to our rescue.

He takes great delight in telling us that death will prove too much for us. "How wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?" But there also he shall prove a liar unto us, and we shall pass through the river singing psalms of glory.

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Who Is Your God?

Jeremiah 10:10 “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.”

When I ask who your God is, I am asking what God do you truly worship? Do you worship the true God or do you worship a fictitious (not true or genuine) god? Many people will tell me we all worship the same God however after talking to them and comparing our understanding of who God is I simply do not believe we do worship the same God. I worship Jehovah God which is truth, not simply a God of truth but is truth in nature. Jesus Christ reminded us in John 14:6 “…I am the way, the truth, and the life…” He is not “a way” He is the only way, He is not “a life” but He is life itself, and He is not “a truthful person” but rather He is truth. Jesus Christ is all three of these things by nature plus many more; it is not simply part of his nature but rather His total nature. When you speak of eternal life you speak of Him, when you speak of the way to heaven you speak only of Him, and when you speak of truth you also speak of Him. There is no lie in Him He is truth and truth by nature. We can be truthful in this life but we are not truth by nature, however that is what Jesus Christ was while on this earth He never lied. So who is your God, is He truth and only truth? Titus 1:2 "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” As we look into the prophecies of the Old Testament we see that they have all been fulfilled except for those still yet to be. There is not one lie in the bible, not one, it is total truth and must be because it is the breath of God.

So again I ask who is your God? Is He a living God or is He an idol or an image or maybe a figment of your imagination. My God is alive; I know this because He lives in my heart. I have a picture of Him but only in the scriptures and I can only see Him with my eye of faith, but this I will conclude; He is real and He is truth and I can believe every word He had declared to me in His word. Beloved any thing out side of this is a false idol. We have no pictures of God in any shape or form therefore any sort of worship of images or statues are false worship at the least. My God is real and He alone created the world and all that is within it, He alone sent His beloved Son to this wicked world in the form of the Son of Man in order to be a sufficient sacrifice to die for our eternal life, and it was God Who delivered my unworthy soul from eternal destruction. Is this the God you worship?

Truth, it means - a verified or indisputable fact – this is what God is and every part of His being is. Now we as sinners could never be this by nature however this is what we are to strive for as Christians. We are to be like Him and that would include being truthful and honest. If we are truthful and if we worship the same God then why do so many Christians lie to their children about a fictitious man named Santa Claus? Now I know that some Christians do not consider this to be a lie but rather a “white lie” however a lie is a lie, isn’t it? Churches have a fake Santa to visit their churches, and it is not just Santa what about the Easter Bunny he also normally makes a visit, do they not understand these two figments of imagination become for this short time a god (that is one due worship) to their children? So I ask would God that is Jehovah God approve of these two visiting churches? Are not these two false idols to our children to worship. Beloved it is wrong to lie to your children and it is also more wrong for churches to do it and Pastors to approve of it. Teach them about the birth of Jesus Christ and don’t substitute Him for an idol.

Pastor Randy Johnson

On faith and salvation

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 20, 2009

Who shall also confirm you unto the end, [that ye may be] blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:8)

Fear not the wickedness of your own inclinations, O believer, for Christ will ever sustain you in spite of your weakness! Trust in Him. Lean on His might. Throw yourself into the redemptive mercy of His hands and seek not the power to remain of your own might. Have faith in the Lord for He shall save you in that final day!

Only a 'kiss'

(J. R. Miller, "The Friendships of Jesus" 1897)

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends--if you do what I command. . . . I have called you friends." John 15:13-15

The central fact in every true Christian life, is a personal friendship with Jesus. Men were called to follow Him, to leave all and cleave to Him, to believe on Him, to trust Him, to love Him, to obey Him; and the result was the transformation of their lives into His own beauty! That which alone makes one a Christian, is being a friend of Jesus.

Friendship transforms--we become like those with whom we live in close, intimate relations. Life flows into life, heart and heart are knit together, spirits blend, and the two friends become one.

We have but little to give to Christ; yet it is a comfort to know that our friendship really is precious to Him, and gives Him joy--poor and meager though its best may be. But He has infinite blessings to give to us. The friendship of Jesus includes all other blessings for time and for eternity! If Christ is our friend, all of life is made rich and beautiful to us.

"I have called you friends." No other gift He gives to us--can equal in value, the love and friendship of His heart.

When King Cyrus gave Artabazus, one of his courtiers, a 'gold cup'; he gave Chrysanthus, his favorite, only a 'kiss'. And Artabazus said to Cyrus, "The gold cup you gave me, was not so precious as the kiss you gave Chrysanthus."

No good man's money is ever worth as much as his love. Certainly the greatest honor of this earth, greater than rank or station or wealth--is the friendship of Jesus Christ.

The stories of the friendships of Jesus when He was on the earth, need cause no one to sigh, "I wish that I had lived in those days, when Jesus lived among men--that I might have been His friend too--feeling the warmth of His love, my life enriched by contact with His, and my spirit quickened by His love and grace!" The friendships of Jesus, whose stories we read in the New Testament, are only patterns of friendships into which we may now enter--if we are ready to consecrate our life to Him in faithfulness and love.

