Climb that mountain!

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"Get thee up into the high mountain."—Isaiah 40:9.

UR knowledge of Christ is somewhat like climbing one of our Welsh mountains. When you are at the base you see but little: the mountain itself appears to be but one-half as high as it really is. Confined in a little valley, you discover scarcely anything but the rippling brooks as they descend into the stream at the foot of the mountain. Climb the first rising knoll, and the valley lengthens and widens beneath your feet. Go higher, and you see the country for four or five miles round, and you are delighted with the widening prospect. Mount still, and the scene enlarges; till at last, when you are on the summit, and look east, west, north, and south, you see almost all England lying before you. Yonder is a forest in some distant county, perhaps two hundred miles away, and here the sea, and there a shining river and the smoking chimneys of a manufacturing town, or the masts of the ships in a busy port. All these things please and delight you, and you say, "I could not have imagined that so much could be seen at this elevation." 

Now, the Christian life is of the same order. When we first believe in Christ we see but little of Him. The higher we climb the more we discover of His beauties. But who has ever gained the summit? Who has known all the heights and depths of the love of Christ which passes knowledge? Paul, when grown old, sitting grey-haired, shivering in a dungeon in Rome, could say with greater emphasis than we can, "I know whom I have believed," for each experience had been like the climbing of a hill, each trial had been like ascending another summit, and his death seemed like gaining the top of the mountain, from which he could see the whole of the faithfulness and the love of Him to whom he had committed his soul. Get thee up, dear friend, into the high mountain.

-C.H. Spurgeon

Wings to fly out of the mush

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To become a butterfly, a caterpillar spins a cocoon and digests itself. It basically turns into what looks like a big mushy soup, yet certain groups of cells survive, turning the "soup" into eyes, wings, antennae and other structures.

Have you ever felt like your life circumstances have broken you down so much, you are just one big mushy soup or one big splat of goo like the photo above?? I have. More than once. 

Inside the cocoon the caterpillar no longer looks like what it did. One would think it dead - but it's not. He is very alive inside its little cocoon. God takes those cells that have been broken down and rearranges them to create a new creature. On the other side of the gooey "blob" is a butterfly!

We too can look forward to being transformed into a creature that could do more than before. Not only at the resurrection, but during our lives as God grows us. When we feel so beaten down there is nothing of us left, do not worry! God is rearranging our "spiritual cells" into a being that can "fly higher" than before.  Praise God for His faithfulness!

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Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (ESV)

Our Field Of Battle

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For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Deuteronomy 20:4)

We have no enemies but the enemies of God. Our fights are not against men but against spiritual wickednesses. We war with the devil and the blasphemy and error and despair which he brings into the field of battle. We fight with all the armies of sin—impurity, drunkenness, oppression, infidelity, and ungodliness. With these we contend earnestly, but not with sword or spear; the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

Jehovah, our God, abhors everything which is evil, and, therefore, He goeth with us to fight for us in this crusade. He will save us, and He will give us grace to war a good warfare and win the victory. We may depend upon it that if we are on God's side God is on our side. With such an august ally the conflict is never in the least degree doubtful. It is not that truth is mighty and must prevail but that might lies with the Father who is almighty, with Jesus who has all power in heaven and in earth, and with the Holy Spirit who worketh His will among men.

Soldiers of Christ, gird on your armor. Strike home in the name of the God of holiness, and by faith grasp His salvation. Let not this day pass without striking a blow for Jesus and holiness.

C.H. Spurgeon

Hope for those in want and for those in need

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Two pictures of Hope:

For those of us that are in a place of want or need, Psalm 107 paints us a beautiful picture of hope.

 + Let's first look at what this Psalm says about those wanting the Lord -to those us of that are desiring to feel His presence and walk closely with Jesus. For all that long for Christ, it says,

For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:9)

Do you hunger for God? Seek the LORD in truth child of God if you are empty and He will satisfy your longing soul and fill your soul with good things!

+ For those of us that are in a dark place, for those of us hurting, feeling chained or even facing death Scripture paints this picture of hope:

 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and burst their bonds apart. For He shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. (Psalm 107:10a, 14,16)

God can shatter the doors of bronze and iron that are boxing you in. He can bring a light into your dark place. He can burst the bonds holding you apart. And, for those in the shadow of death - God will bring you out - you will either be healed on this side of eternity or the other. Sadness will someday go and joy will come. Joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) Together we fix our eyes on Jesus and wait for a new day.

We shall not hesitate to cry out to God, seek Him and praise Him for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:21) 

Don't lose hope Christian. God is there, with you through it all.

All verses taken from the English Standard Version 

Living it out day by day

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Spurgeon once said, "Reader, if you would joy in Christ's glory hereafter, He must be glorious in your sight now."

The way to show both Christ and the world that He IS glorious to us now, is to glorify Him. We do this not only during formal worship but also by living a life bringing Him glory.

What brings Him glory and how does that look day to day?

In John 14, we read, Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23 ESV)

John reiterates Jesus' teaching in 1 John: Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. (1 John 5:1-2 NASB)

We're all probably familiar with what Jesus called the great and first commandment, but do we know what living it out looks like in day to day life?

When Jesus was asked,  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 
He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40 ESV)

One of the ways to live it out is showing love and grace to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Scripture says that if we do not love our brethren it shows we actually don't love God!

If anyone says "I love God" and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20 NET)

Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (John 13:35 ESV)

and again,

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes  (1 John 2:11 ESV)

When we are born of God, we can give grace as we have received grace. 

Lord, may we show grace to our brothers and sisters and love sacrificially as you have taught us to love. Amen.

Surefootedness

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The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hind's feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. (Habakkuk 3:19)

This confidence of the man of God is tantamount to a promise, for that which faith is persuaded of is the purpose of God. The prophet had to traverse the deep places of poverty and famine, but he went down hill without slipping, for the Lord gave him standing. By and by he was called to the high places of the hills of conflict; and he was no more afraid to go up than to go down.

See! The Lord lent him strength. Nay, Jehovah Himself was his strength. Think of that: the almighty God Himself becomes our strength!

Note that the Lord also gave him surefootedness. The hinds leap over rock and crag, never missing their footholds. Our Lord will give us grace to follow the most difficult paths of duty without a stumble. He can fit our foot for the crags so that we shall be at home where apart from God we should perish.

One of these days we shall be called to higher places still. Up yonder we shall climb, even to the mount of God, the high places where the shining ones are gathered. Oh, what feet are the feet of faith, by which, following the hind of the morning, we shall ascend into the hill of the Lord!

- CH Spuregon