Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 11th)
No Cause to Blush
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed — Isaiah 54:4
We shall not be ashamed of our faith. Carping critics may assail the Scriptures upon which we ground our belief, but every year the Lord will make it more and more clear that in His Book there is no error, no excess, and no omission. It is no discredit to be a simple believer; the faith which looks alone to Jesus is a crown of honor on any man's head, and better than a star on his breast.
We shall not be ashamed of our hope. It shall be even as the Lord has said. We shall be fed, led, blest and rested. Our Lord will come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended. How we shall glory in the Lord who first gave us lively hope, and then gave us that which we hoped for!
We shall not be ashamed of our love. Jesus is to us the altogether lovely, and never, never, shall we have to blush because we have yielded our hearts to Him. The sight of our glorious Well-beloved will justify the most enthusiastic attachment to Him. None will blame the martyrs for dying for Him. When the enemies of Christ are clothed with everlasting contempt, the lovers of Jesus shall find themselves honored by all holy beings, because they chose the reproach of Christ rather than the treasures of Egypt.
Whatever you love more than God is your idol.
Dwight L. Moody
"Sheep are very feeble creatures, and wolves are terrible enemies; yet at this hour sheep are more numerous than wolves, and the cause of the sheep is always winning, while the cause of the wolves is always declining. One day flocks of sheep will cover the plains, and not a wolf will be left." - Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 10th)
A Shepherd Secures Them
They shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid — Zephaniah 3:13
Yesterday we thought of the afflicted and poor people whom the Lord left to be a living seed in a dead world. The prophet says of such that they shall not work iniquity nor speak lies. So that while they had neither rank nor riches to guard them, they were also quite unable to use those weapons in which the wicked place so much reliance: they could neither defend themselves by sin nor by subtlety.
What then? Would they be destroyed? By no means! They should both feed and rest, and be not merely free from danger, but even quiet from fear of evil. Sheep are very feeble creatures, and wolves are terrible enemies; yet at this hour sheep are more numerous than wolves, and the cause of the sheep is always winning, while the cause of the wolves is always declining. One day flocks of sheep will cover the plains, and not a wolf will be left. The fact is that sheep have a shepherd, and this gives them provender, protection, and peace. "None" - which means not one, whether in human or diabolical form - "shall make them afraid." Who shall terrify the Lord's flock when He is near? We lie down in green pastures, for Jesus Himself is food and rest to our souls.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 9th)
A Trustworthy Name
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord — Zephaniah 3:12
When true religion is ready to die out among the wealthy it finds a home among the poor of this world, rich in faith. The Lord has even now his faithful remnant. Am I one of them?
Perhaps it is because men are afflicted and poor that they learn to trust in the name of the Lord. He that hath no money must try what he can do on trust. He whose own name is good for nothing in his own esteem, acts wisely to rest in another name, even that best of names, the name of Jehovah. God will always have a trusting people, and these will be an afflicted and poor people. Little as the world thinks of them, their being left in the midst of a nation is the channel of untold blessings to it. Here we have the conserving salt which keeps in check the corruption which is in the world through lust.
Again the question comes home to each one of us, Am I one of them? Am I afflicted by the sin within me and around me? Am I poor in spirit, poor spiritually in my own judgment? Do I trust in the Lord? That is the main business. Jesus reveals the name, the character, the person of God; am I trusting in Him? If so, I am left in this world for a purpose. Lord, help me to fulfill it.
Just found out my Aunt died 6 months ago. Weird day.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 8th)
Wisdom for the Asking
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. — James 1:5
"If any of you lack wisdom." There is no "if" in the matter, for I am sure I lack it. What do I know? How can I guide my own way? How can I direct others? Lord, I am a mass of folly, and wisdom I have none.
Thou sayest, "Let him ask of God." Lord, I now ask. Here at thy footstool I ask to be furnished with heavenly wisdom for this day's perplexities, ay, and for this day's simplicities; for I know I may do very stupid things, even in plain matters, unless thou dost keep me out of mischief.
I thank thee that all I have to do is to ask. What grace is this on thy part, that I have only to pray in faith, and thou wilt give me wisdom! Thou dost here promise me a liberal education, and that, too, without an angry tutor, or a scolding usher. This, too, thou wilt bestow without a fee - bestow it on a fool who lacks wisdom. O Lord, I thank thee for that positive and expressive word, "It shall be given him." I believe it. Thou wilt this day make thy babe to know the hidden wisdom which the carnally prudent never learn. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory.
