Reverence and Awe

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

The text for this Morning's Reading is both wonderful and perplexing. The wonderful part is that Jesus declares He has given us the same glory that God the Father gave to Jesus. However, that is also the text that is perplexing to me. For as I look at myself in the mirror (physically and spiritually), I do not see that glory.

It is only something that the LORD must be able to see, since I know that the words of Christ are true. I believe it is only because He sees us in Christ. It a wonderful thing to know that, in Christ, God sees us differently than we are in the flesh. The LORD sees our natural self buried in that tomb with Christ, 2000 years ago. He sees a new creation riased with Christ (Rom 6:4). Following are just a few snippets of who I am in Christ (as you are, if you are a believer in Christ):

• I have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Jesus Christ. (Col 1:13)


• I currently possess redemption, the forgiveness of sin, through the blood of Jesus. (Col 1:14)


• I have died, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3)


• I was purchased by God at a price. (1 Cor 6:20)


• I now belong to Christ and therefore belong to God. (1 Cor 3:23)


• I was chosen in Christ before the creation of the world, to be reckoned as holy and blameless before Him. (Eph. 1:4)


• I have been made alive with Christ and sit with Him in the heavenly places. (Eph. 2:5-6)


• I am God's child. (John 1:12)


• I am Christ's friend. (John 15:15)


• I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. (Eph 2:6)


• I am a citizen of heaven. (Phil 3:20)


• I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)


• I am free from the power of sin, and am now a slave to righteousness. (Rom 6:7-8, 11, 14, 18)


• I have been redeemed from the curse of the Law. (Gal. 3:13)


• I am free from condemnation. (Rom 8:1-2)


• I am saved by the grace of God through faith. (Eph 2:8-9)


• I am able to find God's grace and mercy in time of need. (Heb 4:16)


• I am in Christ, and am therefore complete in Him, because He is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. (Col. 2:9-10)


• I have access to the mind of Christ so that He may instruct me. (1 Cor 2:16)


• Through Christ, I have overcome the world. (1 John 4:4)


• I am safe for He will never abandon me. (Heb 13:5)


• I am confident that the good work that the Lord has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1:6)

Wow! That really is amazing! How can God do all of that for me and to me? Well the answer is contained in the text for the Evening Reading.

Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.—Jeremiah 32:17

It is too hard for us, but not for God. Let us thank Him for His bountiful grace and mercy towards us, this day and forevermore.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible
MORNING
Death will be swallowed up in victory! As a physician I am acquainted with death. I've experienced it's impact on the very young, the very old and the ages in between. Being at the bedside of many a dying patient, there is always that moment when the individual breathes their last breath. God gives and takes away the breath of life. At the moment of death you know something profound just took place. Where before there was animation, now there is absolute stillness. The soul departed!

For the unbeliever and their family the sense of loss is intense. Nothing man can do will get that soul back. For all eternity that soul is separated from God. For the Christian, though the loss is evident, there is a sense of peace knowing that "absent from the body, they are instantly present with the Lord". "The shriveled seed, so devoid of form and beauty, rises from the dust a glorious flower". "Blessed is death, since through the divine power it removes our working clothes and dresses us with the wedding garment of incorruption. Blessed are those who sleep in Jesus."

EVENING
Can you relate to Spurgeon? What if the grace of God were removed? I am so thankful for what Pastor Kevin said in one of his sermons, "all of our sins are like a drop in the ocean of God's grace". Without dwelling on our sin, I think it's important from time to time to consider who we would be without God's grace. Spurgeon suggests: "There is enough sin in our hearts to make us the worst transgressors; we would be as lukewarm as the Laodiceans; we would fall into false doctrine; and succumb to the vilest of passions."

Thank God for His amazing grace; that He would send His Holy Spirit to tabernacle (settle down in our souls) in spite of our sin nature, sins and self righteousness is incredible to me! "Take not your Holy Spirit from us!" "Keep us Lord!" We can do nothing apart from you and everything with you!

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

The Christian life is a glorious journey. Filled with trials and triumphs all the way through. I love this morning's devotion and how it describes our walk with Christ as a climb up a mountain. The higher we climb the more we discover of His beauties! The exhortation here is to continue the climb even when we are tired and weary. Because the higher we go, the more of His glorious splendor we get to behold.

