Author and Finisher

 

 (Photo by Letoirina)

"We often forget that the author of our faith must be the finisher of it also."

~ C. H. Spurgeon

A Message to Mothers, C.H. Spurgeon

"Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty. Christian women, by teaching children the Holy Scriptures, are as much fulfilling their part for the Lord, as Moses in judging Israel, or Solomon in building the temple."  ~ C.H. Spurgeon

A wonderful and touching message to mothers from Mr. Spurgeon. I know it's a day late, but this message is for any day of the year, and ALL days of the year. Read the rest of it here, at Raising Godly Children.

Enter Into His Gates

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Psalm 100:4

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving" . . . So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. Mercy permits us to enter his gates; let us praise that mercy.  

"And into his courts with praise." Into whatever court of the Lord you may enter, let your admission be the subject of praise: thanks be to God, the innermost court is now open to believers, and we enter into that which is within the veil; it is incumbent upon us that we acknowledge the high privilege by our songs.

"Be thankful unto him." Let the praise be in your heart as well as on your tongue, and let it all be for him to whom it all belongs.

"And bless his name." He blessed you, bless him in return; bless his name, his character, his person. Whatever he does, be sure that you bless him for it; bless him when he takes away as well as when he gives; bless him as long as you live, under all circumstances; bless him in all his attributes, from whatever point of view you consider him.

~ From The Treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon

True Worship

It is not your worshipping God by words in hymns and prayers, or sitting in a certain place, or covering your faces at certain times that is acceptable to him; true worship lies in your heart paying reverence to him, your soul obeying him, and your inner nature coming into conformity to his own nature, by the work of his Spirit in your soul; and because men can scarcely get the idea of this till the Holy Spirit gives it to them, this is a reason why it is so rare, so exceedingly rare.

Charles Spurgeon

Gratitude

The man believes that he is forgiven. What then? He feels gratitude to him who has pardoned him. Feeling gratitude, it is but natural that he should hate that which displeases his Saviour, and should love intensely that which is pleasing to him who saved him, so that faith operates upon the entire nature, and becomes the instrument in the hand of the regenerating Spirit by which all the faculties of the soul are put into the right condition. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he, but his thinkings come out of his believings; if he be put right in his believings, then his understanding will operate upon his affections, and all the other powers of his manhood, and old things will pass away, all things will become new through the wonderful effect of the faith, which is of the operation of God. Faith works by love, and through love it purifies the soul, and the man becomes a new creature. See ye then the wisdom of God? He may choose what way he will, but he chooses a way which at once guards his grace from our felonious boastings, and on the other hand produces in us a holiness which other wise never would have been there.

- Charles Spurgeon

A Secret Work

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Psalm 139:15

" 'My substance was not hid from thee.' The substantial part of my being was before thine all-seeing eye; the bones which make my frame were put together by thine hand. The essential materials of my being before they were arranged were all within the range of thine eye. I was hidden from all human knowledge, but not from thee: thou hast ever been intimately acquainted with me. 'When I was made in secret.' Most chastely and beautifully is here described the formation of our being before the time of our birth. A great artist will often labour alone in his studio, and not suffer his work to be seen until it is finished; even so did the Lord fashion us where no eye beheld us, and the veil was not lifted till every member was complete . . . 'And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.' 'Embroidered with great skill,' is an accurate poetical description of the creation of veins, sinews, muscles, nerves, etc. What tapestry can equal the human fabric? . . ."
~ Charles H. Spurgeon, from The Treasury of David

How dare we dispense with this marvelous work of God as if it were nothing but a "choice" belonging to us, the creatures? How dare we take it upon ourselves to even think we can make a determination whether this secret work of the Creator should or should not live? I wonder what Mr. Spurgeon would have thought if what would be happening in this day had been foretold? If God withholds judgment on our nation, it is purely a display of His long suffering and mercy!

