"Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust..."

C. H. Spurgeon

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"Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."—2 Peter 1:4.

ANISH for ever all thought of indulging the flesh if you would live in the power of your risen Lord. It were ill that a man who is alive in Christ should dwell in the corruption of sin. "Why seek ye the living among the dead?" said the angel to Magdalene. Should the living dwell in the sepulchre? Should divine life be immured in the charnel house of fleshly lust? How can we partake of the cup of the Lord and yet drink the cup of Belial? Surely, believer, from open lusts and sins you are delivered: have you also escaped from the more secret and delusive lime-twigs of the Satanic fowler? 

Have you come forth from the lust of pride? Have you escaped from slothfulness? Have you clean escaped from carnal security? Are you seeking day by day to live above worldliness, the pride of life, and the ensnaring vice of avarice? Remember, it is for this that you have been enriched with the treasures of God. If you be indeed the chosen of God, and beloved by Him, do not suffer all the lavish treasure of grace to be wasted upon you. Follow after holiness; it is the Christian's crown and glory. An unholy church! it is useless to the world, and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell's laughter, heaven's abhorrence. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church. O Christian, the vows of God are upon you. You are God's priest: act as such. 

You are God's king: reign over your lusts. You are God's chosen: do not associate with Belial. Heaven is your portion: live like a heavenly spirit, so shall you prove that you have true faith in Jesus, for there cannot be faith in the heart unless there be holiness in the life.

"Lord, I desire to live as one
Who bears a blood-bought name,
As one who fears but grieving Thee,
And knows no other shame."

"These have no root"

C. H. Spurgeon

"These have no root."—Luke 8:13.

Y soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. Thou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not always a lasting one.

In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus?

 If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah's gourd; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus, above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower, plough me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield Thee a bounteous harvest.

Sifting

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Sifting: C. H. Spurgeon

"For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."—Amos 9:9.

VERY sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work of heaven, for the text says, "I will sift the house of Israel." Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overruling hand of the Master is accomplishing the purity of the grain by the very process which the enemy intended to be destructive. Precious, but much sifted corn of the Lord's floor, be comforted by the blessed fact that the Lord directeth both flail and sieve to His own glory, and to thine eternal profit.

The Lord Jesus will surely use the fan which is in His hand, and will divide the precious from the vile. All are not Israel that are of Israel; the heap on the barn floor is not clean provender, and hence the winnowing process must be performed. In the sieve true weight alone has power. Husks and chaff being devoid of substance must fly before the wind, and only solid corn will remain.

Observe the complete safety of the Lord's wheat; even the least grain has a promise of preservation. God Himself sifts, and therefore it is stern and terrible work; He sifts them in all places, "among all nations"; He sifts them in the most effectual manner, "like as corn is sifted in a sieve"; and yet for all this, not the smallest, lightest, or most shrivelled grain, is permitted to fall to the ground. Every individual believer is precious in the sight of the Lord, a shepherd would not lose one sheep, nor a jeweller one diamond, nor a mother one child, nor a man one limb of his body, nor will the Lord lose one of His redeemed people. However little we may be, if we are the Lord's, we may rejoice that we are preserved in Christ Jesus.

Waiting on God

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14 NASB)

Waiting is hard. No doubt about it. We humans get fidgety if we have to wait to long. If the line we are in at the grocery store takes too long then we begin to look around for other lanes that might be faster. If we wait too long in a waiting room, we begin to look at our watches and check the door more frequently, waiting for our name to be called.

How much harder is waiting on the Lord! The matters we have entrusted to Jesus are of far more weight then a few minutes in a grocery store line or an hour in a waiting room. We are waiting on important matters of life, and often even matters dear to our heart - our very loves, our very dreams.

Just as important as not being slack on our obedience is not running ahead. When we run ahead of God's timing, we make a mess of things because He has not yet done the molding and shaping in our life to prepare us for His answer.

We must be prompt when He calls: Luke 12:36  And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 

But we must also wait on His timing. Lam 3:25-26  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 

Abraham ran ahead of God didn't he? We see the lesson from his life. God told him that HE would provide  a promised son from whom all nations would be blessed. After many years of waiting, on Sarah's advice Abraham decided it would be a good idea to help God out with His plan, and begat Ishmael with Sarah's hand maiden. Ishmael begat of the flesh, fought against Isaac - the promised child whom God Himself brought forth. 

Abraham had to live with the fruit of his disobedience his whole life because he ran ahead of God. The wars we have in the Middle East? They are the descendants of Ishmael warring against the descendants of Isaac. We still live with the consequences of Abraham running ahead of God. And both ourselves and our families live the consequences when we run ahead of God.

Yes, wait on the Lord dear Christian. He is faithful to provide and His timing is always perfect.

Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time; O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with Your saving truth. (NASB)

Love in Action

1 Cor 13:7 says that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Jesus gave us a beautiful example of living this to follow, as well as Scripture that tell us the same. We can trust what God says because the Bible tells us, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." -Psalm 119:89

Love believes in the testimony of Jesus Christ. 
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18 NASB)

Love hopes in His word. 
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? - (Romans 8:24 NASB)

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. (Psalm 130:5)

Love endures all things for the sake of Christ.
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Mark 8:34 NASB)

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And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (Mark 12:28-30)

A Father's Day Post

Proverbs 17:6b  .... the glory of children are their fathers. 