The evening devotion hits us right between the eyes... Spurgeon does not mix words.

Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you.

What do we treasure? What do we long for? What satisfies us? What gets us up in the morning? Is His word our daily bread... does it satisfy us?

When you feed on Him your soul can sing, "He hath satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's,"

Spurgeon's exhortation is a necessary one... we need to keep our hearts and souls in check. May Christ be our sufficiency, our all-in-all!! To Him be the glory!!

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Morning:...Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." - Luke 11:27, 28

This morning we have a nice exhortation to greet our devotion time:

But He said, "More than that, blessed [are] those who hear the word of God and keep it!" - [Luke 11:28 NKJV]

It would be easy to stray from our place at the feet of our Lord, and start imagining, as did the disciples, which one was in some measure the most blessed, or greatest.

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. - [Luke 22:24 NKJV]

How vain can be our ambition! And how quickly Spurgeon strikes at the heart of the matter: our merits are Christ's merits, as our loving Father in heaven bestows on us the merits of Christ, as we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise [Ephesians 1:13], and are being transformed into the image of Christ by the Spirit of Christ [2 Cor 3:18].

Spurgeon strikes home this point with two cogent illustrations:

Psa 25:14 NKJV - The secret of the LORD [is] with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.

As Spurgeon says, all that Mary knew we may also discover.

For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good [thing] will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. - [Psalms 84:11 NKJV]

Spurgeon's second related point is Jesus's promise that positionally, we are now His friends, not His servants:

[Jhn 15:15 NKJV] - No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Can we not be greatly comforted by this? And in our joy, will we still brag of our own merits? I think not!

Evening:"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said . . . Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods." - Daniel 3:16, 18

With our hope in Christ, we are encouragd to emulate the boldness of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah before the fiery furnace.

Be not guided by the will-o'-the-wisp of policy, but by the pole-star of divine authority. Follow the right at all hazards. When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honour to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle. See whether He will be your debtor! See if He doth not even in this life prove His word that "Godliness, with contentment, is great gain," and that they who "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, shall have all these things added unto them."

John says it best:

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. - [1 John 3:2-3 NKJV]

Do you have this hope of Christ in you? Do you have the hope of seeing Him one day in glory? If not, do you know where to seek this hope?

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. - [Romans 15:4 NKJV]

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

Good Morning
(click here to hear this mornings blog)
(click here to hear this evenings blog)

Today's morning and evening brings many word pictures that give us this wonderful idea of what God is doing in the hearts of believers in the spiritual preparation and building of his temple. Each of us plays a role as God is sanctifying us into his image or as Spurgeon uses here a picture of God sharpening and shaping us into preparation for the building of his spiritual temple. This is a wonderful truth for us. Because nowhere does it say that we are molding ourselves or conforming our own lives but rather He is doing this great work of preparation in us.

This makes me think of the verse:

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)

He is the author and the finisher of our faith. He will be faithful to complete what he has started in each of us and all for His glory! What a wonderful truth.

Spurgeon ends our day by focusing our thoughts on the fact that these things God is working out and has established in us are unmovable. What a great encouragement to us who live in a world of fleeting joys and momentary pleasures. We have a God who has established for us an eternal home in heaven. This is unmovable and unchangeable! When we fail at being a husband, or loose our jobs, in the midst of a stock market crash or a vehicle accident, we are STILL HIS and this is our firm foundation. I think of Job who rejoiced in His God having been brought to nothing.

May we never move past this great promise from God's word. We are His, this is unchangeable and he has prepared our eternal home WITH HIM in heaven forever.

Be blessed this day by his truth, may it ignite within you a thirst for more of his word, the only cup that satisfies. God bless.

-jeff paisano

Happy Father's Day to all you dad's today!

What a devotion for us this morning! We read this morning's devotion and we begin our Lord's Day with worship. Christ in His perfections, is a "breastplate of glory", as Spurgeon says. He is like precious stones placed perfectly together. What a sight it is to look upon our Lord. Truly "He is perfectly and altogether lovely". I encourage you this morning to look upon our Lord and appreciate as many of the precious stones of His perfection as you can, and praise Him that "all the colors blend into one resplendent rainbow"!

