Need sleep that refreshes?

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When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. (Proverbs 3:24)

Is the reader likely to be confined for a while to the bed by sickness! Let him go upstairs without distress with this promise upon his heart "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid."

When we go to bed at night, let this word smooth our pillow. We cannot guard ourselves in sleep, but the Lord will keep us through the night. Those who lie down under the protection of the Lord are as secure as kings and queens in their palaces, and a great deal more so. If with our lying down there is a laying down of all cares and ambitions, we shall get refreshment out of our beds such as the anxious and covetous never find in theirs. Ill dreams shall be banished, or even if they come, we shall wipe out the impression of them, knowing that they are only dreams.

If we sleep thus we shall do well. How sweetly Peter slept when even the angel's light did not wake him, and he needed a hard jog in the side to wake him up. And yet he was sentenced to die on the morrow. Thus have martyrs slept before their burning. "So he giveth his beloved sleep." To have sweet sleep we must have sweet lives, sweet tempers, sweet meditations, and sweet love. 

C. H. Spurgeon

Becoming fit for glory!

The Lord will give grace and glory. (Psalm 84:11)

Grace is what we need just now, and it is to be had freely. What can be freer than a gift? Today we shall receive sustaining, strengthening, sanctifying, satisfying grace. He has given daily grace until now, and as for the future, that grace is still sufficient. If we have but little grace the fault must lie in ourselves; for the Lord is not straitened, neither is He slow to bestow it in abundance. We may ask for as much as we will and never fear a refusal. He giveth liberally and upbraideth not.

The Lord may not give gold, but He will give grace: He may not give gain, but He will give grace. He will certainly send us trial, but He will give grace in proportion thereto. We may be called to labor and to suffer, but with the call there will come all the grace required;

What an "end" is that in the text—"and glory!" 

We do not need glory yet, and we are not yet fit for it; but we shall have it in due order. After we have eaten the bread of grace, we shall drink the wine of glory. We must go through the holy, which is grace, to the holiest of all, which is glory. These words and glory are enough to make a man dance for joy. A little while—a little while, and then glory forever! -C.H. Spurgeon

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. - 2 Corinthians 4:17 (1984 NIV) 

The Women's Corner: "Building our House"

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands - Proverbs 14:1 KJV

"When mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" the saying goes. This is true whether we are a "mama" or have children at home or not. The woman sets the mood for the home. We can build up or tear down with our words, our attitudes and our actions.

Today we will focus on our words and ask ourselves a few questions. 

Scripture says that the words of the pure are pleasant words. (Proverbs 5:26) and a woman of wisdom will open her mouth with wisdom and kindness. (Proverbs 31:26)


Our first two questions:

• Are our words at home pleasant words?
• Is the law of kindness on our tongue? 

The New Testament exhorts us: Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear - Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)

Our next questions:

• Do we build our household up with edifying wholesome words? 
• Does it give grace to those who hear?

Finally will will end with a promise dealing with the same topic to which we began - the fruit of our words and the work of our hands:

A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a man's hands will return to him - Proverbs 12:14 NASB

• As we look at our homes,we can ask ourselves "What has the fruit of our words and the work of your hands wrought?"

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands - Proverbs 14:1

Each day we can ask ourselves, have we been wise or foolish?

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Other Scripture referred to: The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. - Prov 15:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness (Prov 31:26)

Will you be a flower blooming in the snow?

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"Bring no more vain offerings...." - Isaiah 1:13a  -ESV

Isaiah pens a powerful verse...."no more vain offerings". 1 Timothy 3:16 says that," All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.  -ESV

The question to ask ourselves is, how can Isaiah 1:13 train us in righteousness? Romans 12 sheds some light on this answer. Paul writes:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Romans 12:1-2 KJV

Our whole lives are to be a sacrifice, dedicated to the Lord because of our love for Him. It's not just about what we bring to the Lord like the Old Testament sacrificial system, but about who we are for the Lord. Like a flower in the snow or in the desert, you can bloom for Him right where you are.

Christ sacrificed His life for us. Will we be a living sacrifice for Him?

Standing firm in affliction

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And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there,  except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.  But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. - Acts 20:22-24 ESV

What an example Paul sets for us! Paul, knowing he will have afflictions and be imprisoned if he goes to Jerusalem, continues to the very place of persecution it would be human nature to avoid! He says he doesn't count his life precious to himself, only that he may finish the course and the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus.

Christian, we too have our own afflictions in life. Some of us know that we will encounter prejudice and bias if we publicly stand up for Christ in our school or workplace. People will accuse us of being narrow minded and hateful even though what we try to show is Christ's love.

Sometimes we must finish our course racked with physical pain but we know God has ordained us to keep putting one foot in front of the other irregardless.

Some brothers and sisters face outright physical persecution like Paul did and yet do not deny Christ. They continue to minister and share the gospel though it costs them their business, their families and often their very lives.

Dear brethren, when we have Christ we have everything we ever need. We have the most precious gift that can ever be given. The question we must ask ourselves is:

"Do we value the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel above all else?" 

Are we, with the Apostle Paul, willing to commit to God that we will press on by personally saying, [I do] "not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God"?

The True Gospel

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” -
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. - Acts 15:1, Galatians 2:16 ESV

We hear many things that are said to be "the gospel", yet they are not Christ's gospel. This is not new. Paul corrected the same error in the Galatian church. There was a teaching of "Christ plus" for salvation. There were people teaching that while yes, you had to trust Christ to be saved, you must also be circumcised. They taught you must trust in Jesus to be saved but you must also follow the law. This is a "Christ plus" teaching. They added to the true gospel message, thereby twisting and corrupting it.

The real gospel, as Paul tells us in Galatians 2 - is Christ plus nothing. Christ alone saves us and keeps us saved. There are no works that we can add to what God accomplished for us. It is CHRIST'S righteousness alone that God credits to our account when we believe in Him.

The true gospel brings us peace, and is - as it's name means - "good news"! Hallelujah!