What a special job father's have! They lead the household as Christ leads the church and in a small but significant way, model God's provision and love for us.

Just as God provides for our needs, a good father provides for his children's needs.

God teaches us and trains in righteousness as a good father teaches and trains his children.

For those of us that aren't a father, or don't have a father with us, let us remember our heavenly Father. 

We get a glimpse of God from the role model of a good earthly father. Just like a godly earthly father provides good things for his children, so the Lord provides for His children - all those that call upon the name of Jesus. Actually, He provides not just good things, but perfect things!


Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  (James 1:17)

We pray, "Our Father which art in heaven..." and for God provision and His will. God Himself promised He would be a father to us:

"And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty. ( 2 Corinthians 6:18 NASB)

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there! And to all - this is a wonderful day to remember your Father in heaven.

Until the Day Break....

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. - SOS 4:6

Sometimes trials come wave upon our lives with wave upon wave until we feel like we are in a dark place. In us is the light of Christ, but outside sometimes feels dark - like "night". The Shulamite  - who, in the  Song of Solomon represents the bride of Christ - perseveres these shadows in a beautiful way.

Brethren, until the day break and the shadows flee away, get to your mountain - to the hill. 

Scripture at times uses the word valley in spiritual language/symbolism. Darkness is often associated with being in the "valley" isn't it?

Psalm 23:4 says: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Weeping is sometimes associated with being in the valley:
Who passing through the valley of Baca [Baca means "weeping"] make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. (Psalm 84:6)

Christians often use the term "mountain" to mean a good spiritual place, like, "I had a mountain top experience at the retreat over the weekend."

Our mountain is Christ. We can go there anytime. We should dwell there. Frankincense and myrrh were brought to Him as gifts when He was born. (Matthew 2:11)

Application: 
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, get yourself to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

Hide yourself in Christ until the shadows pass and the day break.

David affirms: Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. (Psalm 119:114). 

Christian, hope in Christ and His faithful word. Remember, joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) Amen

Drink the rain of heaven; Let the people renew their strength

C. H. Spurgeon

Let the people renew their strength."—Isaiah 41:1.

LL things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continueth by itself. "Thou renewest the face of the earth," was the Psalmist's utterance. Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labour, must drink of the rain of heaven and suck from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap fresh drawn from the earth.

Neither can man's life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances.How depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon Him as the flowers wait upon the dew.

Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap, and grasped the rock with many intertwisted roots.When tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven.

 If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, mayhap, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfillment of the promise, "They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."

He always listens

C. H. Spurgeon

He Always Listens

The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. (Psalm 6:9)

The experience here recorded is mine. I can set to my seal that God is true. In very wonderful ways He has answered the prayers of His servant many and many a time. Yes, and He is hearing my present supplication, and He is not turning away His ear from me. Blessed be His holy name!

What then? Why, for certain the promise which lies sleeping in the psalmist's believing confidence is also mine. Let me grasp it by the hand of faith: "The Lord will receive my prayer." He will accept it, think of it, and grant it in the way and time which His loving wisdom judges to be best. I bring my poor prayer in my hand to the great King, and He gives me audience and graciously receives my petition. My enemies will not listen to me, but my Lord will. They ridicule my tearful prayers, but my Lord does not; He receives my prayer into His ear and His heart.

What a reception this is for a poor sinner! We receive Jesus, and then the Lord receives us and our prayers for His Son's sake. Blessed be that dear name which franks our prayers so that they freely pass even within the golden gates. Lord, teach me to pray, since Thou hearest my prayers.

Is there a difference? Yes! Worry not.

C. H. Spurgeon

Is There a Difference?

But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. (Exodus 11:7)

What! Has God power over the tongues of dogs! Can he keep ours from barking? Yes, it is even so. He can prevent an Egyptian dog from worrying one of the lambs of Israel's flock. Doth God silence dogs, and doggish ones among men, and the great dog at hell's gate? Then let us move on our way without fear.

If He lets dogs move their tongues, yet He can stop their teeth. They may make a dreadful noise and still do us no real harm. Yet, how sweet is quiet! How delightful to move about among enemies and perceive that God maketh them to be at peace with us! Like Daniel in the den of lions we are unhurt amid destroyers.

Oh, that today this word of the Lord to Israel might be true to me! Does the dog worry me? I will tell my Lord about him. Lord, he does not care for my pleadings; do Thou speak the word of power, and he must lie down. Give me peace, O my God, and let me see Thy hand so distinctly in it that I may most clearly perceive the difference which Thy grace has made between me and the ungodly!

King David, Worship & Outreach

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.  Oh, magnify the Lord with me,  and let us exalt his name together! (Psalm 34:1-3 ESV)

This is such a worshipful psalm, and one that exhorts us to evangelism as well! David begins his own worship saying, "I will bless the Lord..." and then reaches out to others, "O magnify the Lord with me...let us exalt..."

When we are truly living a life of worship, the desire to share our own experience with God flows out of us as we extend the message of God's gracious gift to those around us.