In this evenings devotion we are reminded that Christ suffered for sin that He might bring us to God. A vicarious sacrifice. Christ became sin for us. I pray that each of us might take time this morning to thing of the implications of Christ becoming sin for us. If we meditate this evening upon our Substitute, we will find ourselves worshipping Him with every ounce of our strength in these evening hours.

Have a blessed Lord's Day! Pastor Kevin

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

When studying the Evening Reading I was struck by the chosen text of Mark 1:18. It brought to mind a corollary set of verses from John. Let's take a look and see the similarity and distinction.

(Mark 1:16-18 NKJV) And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.' They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

(John 6:64-69 NKJV) 'But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, 'Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.' From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?' But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

In the passage from the Gospel of John, we see Jesus indicating that there are disciples who did not believe. Even though they were following Jesus, they were not "followers of Jesus." When He said things that were hard to take, they left! Now in contrast, the Mark passage shows the response of true followers of Christ. Jesus came and told them a hard saying. He told them to leave everything they have worked for in their life and to follow Him—Who at best they barely knew. What was their response? They dropped everything and followed Him. That was the difference between the two groups of disciples. The false followers—they left, the true followers—they followed at all cost. The true followers answered the Master's call.

We see also in the John passage that Jesus asked the Twelve if they too wanted to leave. Peter's response should also be our response, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Let us all truly follow Jesus as we are led by the Spirit of the Lord. As Spurgeon wrote in the Evening Reading:

We are very concerned that our little book of Evening Readings should not be fruitless, and therefore we pray that readers may not be readers only, but doers, of the word. The practice of truth is the most profitable reading of it.

Prayer:
Lord, help us to follow You! Guide us with the Holy Spirit. Let us practice what we read in Your Word, as a testimony of your regenerative work in our lives; as a testimony of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Amen.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible
MORNING
Reading through this devotion you can imagine Spurgeon sitting at his desk meditating on the person of the Holy Spirit and the consequence of His filling.

Consider all the metaphors he uses in this devotion. "As sacred oil", He anoints us priests and gives us all the grace we need to fulfill our office. "As purifying water", He cleanses us from the power of sin and sets us apart to desire and please the Lord. "As the light", He enlightens us and reveals the glory of the risen Lord. "As the fire", He calls us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. "As heavenly dew", He nourishes our lives and makes something sweet out of our barren lives. "As a dove", He comes peacefully and dispels the cares and doubts that spoil our peace. He bears witness with our soul that we are sons and daughters of "Abba Father". "As the wind", He brings life, blows where He will and brings new life to those chosen by the Father from the foundations of the world.

R. A. Torrey writing in The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit makes the point that we may be imperfect believers, but if we are true believers in Jesus Christ, truly born again the Holy Spirit lives in us. He writes "it is encouraging to go through 1 Corinthians knowing that the believers in Corinth were very imperfect believers; they were full of imperfections and there was gross sin among them. But nevertheless, Paul told them that they were temples of the Holy Spirit, even when dealing with them concerning gross immoralities (1 Cor. 6:15-19)" That's reassuring! In spite of our sin, our sin nature and our self righteousness, He lives in us! Further, Jesus said He would never leave or forsake us! In light of all this, what is the only possible response? We fall down and worship Him with reverence and awe!

EVENING
The Song of Solomon is a beautiful love story and I find the expressions of intimacy like "My beloved is mine, and I am His" when applied to the Lord both reassuring and challenging. Everyone is pursuing happiness and contentment and few find it. The world invites us to pursue the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life day after day. When we do we find like the Ecclesiastical preacher that "vanity of vanities, all is vanity". This to me is the shadow over the scene. We don't doubt our salvation but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches seek to choke us until we come to our senses and realize how vane it is to chase after them.

Then we hear the still small voice, "come away my beloved", we turn aside and ask "where is He?" Then through quiet prayer and supplication we find ourselves in His arms experiencing all the love and mercy that heaven can bestow and the things of earth grow dim in the light of His Glory and Grace. We are refreshed and peace, happiness and contentment are ours. "Oh, to eat with Him tonight!"

Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well: sing ye unto it." Numbers 21:17

This brought back some great memories of sunday school singing this song. It has been some time since I have heard the song Spring Up, O Well, so I had to find the lyrics on the internet. What great truth in this song, and maybe you can remember the tune and sing along with me this morning.