The Lord is My Shield

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 19, 2009

[[[A Psalm] of David.]] The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1)

The Lord is ever with the child of His right hand. Mercy, protection, grace, and love are ever the believer's company. By the precious blood of Christ, we are made partakers of the heavenly promise. Hide yourself in Christ, O believer, and embrace the true rest He so lovingly grants His children! Rest and do good!

Come Over and Help Us

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

It is written: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” (Acts 16:9-10)

Because of the abundance of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus around us, we so often unconsciously presume there is an abundance of it everywhere in the world. Sad to say, this is a false assumption; nothing could be farther from the truth. There are still multitudes of locations that have yet to hear the honest preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Sovereign Eternal Grace of God. There is truly a worldwide famine in the land, a famine of hearing the honest preaching and teaching of the Word of God. It is not because it is not in the world; rather it is because those holding the truth of the righteousness of God in Jesus have an apathetic view of the whited fields of harvest. This is a generation of spiritual degeneration and self-centeredness. There are very few who are awake and conscious of a world vision for the cause of Christ. There are even places that have heard it in the past but are empty of the sound of the Gospel now.

Cognizant believers are acutely knowledgeable of the desperation of the multitudes around the world hungering for “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” There is a special passion of the indwelling Holy Spirit that ardently hears and feels the cries of “Come over and Help us!” This passion knows no boundaries of sea, land, or cultures. It craves only one thing -- to quench the hunger and thirst for righteousness. It responds to the plea with “God, here am I! How can I help?” There is no thought of “Can I?”; rather the thought is “God, please, make a way and show me how to answer the call!” Faithful believers see the white fields and are ready to go. Multitudes need the Gospel of hope.

Many so-called believers have become numb to worldwide missions, evangelism, and education. Yet, the needs and pleadings have multiplied. But, who will hear and fill up the gaps with “Here am I, use me!” There is an urgent need for an unselfish and unfettered surrender to the cries for help in these darkest of times!

Jesus is the door

I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

—John 10:9

Jesus, the great I AM, is the entrance into the true church, and the way of access to God Himself. He gives to the man who comes to God by Him four choice privileges.

1. He shall be saved. The fugitive manslayer passed the gate of the city of refuge, and was safe. Noah entered the door of the ark, and was secure. None can be lost who take Jesus as the door of faith to their souls. Entrance through Jesus into peace is the guarantee of entrance by the same door into heaven. Jesus is the only door, an open door, a wide door, a safe door; and blessed is he who rests all his hope of admission to glory upon the crucified Redeemer.

2. He shall go in. He shall be privileged to go in among the divine family, sharing the children's bread, and participating in all their honours and enjoyments. He shall go in to the chambers of communion, to the banquets of love, to the treasures of the covenant, to the storehouses of the promises. He shall go in unto the King of kings in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the secret of the Lord shall be with him.

3. He shall go out. This blessing is much forgotten. We go out into the world to labour and suffer, but what a mercy to go in the name and power of Jesus! We are called to bear witness to the truth, to cheer the disconsolate, to warn the careless, to win souls, and to glorify God; and as the angel said to Gideon, "Go in this thy might," even thus the Lord would have us proceed as His messengers in His name and strength.

4. He shall find pasture. He who knows Jesus shall never want. Going in and out shall be alike helpful to him: in fellowship with God he shall grow, and in watering others he shall be watered. Having made Jesus his all, he shall find all in Jesus. His soul shall be as a watered garden, and as a well of water whose waters fail not.

Charles Spurgeon

More on Relating Rightly to the God of All Grace

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 17, 2009

The God of all grace…it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. (1 Peter 5:10; John 6:63; and Philippians 3:10)

In order to live day by day by grace, we must relate rightly to "the God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10). Essentially, this involves developing a personal relationship with the Lord. "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). A growing relationship with the true and living God produces the relational realities of humility and faith. Thereby, we are able to live by the grace of God: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble…We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (1 Peter 5:5 and Romans 5:2).

As we are in the word of God, growing in the knowing of God, there are many ways to express humility and faith toward the Lord. We have emphasized a number of these in previous sections of these devotions. Living by the Spirit was one of these. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing." The spiritual life that the Holy Spirit alone can provide is what the new covenant of grace offers to man. God "also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). As we humbly depend upon the Spirit, God graciously fills our lives with His life.

We considered another way to walk in humility and faith through living by the power of the resurrection: "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection." Yes, resurrection power is available for daily Christian living. "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know…what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:18-20). Of course, experiencing this power requires humbly admitting that we have no power on our own, and then relying on His mighty power.

Living by the Spirit and living by resurrection power are two ways to relate rightly to the God of all grace. They both are experienced through humble dependence. They both result in the grace of God becoming our daily resource from the Lord.

