Category Archives: Encouragement

Belonging

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I can say no better than did Charles Spurgeon:

Morning, October 19 Go To Evening Reading

“Babes in Christ.”

—1 Corinthians 3:1

Are you mourning, believer, because you are so weak in the divine life: because your faith is so little, your love so feeble? Cheer up, for you have cause for gratitude. Remember that in some things you are equal to the greatest and most full-grown Christian. You are as much bought with blood as he is. You are as much an adopted child of God as any other believer. An infant is as truly a child of its parents as is the full-grown man. You are as completely justified, for your justification is not a thing of degrees: your little faith has made you clean every whit. You have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your right to covenant mercies lies not in your growth, but in the covenant itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure, but the token of your inheritance in him. You are as rich as the richest, if not in enjoyment, yet in real possession. The smallest star that gleams is set in heaven; the faintest ray of light has affinity with the great orb of day. In the family register of glory the small and the great are written with the same pen. You are as dear to your Father’s heart as the greatest in the family. Jesus is very tender over you. You are like the smoking flax; a rougher spirit would say, “put out that smoking flax, it fills the room with an offensive odour!” but the smoking flax he will not quench. You are like a bruised reed; and any less tender hand than that of the Chief Musician would tread upon you or throw you away, but he will never break the bruised reed. Instead of being downcast by reason of what you are, you should triumph in Christ. Am I but little in Israel? Yet in Christ I am made to sit in heavenly places. Am I poor in faith? Still in Jesus I am heir of all things. Though “less than nothing I can boast, and vanity confess.” yet, if the root of the matter be in me I will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the God of my salvation.

Practice

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John 3:21 mentions those who “practice“ the truth. In our vocabulary practicing means pretty much taking a stab at something. “Well I hope this works out.” But there are quite a few different meanings to the word practice that are worth examining. Let the readers decide for themselves which words best reflect God‘s intention. The numbers after each word or how many times they occur in the Bible.

accomplished (1), act (4), acted (3), acting (1), acts (2), appointed (3), away* (1), bear (5), bearing (1), bears (3), become (1), bore (1), bring (1), bring…to pass (1), bring about (2), bringing (1), brings forth (1), call (1), carried (1), carries (1), carry (1), cause (3), causes (2), causing (1), commit (2), commits (2), committed (4), composed (1), consider (1), created things (1), dealt (1), did (33), did…do (2), do (170), does (16), does…do (1), doing (38), done (43), establishing (1), execute (4), exercises (1), expose* (1), formed (1), formed a conspiracy (1), forms (1), gave (4), give (4), gives (1), giving (1), have (2), have kept (1), having (1), held (1), indulging (1), keep (3), keeps (1), kept (1), made (38), make (47), makes (7), making (9), observe (2), offer (1), offering (1), perform (4), performed (8), performing (7), performs (1), practice (5), practices (11), practicing (1), present (1), proceeding (1), produce (3), produced (1), produces (2), producing (1), provide (1), put (1), satisfy* (1), setting (1), show (2), showed (1), shown (1), spend (1), spent (4), took (1), treat (6), treated (1), weaker (1), worked (1), working (1).

Give?

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Is it possible that the best thing we can do for the children of the world is to give them what they want? They want freedom to be godless. They want freedom for the pursuit of pleasure. They want a certain legality for all their miss guided desires. They want to imagine there is no heaven or hell. They desire that there is no consequence to a godless people‘s existence. They want to be their own gods.

God tells us the world will certainly gain all it has desired and fought against him to keep. The deep-seated hatred for all that is true and good will eventually consume the people.

It will happen. It will come to pass that the world will be immersed in the worship of demons. Here is the question: does the beginning of that immersion begin today?

Personally, I think the beginning of that immersion is when Christ’s people are taken from this world. See how the stage is being built.

For now we stand against them by doing and saying the things of our God, Christ Jesus. See how vigorously they fight against righteousness, self discipline, purity and godly justice.

They will eventually get what they want. They will be ecstatic when they win full release. Though we can say with confidence they will rue the day of their “success”.

Above Our Ability

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Christianity is singular. Meaning by necessity it has to stand apart from everything on earth. Just as everything on earth has a beginning (a threshold) to its place. As you approach, it is not then all of a sudden it is. So what is the threshold of Christ in us?

Spurgeon points at it with this:

“Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature’s garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature’s thorns never produced a single fig. ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh.’”

Insatiable Demand

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Every law ever instituted by man is meant to curb his rebellious nature. But no sooner are laws instituted, and we find people inventing ways to satisfy their longing for selfish wickedness.

To point this out is likely useless. Consider this example: speed limits are set to protect the people from simple errors. But unless the policeman is visible, the people will speed 5, 10, 15 miles over the limit.

Crime is not limited to those violations of law that can land a man in prison. Look down the road considerably farther. God is Holy and Perfect. If a man will break a small law of humanity, he is already willing to break God’s laws in heaven.

God has set the boundaries of his law to protect perfection.

What does this mean to us? With a little bit of thought, the meaning becomes glaringly obvious. The more we think about it, the more terrifying is our insatiable demand.

Who is bold enough to receive God‘s righteous restraints?

Be Thou Use Filled

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When Jesus is lifted up in his Church, his presence is the Church’s power—the shout of a king is in the midst of her. “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” Let us go out this morning on our work of soul fishing, looking up in faith, and around us in solemn anxiety. Let us toil till night comes, and we shall not labour in vain, for he who bids us let down the net, will fill it with fishes.

Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.