I've got a river of life flowing out of me
Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see,
Opens prison doors, sets the captive free.
I've got a river of life flowing out of me.

Chorus:
Spring up, O well, within my soul.
Spring up, O well, and make me whole
Spring up, O well, and give to me
That life abundantly

In the wilderness, God spoke to Moses and told him to gather up the people and I will give them water. And of course God provided. Abundantly. I am blessed by this verse, as we all need spiritual water, heavenly grace, to fill our souls. Is your soul thirsty this morning. Call out to God and he will make you whole. I think a lot of times we go through our days and wait a little too long to pray for our souls to be renewed. I like what Spurgeon says, "Let us not murmur, but sing." Lift our praises to Him, and if you don't know what to say, sing the song up above.

Spurgeon continues, "the well was the object of effort. The Lord would have us active in obtaining grace." Basically, we can't just sit here and expect our souls to be filled. We must be actively seeking His grace through prayer, devotion, fellowship and worship. "The Lord will give us His peace most plenteously, but not in a way of idleness." The Lord is our Provider of all our fresh springs. Spring up, O well.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Well may my mouth be filled with joyous laughter, because of the singular, surprising grace which I have received of the Lord, for I have found Jesus, the promised seed, and He is mine for ever. This day will I lift up psalms of triumph unto the Lord who has remembered my low estate, for "my heart rejoiceth in the Lord; mine horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in Thy salvation.

God's grace is suprising in the sense that we don't deserve it and can never earn it... yet it given to us freely. What a great thought today... to lift up psalms of triumph unto the Lord who has remembered my low estate. We have a great many reasons to lift our hearts and voices to the Lord with joy... joy inexpressible... joy that cannot be explained except with laughter and a smile that won't go away. I have been freshly humbled and encouraged this morning as I read Spurgeon's devotion.

The Lord Jesus is a deep sea of joy: my soul shall dive therein, shall be swallowed up in the delights of His society.

What incredible imagery Spurgeon writes with in tonight's devotion. This is one you need to read at least twice to really appreciate it. Yet another reason to be filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Christ, our prized possession, is not only the keeper of the gates of heaven but also the key to which unlocks it.

More joy... more joy... CHRIST IS MY SALVATION!!

My soul, get Calvary's blood-red rose into thy hand by faith, by love wear it, by communion preserve it, by daily watchfulness make it thine all in all, and thou shalt be blessed beyond all bliss, happy beyond a dream. Jesus, be mine for ever, my God, my heaven, my all.

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Morning:"Delight thyself also in the Lord." — Psalm 37:4

Spurgeons exhortation is a good one. I'm glad to think today, after a full Sunday (I was preparing for Monday's blog, but OOPS, I'm supposed to be doing Sunday, so I'm sorry this is so late!): do I delight in the Lord? I delight in church, I delight in fellowship, I delight in worship. I have joy tonight in my salvation. It is a great thing to ponder! I delight to know that God drew me to Him, that I didn't choose God. And since He drew me to Him, I also know that He will continue to work on me, changing me as I learn to surrender myself to Him. There is delight in that! I am so blessed and grateful to Him for His grace to me.

And when we can delight in Him, then we can trust him gladly, and surrender to Him our lives, even the high places in our lives. That's why Psalm 37:4 talks about the Lord putting His desires into our heart when we delight in Him: we are ready to surrender ourselves to Him and seek His will in our lives, not our own, when we delight in Him.

Thank you Lord!

Evening:"O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face . . . because we have sinned against Thee." — Daniel 9:8

Admire the grace which saves thee—the mercy which spares thee—the love which pardons thee!

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Spurgeon reminds us this morning of why God has us to remain on this earth after the time of our salvation. It is not to increase our wealth or have a larger home or a fancier car. In fact it is to take our proper place in order fulfill His perfect plan; God does not need us for this to take place but, by His grace, he allows us to take up a position in the "race."

1 Chr 9: 24 - Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but {only} one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. He allows us to play a role.

Hbr 12: 1 - Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Spurgeon rightfully points out that sanctification is a long and continued process and that we will not be perfected until that day we are face to face with Him. This is such a powerful statement in that it is testimony to God's desire to use us, as imperfect as we are.