Lord God of all grace, I need Your Holy Spirit to fill me with Your life. My flesh profits nothing. Lord, each day I need the power of Your resurrection working in my life. I have no effective power that I can generate on my own. I praise You that these are available through humble dependence!

The Lord Upholds Me Always

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
December 17, 2009

Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)

Ever will the Lord raise up His people from their troubles! Ever will He seek to heal their hurts! Ever will He redeem His people from wickedness! And ever will the Lord Almighty strengthen the resolve of His children that they might proclaim His mercies forever! Praise His name forever all you His people! Hallelujah!

How good I am! What fine things I have done!

(J. R. Miller, "The Beauty of Quietness" 1903)

"They will be like dew sent by the Lord." Micah 5:7

The lives of godly people are sometimes compared to the dew. One point of likeness, is the quiet way in which the dew performs its ministry. It falls silently and imperceptibly. It makes no noise. No one hears it dropping. It chooses its time in the night when men are sleeping, when none can see its beautiful work. It covers the leaves with clusters of pearls. It steals into the bosoms of the flowers, and leaves new cupfuls of sweetness there. It pours itself down among the roots of the grasses and tender herbs and plants. It loses itself altogether, and yet it is not lost. For in the morning there is fresh life everywhere, and new beauty. The fields are greener, the gardens are more fragrant, and all nature is clothed in fresh luxuriance!

Is there not in this simile, a suggestion as to the way we should seek to do good in this world? Should we not wish to have our influence felt--while no one thinks of us; rather than that we should be seen and heard and praised? Should we not be willing to lose ourselves in the service of self-forgetful love, as the dew loses itself in the bosom of the rose--caring only that other lives shall be sweeter, happier, and holier--and not that honor shall come to us? We are too anxious, some of us, that our names shall be written in large letters on the things we do, even on what we do for our Master; and are not willing to sink ourselves out of sight--and let Him alone have the praise.

Our Lord's teaching on the subject is very plain. He says: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." That is, they have that which they seek--the applause of men.

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." The meaning would seem to be, that we are not to wish people to know of our good deeds, our charities, our self-denials; that we should not seek publicity, when we give money or do good works; indeed, that we are not even to tell ourselves what we have done; that we are not to think about our own good deeds so as to become conscious of them; not to put them down in our diaries and go about complimenting ourselves, throwing bouquets at ourselves, and whispering: "How good I am! What fine things I have done!"

This is an insightful test of our lives. Are we willing to be as the dew--to steal abroad in the darkness, carrying blessings to men's doors, blessings that shall enrich the lives of others and do them good--and then steal away again before those we have helped or blessed awaken, to know what hand it was that brought the gift? Are we willing to work for others . . .
without gratitude,
without recognition,
without human praise,
without requital?

Are we content to have our lives poured out like the dew--to bless the world and make it more fruitful--and yet remain hidden away ourselves? Is it enough for us to see the fruits of our toil and sacrifice--in others' spiritual growth, and deeper happiness; yet never hear our names spoken in praise or honor--perhaps even hearing others praised for things we have done?

If you go about doing good in simple ways, in gentle kindnesses, not thinking of reward, not dreaming of praise, not hoping for any return--you are enshrining your name where it will have immortal honor! Our lesson teaches us that this is the way we are to live--if we are followers of Christ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Relating Rightly to the God of All Grace

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
December 16, 2009

The God of all grace…to the praise of the glory of His grace…the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…the Spirit of grace. (1 Peter 5:10; Ephesians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 8:9; and Hebrews 10:29)

Our Lord God is "the God of all grace." God's comprehensive and infinite grace is characteristic of all the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Father will be honored forever for His grace, so we read: "to the praise of the glory of His grace." The Son makes that grace available to all who believe, so it is called "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Spirit applies that grace in the hearts of those who follow Jesus Christ, so He is called "the Spirit of grace." Grace is found in God alone. Therefore, one must relate rightly to the God of all grace in order to receive all that He has for us in fulfilling His purposes and glorifying His name.

We relate rightly to the God of grace by developing a personal relationship with Him. Getting to know God is what life with the Lord is all about. "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). In fact, knowing the Lord is man's ultimate treasure in all of creation. Everything else that competes is to be considered as loss. "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8). It is not surprising then that getting increasingly acquainted with the Lord is the way that His grace impacts our lives. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Peter 1:2).

As we get to know the God of all grace more and more, He develops in us two strategic relational realities: humility and faith. Relational realities are spiritual qualities that become practically real as a result of a growing relationship with Christ. We have looked at these two spiritual qualities many times throughout our meditations. Repeated reflection on humility and faith is appropriate, since they unfold the practical heart of living daily by God's grace. "Be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble'" (1 Peter 5:5). God's grace is given to those who "walk humbly with [their] God" (Micah 6:8). Likewise, faith accesses grace. "We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:2). Walking in humble dependence is the way to relate rightly to the God of all grace.

Dear God of all grace, I want to relate to You rightly that I might live daily by Your grace. Help me to know You more and more that humility and faith might develop in my life. I long to walk before You in humble dependence, in Jesus' name, Amen.