"A totalitarian is not satisfied with you doing what he says. A totalitarian wants to control your brain."
C.R. Wiley
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 7th)
The Safest Place
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. — John 10:28
We believe in the eternal security of the saints. First, because they are Christ's, and He will never lose the sheep which He has bought with His blood, and received of His Father.
Next, because He gives them eternal life, and if it be eternal, well then, it is eternal, and there can be no end to it, unless there can be an end to hell, and Heaven, and God. If spiritual life can die out, it is manifestly not eternal life, but temporary life. But the Lord speaks of eternal life, and that effectually shuts out the possibility of an end.
Observe, further, that the Lord expressly says, "They shall never perish." As long as words have a meaning, this secures believers from perishing. The most obstinate unbelief cannot force this meaning out of this sentence.
Then, to make the matter complete, He declares that His people are in His hand, and He defies all their enemies to pluck them out of it. Surely it is a thing impossible even for the fiend of hell. We must be safe in the grasp of an Almighty Saviour.
Be it ours to dismiss carnal fear as well as carnal confidence, and rest peacefully in the hollow of the Redeemer's hand.
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord & do good;
Dwell in the land & feed on His faithfulness (Ps. 37:1-3)
Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
— Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Sodomy was a criminal offense at common law and was forbidden by the laws of the original 13 States when they ratified the Bill of Rights. In 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, all but 5 of the 37 States in the Union had criminal sodomy laws. In fact, until 1961, all 50 States outlawed sodomy…”
-Justice Antonin Scalia, Lawrence v. Texas #pride
Happy first day of Romans 1 appreciation month!
"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions; for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." #pride
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” (Proverbs 16:18) #bible #pride
65 days caffeine free!
New article in the local paper by my pastor: Individual callings should be valued.
"Is there a calling on your life?
In my own denominational setting, that question is about two things specifically. Do you feel drawn in some way to pastoral ministry, or do you sense that God is calling you to be a foreign missionary? When Southern Baptists talk about being “called” that’s generally what we mean, and I wish we’d stop it.
I wish we’d expand our vision. Full time Gospel ministry is a thing that God calls people to. But that’s uncommon. What about all the rest of the folks? Has God not called them?
Of course. But here’s the rub, said plainly so that all the right people will know they should be offended: The reason we don’t focus on that wider calling is that it doesn’t tend to benefit our church organizations directly.
If a woman feels called to doctor animals as a veterinarian, that’s great. But we are more excited about the woman who feels called to tend the nursery on Sunday morning. We value the Bible study leader more than we do the carpenter, the lawyer, or the restaurant owner.
In the Declaration of Independence there is a famous list of Creator-given rights. The last one is “the pursuit of happiness.” I did some digging about that phrase years ago and found that it wasn’t original with Thomas Jefferson, but was an idea that was in current discussion, and it had a particular meaning.
We assume it refers to a right to do what we think will make us happy. But, to the writers who used it, the phrase had to do with individuals pursuing their callings under God without hindrance or interference. It meant doing what you were made to do, and the thinking was that if you’re pursuing this wholeheartedly, then everyone benefits. The community will be blessed with a great vet; a competent carpenter; or, a wonderful, new restaurant.
Raising children is a calling. Providing for your family is a calling. Moreover, they are noble pursuits, not to be despised. In fact, the encouragement of the New Testament is to see our everyday activities as service devoted, first, to the Lord.
We, the churchy people, tend to pressure young folks toward more religious work, service directly to the church. We do this with no regard to their individual gifts and talents. We do this without bothering to listen to them as they say what excites them, what they’re interested in pursuing. Then we sit back and wonder how the young ones conclude that church is irrelevant to their lives.
I’m at war with the idea that the church exists as a thing to be served. Christians should seek to out-do one another in service to their brethren and neighbors, sure. But when we see the organization itself as the beneficiary of all the labors of her people, we’ve completely reversed the New Testament order.
The church exists to train up her individual members, so that each one will do what God has called them to do, which benefits the whole community, whatever that individual calling may be. In the end, God is glorified. If this strikes you as a foreign concept, you might take a slow read through Ephesians 4.
Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari."
https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2023/05/31/opinion/individual-callings-should-be-valued/24811.htmlDo not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
— 1 John 2:15
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
— Colossians 1:13-14