This morning let us contemplate these things that we may be reminded that we belong to Him for His service, in His perfect plan and for His Glory.

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Today's devotional really engaged me and started me thinking about heaven. I hope it did for you as well. After all, we will be spending all eternity in heaven, whatever form it may take and wherever it may be. I too sometimes wondered why Jesus just did not take us to be with Him upon conversion. Of course, the reason is that we are the primary means that God has ordained to spread His Gospel. I can confidently say that all of us reading this post would have to attribute our coming to Christ in some way to the preaching of the Gospel by a believer. Whether it be a preacher at an event, a parent(s) within our house, or some other manner, a person was involved in telling us the Good News.

But I still like to think about our ultimate destination. John Edwards had this to say about Heaven.

God, considered with respect to His essence, is everywhere—He fills both heaven and earth. But yet He is said, in some respects, to be more especially in some places than in others. He was said of old to dwell in the land of Israel, above all other lands; and in Jerusalem, above all other cities of that land; and in the temple, above all other buildings in the city; and in the holy of holies, above all other apartments of the temple; and on the mercy seat, over the ark of the covenant, above all other places in the holy of holies. But heaven is His dwelling-place above all other places in the universe; and all those places in which He was said to dwell of old, were but types of this. Heaven is a part of creation that God has built for this end, to be the place of His glorious presence, and it is His abode forever; and here will He dwell, and gloriously manifest Himself to all eternity.

I know it is a common comfort to think about heaven when we are hurting, and understandably so. The Irish poet, Thomas Moore, said,

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

But when our life circumstances are fantastic, we should still long for heaven. For the best this current world has to offer cannot begin to compare with what our LORD is preparing for us right now.

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1-3 NKJV)

Then we will see our Lord Jesus face-to-face. We will see Him in the glory that was His before His incarnation and since His ascension.

According to Scripture the heavens are filled, loudly (see examples), with words like: "holy, holy holy," "Lord God Almighty," and "the Lamb."

I long for heaven not because I am dissatisfied with life here, but because I long to be face-to-face with my Savior; not because I am moribund, but because I have eternal life.

As the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say,

I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, (Phil 1:21-25 NKJV)

AMEN!

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible
MORNING
"The Lord has done great things for us!" While we were yet sinners, enemies, haters of God, Christ died for us! Not only did He die for us but He exchanged our sin for His righteousness and sent His Holy Spirit to live in us! He made us heirs of righteousness. He gave us precious and exceeding promises, even eternal life. He said He would never leave or forsake us. "He brought us out of a horrible pit, out of miry clay and set our feet upon a rock and established our goings". Further, we get to sing His praises for all eternity. Need I say more? Makes you want to sing, "I'm so happy in Jesus every day".

My hope and prayer for us is that we may find the joy that Paul found in the midst of great suffering and be able to say with the great apostle, "I've learned in whatever state I am therein to be content". I don't think we get there without realizing how many great things the Lord has done for us. Praise the Lord!!!

EVENING
I am convicted by this devotion. Spurgeon challenges me to press on in my study of God's Word. To search like I'm seeking gold! I go out day after day seeking the "gold" of this world through my daily work to buy things that perish, many days just skimming God's Word. I often think as I sit amongst fellow road warriors on the way to work: "I owe, I owe so off to work I go". Vanity of vanity all is vanity!

Then I pick up this devotion and consider the challenge. God, create in me a greater and greater thirst for righteousness. Teach me your ways, so I might walk in your truth, give me an undivided heart! I want to appreciate the fullness of the Scriptures. It is a yearning of my heart that your Word would "glows with the splendor of revelation like a vast temple paved with gold and roofed with rubies, emeralds and all manner of gems." I want to see Jesus and only Your Word can open my eyes!

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

One of the things that has blessed me throughout the years is how Spurgeon can take a familiar doctrine or biblical truth and freshly remind of its significance and wonder. He does it again this morning... by reminding us of our eternal security.
I like the visual created in the story of the Ark and how Noah was "shut in". This morning we are reminded that in Christ there is perfect safety. I am praising Him as I type this... that "eternal faithfulness has shut them in"! I have a busy day today... but I pray that it will be restful!

