Good Soldier

"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of a patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of a Christian. " ~ George Washington

My daughter used this quote by our first President in a Patriotic Project she just completed for her American Government class. Grading this paper as her home teacher, I thought it was one of the finest she's ever written. In the paper, she referred to the above painting and said that the artist "brilliantly captured on canvas this founding father practicing what he preached." I agree. One primary aspect of the project was to discuss how the particular patriot responded to the diminishing influence of Biblical values in his society. He surely saw it in his day, but how do you think Mr. Washington would have responded to what is happening today? Personally, I think he would be horrified.

We need more leaders doing just what you see in the above portrait. And they need to mean it, not just do it for show. Maybe if that would happen, things wouldn't continue to decline so rapidly. I would like to think it's not over yet. There's still a battle going on. And parents and grandparents, it's for the moral soul of our country. That means our children and grandchildren are involved. So let's follow the example of the first official leader our nation ever knew and get down on bended knees. But afterward, let's get up and fight.

Our weapons of war? The Bible and the gospel.

Confessing Christ Boldly to Others

The wickedness of being ashamed of Christ is very great. It is a proof of unbelief. It shows that we care more for the praise of men whom we can see, than that of God whom we cannot see. It is a proof of ingratitude. It shows that we fear confessing Him before man who was not ashamed to die for us upon the cross. Wretched indeed are they who give way to this sin. Here, in this world, they are always miserable. A bad conscience robs them of peace. In the world to come they can look for no comfort. In the day of judgment they must expect to be disowned by Christ to all eternity, if they will not confess Christ for a few years upon earth. Let us resolve never to be ashamed of Christ. Of sin and worldliness we may well be ashamed. Of Christ and His cause we have no right to be ashamed at all. Boldness in Christ's service always brings its own reward. The boldest Christian is always the happiest person.

~ J.C. Ryle

I Will Be With Thee

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

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2

What better promise is there than that? "I will be with Thee." Not only will He strengthen, help, and uphold us, but when we pass through the waters of affliction and fires of adversity, we will come through these trials unscathed. At least spiritually. But these promises were made to Israel, you say. Yes, indeed they were. But aren't you thankful that if you and I are His children by faith, as was Abraham, we have been grafted in? Romans 11 says so and I believe what it says, don't you? So these promises are ours too, and I am eternally grateful.

Abundant Satisfaction

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. Psalm 63:5

There is that in a gracious God and in communion with him, which gives abundant satisfaction to a soul . . . And there is that in a gracious soul, which takes abundant satisfaction in God, and in communion with him.

~ Matthew Henry.

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.)

The Power of Gentleness

Gentleness is love in society. . . It is that cordiality of aspect and that soul of speech, which assure that kind and earnest hearts may still be met with here below. It is that quiet influence, which, like the scented flame of an alabaster lamp, fills many a home with light and warmth and fragrance altogether. It is the carpet, soft and deep, which, whilst it diffuses a look of ample comfort, deadens many a creaking sound. It is the curtain, which from many a beloved form wards off at once the summer's glow and the winter's wind. It is the pillow on which sickness lays its head and forgets half its misery, and to which death comes in a balmier dream. It is considerateness. It is tenderness of feeling. It is warmth of affection. It is promptitude of sympathy. It is love in all its depths and all its delicacy. It is every thing included in that matchless grace, the gentleness of Christ.

~ Dr. J. Hamilton

Oh, this brought tears to my eyes. Dear sweet gentle Jesus, please would you give this grace to me?


(Quote borrowed from 15 Minutes with God for Grandma, by Emilie Barnes.)

He Goes Before

Dark is the sky! and veiled the unknown morrow;
Dark is life's way, for night is not yet o'er;
The longed-for glimpse I may not meanwhile borrow;
But, this I know, HE GOETH ON BEFORE.

Dangers are nigh! and fears my mind are shaking;
Heart seems to dread what life may hold in store;
But I am His--He knows the way I'm taking,
More blessed still--HE GOETH ON BEFORE.

Doubts cast their weird, unwelcome shadows o'er me,
Doubts that life's best--life's choicest things are o'er;
What but His Word can strengthen, can restore me,
And this blest fact; that still HE GOES BEFORE.

HE GOES BEFORE! Be this my consolation!
He goes before! On this my heart would dwell!
He goes before! This guarantees salvation!
HE GOES BEFORE! And therefore all is well.
--J. D. Smith

His Beauty Upon Us

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. . .Psalm 90:17

"Ah! dear Lord, when you give us a sight of our own evil heart, we are overwhelmed with horror, and should soon be driven to despair, if you did not at once turn our eyes to that wondrous hill of Calvary, where One 'altogether lovely' made the great atonement which brought us back to you! That precious blood, which cleanses us from all sin, restores to us the beauty which that sin has forfeited; its royal purple not only covers our disfigurement, but removes it, and bestows upon us the beauty which the Lord looks on with pleasure.

"O my soul, do you not desire above all things that this 'beauty of holiness' may be your glorious dress? Then you must keep very close to the Master, shutting the door of your heart to every evil thing, and opening it wide to the incoming of his Holy Spirit, who, in revealing Christ to you, will make you like him. An old fable tells how a piece of common clay became sweetly scented by close contact with a rose; the fable will be a happy fact in your experience if the Rose of Sharon blooms in your heart, and sheds its fragrance around your life. 'Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty,' yes, may God grant it; but the condition is thus expressed--'Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord'."

~ Susannah Spurgeon

There is None Like It

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the Ephod, if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. I Samuel 21:9

Our sermon yesterday was quite interesting. I had never paid enough attention to this particular verse before to get out of it what was brought forth yesterday. David was running from Saul, at a low point in his life, and had come to Ahimelech the priest. He asked the priest if he had either a sword or spear because he (David) had no weapon on him. The above verse was Ahimelech's answer.

We thought about three important lessons from all this: First, we thought about the providence of God in David's life which had brought him to that point in time; then we thought about how the priest had reminded David of what he had already accomplished when he had slain the Philistine, and then we were reminded of what that one sword represented: The sword that almost destroyed Israel was the same sword that freed Israel. No wonder David said there was none like it.

All of these truths were applied to our own lives here and now: Of course concerning God's providence in His dealing with each of us; then how we should remind each other of God's work in our lives, the remembrance of which will give us confidence and strength. And we were finally reminded that the accomplishment of one seemingly insignificant person against a mighty foe can encourage the rest of us to fight the Lord's battles.

Very good lessons indeed.

A Treasure Within

Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

"There is a great difference between Christians and worldlings. The worldling hath his treasure in jewels without him; the Christian hath them within. Neither indeed is there any receptacle wherein to receive and keep the word of consolation but the heart only. If thou leave it in thy mouth only, it shall be taken from thee; if thou have it in thy book only, thou shalt miss it when thou hast most to do with it; but if thou lay it up in thy heart, as Mary did the words of the angel, no enemy shall ever be able to take it from thee, and thou shalt find it a comfortable treasure in the time of thy need."
~ William Cowper