Fellow saints, let's continue to pray that in the face of mercy, the time will soon come that this darkness prevailing over us will begin to be lifted. Let's do all we can to see that it happens, even if what we do seems small compared to the big picture. Who knows how even our littlest efforts can be used by the great Artist, who certainly recoils at seeing His work destroyed.

(Posting on both my personal and devotional blogs to recognize Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, 2011.)

Born Again

John 3:5 Jesus said “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

If you have been truly born again you have a new and holy nature, and you are no longer moved towards sinful objects as you were before. The things that you once loved you now hate, and therefore you will not run after them. You can hardly understand it but so it is, that your thoughts and tastes are radically changed. You long for that very holiness which once it was irksome to hear of; and you loathe those vain pursuits which were once your delights. The man who puts his trust in the Lord sees the pleasures of sin in a new light. For he sees the evil which follows them by noting the agonies which they brought upon our Lord when He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Without faith a man says to himself, “This sin is a very pleasant thing, why should I not enjoy it? Surely I may eat this fruit, which looks so charming and is so much to be desired.” The flesh sees honey in the drink, but faith at once perceives that there is poison in the cup. Faith spies the snake in the grass and gives warning of it. Faith remembers death, judgment, the great reward, the just punishment and that dread word, eternity.

C.H. Spurgeon

Though the Most Terrible Occurs . . .

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Psalm 46:2

. . . The two phrases set forth the most terrible commotions within the range of imagination, and include the overthrow of dynasties, the destruction of nations, the ruin of families, the persecutions of the church, the reign of heresy, and whatever else may at any time try the faith of believers. Let the worst come to the worst, the child of God should never give way to mistrust; since God remaineth faithful there can be no danger to his cause or people. When the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the heavens and the earth shall pass away in the last general conflagration, we shall serenely behold "the wreck of the matter, and the crash of worlds," for even then our refuge shall preserve us from all evil, our strength shall prepare us for all good.~ Charles Spurgeon

As we look around us and see with open eyes, it's pretty apparent that some of the situations Mr. Spurgeon outlined are upon us already. It's important to remember that our "refuge and strength" is still there, isn't it?

Our Refuge in This Election

God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea . . .

Psalm 46:1-2

I don't know about you, but I've been a bit distressful over this election. "What in the world are we going to do?" I've been saying. "What's going to happen to our country?" This beloved psalm is just what I needed for these times. Even though I still know that it's possible that our country may be on the verge of judgment for its increasing ungodliness, it comforts me to remember that it is our God Himself who is our hope, not a president.

"He is my refuge and strength." Do not forget the fact that God is our refuge just now, in the immediate present, as truly as when David penned the word. God alone is our all in all. All other refuges are refuges of lies. All other strength is weakness, for power belongeth unto God: but as God is all sufficient, our defence and might are equal to all emergencies. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

A little nugget from The Treasury of David by Spurgeon:

A sure stronghold our God is He,

A timely shield and weapon;

Our help He'll be, and set us free

From every ill can happen.

And were the world with devils filled,

All eager to devour us,

Our souls to fear shall little yield,

They cannot overpower us.

Chew on that, dear friends, between now and November and beyond.

Sunday Snippet - Good Affliction

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes. Psalm 119:71

"To be larded by prosperity is not good for the proud; but for the truth to be learned by adversity is good for the humble. Very little is to be learned without affliction. If we would be scholars, we must be sufferers. God's commands are best read by eyes wet with tears."

Charles H. Spurgeon, from The Treasury of David

Choose No Evil

I have a short and concise quote by Spurgeon that I want to share tonight. In fact, I like this one so much that for a few months now, it's been the quote that's been posted for children's responses on the Speakable Gifts website. Tell me if you don't agree that these are words of particular wisdom, especially for young folks.

Of two evils, choose neither.

~~C. H. Spurgeon

How powerful. How necessary that we teach this to our children in this day and age. They are going to be presented with wickedness every day. May we teach them to never choose "the lesser of two evils," but to choose neither. How I pray that this new generation would have more who will rise up and stand for right, whatever the cost!