Noah was so shut in that no evil could reach him. Floods did but lift him heavenward, and winds did but waft him on his way. Outside of the ark all was ruin, but inside all was rest and peace. Without Christ we perish, but in Christ Jesus there is perfect safety. Noah was so shut in that he could not even desire to come out, and those who are in Christ Jesus are in Him for ever. They shall go no more out for ever, for eternal faithfulness has shut them in, and infernal malice cannot drag them out.

In the evening devotion, Spurgeon gives a clear exhortation from 1 John 4:8. The man is gifted in saying much with few words. I love what he says about the "distinguishing mark of a Christian" in his first sentence.

The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in the love of Christ, and the yielding of his affections to Christ in return. First, faith sets her seal upon the man by enabling the soul to say with the apostle, "Christ loved me and gave Himself for me." Then love gives the countersign, and stamps upon the heart gratitude and love to Jesus in return.

Truly, the love of Christ is what compels us to love Him and others. It's what causes us to do all that we do. I would encourage all of us to meditate on this devotion tonight. May we read it in wonder of the great love in which Christ loved us. May we be freshly amazed by His love and grace... may it cause us to lean and trust in his perfect love that cannot be improved upon.

Zeal for the glory of King Jesus was the seal and mark of all genuine Christians. Because of their dependence upon Christ's love they dared much, and because of their love to Christ they did much, and it is the same now. The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love—the love of Christ constraineth them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Saviour with a pure heart, fervently.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at BLB

Morning: "But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared" - Titus 3:4

I've always been a collector. When I was a youth, I would buy old 1940's and 1950's paperback books from certain publishers, and research their publishing history, their relation to each other, and stuff like that, and organize them on shelves in my bedroom. OK, I was a weird kid. And yes, I know that “from a tiny acorn, grows a mighty oak.”

Now that the Lord has drawn me to Him, I collect other things. My favorite is to collect Scriptures. You can collect Scriptures on God's promises, or places in the Bible concerning "three days", or the Banner of the Lord Jehovah Nissi, or really, all manner of things, as God's word is as deep as His love for us.

One of my favorite Scripture collections concerns today's morning devotion. It is a collection of places in the Bible where the Holy Spirit tells us "But God". A few examples:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - [Romans 5:8 NKJV]

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), - [Ephesians 2:4-5 NKJV]

There's a lot of love and kindness and grace crammed into those two words "But God", and that is the exhortation in Spurgeon's devotion. What a distinction between our miserable, fallen state, and God's loving response to us! One of my favorite examples of this is in Hosea. In Chapter 2:13, God speaks about Israel forgetting the Lord

She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot," says the LORD.

And what is God's response in the next verse? It is something amazing!

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. - [Hosea 2:14 NKJV]

In the midst of our idolatry, our darkest sin, our selfishness, and our pride, the Lord gently and firmly woos us to Him, and makes us His own!

Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!

Evening:"Received up into glory." - 1 Timothy 3:16

Spurgeon exhorts us this evening to contemplate the Lord's glory, but also to contemplate how the Lord was arrayed:

- He wore the sackcloth of sorrow as His daily dress
- shame was His mantle
- reproach was His vesture

and yet,

- He will be robed in the splendor of victory
- He wears the glory which He had with Father God from everlasting

Spurgeon asks:

Reader, if you would joy in Christ's glory hereafter, He must be glorious in your sight now. Is He so?

This reminds me of the fashion statements in our lives. In Spurgeon's time, a well-dressed man might wear an Albert Chain on his watch, because Queen Victoria's husband, Albert, started that fashion. Albert also wore a new style of frock coat on his visit to the USA in 1876, and so - you guessed it - Prince Albert Frock Coats came into vogue. Two Hundred years earlier, we men would have been wearing Cromwell shoes and Knickerbocker leggings. And in our time, we have only accelerated the pace of modeling our fashion statements after the latest athletes, actors, or rock stars.

One of the ways in which we can follow Spurgeon's exhortation to glorify Christ is in our raiment - how we clothe ourselves. We have a choice before us: do we model our clothing and fashion after the most popular stars of today, or do we adorn ourselves with Christ as our model? What does Scripture say?

Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. - [1 Peter 3:3-4 NKJV]

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, - [Proverbs 3:3 NKJV]

In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. - [Colossians 3:10,12,14 NLT]

for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. - [Galatians 3:27 NIV]

Let us clothe ourselves with Christ today, looking forward to the day we will wear His robe of righteousness!

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Morning:

My first thoughts as I read Spurgeon’s morning devotional are that potters, who work with clay, which is nothing more that dust and water from the earth, are in service to an earthly king. We are frequently reminded throughout scripture that God is the potter and we are the clay (Jeremiah 18: 6, Isaiah 45: 9, Romans 9: 21…etc) yet I find it interesting that Spurgeon uses the analogy of the potter and the clay to speak to us of our service to our King.

No matter how menial we may view our labor on this earth it is important to remember that God can do amazing things with the seemingly mundane tasks that we perform on a daily basis. When the potter begins his work we see only a dripping wet slab of mud that does not appear to be capable of anything other than making a mess. Working with these materials at this stage is anything but glamorous. As the potter diligently performs his duty the mass of muck begins to take shape and ultimately becomes a useful tool or a beautiful work of art.

At the onset of the process the potter may have little or no idea of what the finished product may be but diligently performs his calling, one turn of the wheel at a time. It is only upon completion of the task that the fruit of that labor is revealed.

Let this be an encouragement to us as we perform our daily duties trusting that God has a plan to make great the faithful execution of our calling. Thanks be to God.
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Evening:

This really speaks for itself and I find myself at somewhat of a loss for words. It is difficult in this present day to live in accordance with biblical humility as society tells us that pride and self esteem are avenues to success. Reading Spurgeon’s evening devotion seems to place a magnifying glass over my prideful self and causes me to ask: How do I dare possess even one small grain of pride? I ask this in light of Spurgeon pointing out who Jesus was, what He did for us, and how He humbled Himself.

Consider that Jesus is God who created the universe because He willed it! If a man ever walked the earth that had a just claim on pride it was He. Yet He lived a life of humility before allowing Himself be scorned, tortured and crucified to death.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)

May God help us to meditate on these things through His Word and through His Holy Spirit that we may live a life of humility.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon

"Who can defeat omnipotence?" Nobody can defeat Almighty God! With this in mind, we are exhorted to fight our flesh, the Satan, and this world with the power that is supplied by God. The Lord has exhorted us to put on the full armor of God.

(Ephesians 6:10-11 NKJV) "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

(Ephesians 6:14-17 NKJV) "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

The power supplied to fight comes from our omnipotent God. Our dependence is demonstrated as we gird ourselves with the truth of God's Word; put the breastplate of Christ's righteousness over us that we may find ourselves clothed in perfect righteousness; our feet are shod with the gospel of peace...the peace that God has made for us through the cross; the shield of faith is our trust in Him to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one; the helmet of salvation covers our heads as we look to the work of Christ on the cross; and we have God's Word to be that sword of defense.

May we depend upon Christ today to fight sin...for "Who can defeat omnipotence?"

As we pray this evening, we have many reasons to call upon our Lord as our "Good Master." His goodness cannot be improved upon. We have found Him to be perfect in His goodness, grace, and kindness to us. He is also our Master. We are to follow Him as Lord and submit to His Lordship every day. To call Him "Good Master" is to remind us of His goodness and His Lordship over us. May we joyfully find ourselves today in the perfect will of our "Good Master."

Good Day!



(This mornings Devo - click)
(This evenings Devo - click)

Our current pop culture would have us to measure our lives by the good things we face and the bad. To rejoice in the good and complain and reject the bad. But when seen though the eyes of God's wisdom in His word we see that both are a blessing from Him to his children.

Paul taught us a lot on this subject when he announced that He finds joy in his infirmities:

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Cor 12:10)

Paul here tells us that though the joys of life were indeed wonderful and a fresh spring to the hampered soul it was in times of trials and times of tribulations that the most spiritual growth and true reliance upon God for direction and strength in life took place.

Even in the midst of the driest of droughts in the most barren of lands Jesus will even then be our plant of renown. His gift of salvation and grace will spring up among the most desolate of soils and shade our hearts with the cheers of thanksgiving.

May we seek his face this day whether it be from times of rejoicing or times of trials knowing that both are for His glory and a profit of His wisdom for our souls.

God bless!

-jeff paisano