As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you. C.S. Lewis

The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever. — Psalm 145:20-21

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 20th) Looking for Him Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. — Hebrews 9:28 This is our hope. He to whom we have already looked as coming once to bear the sins of many will have another manifestation to the sons of men; this is a happy prospect in itself. But that second appearing has certain peculiar marks which glorify it exceedingly. Our Lord will have ended the business of sin. He has so taken it away from His people, and so effectually borne its penalty, that He will have nothing to do with it at His second coming. He will present no sin-offering, for He will have utterly put sin away. Our Lord will then complete the salvation of His people. They will be finally and perfectly saved, and will in every respect enjoy the fullness of that salvation. He comes not to bear the result of our transgressions, but to bring the result of His obedience; not to remove our condemnation, but to perfect our salvation. Our Lord thus appears only to those who look for Him. He will not be seen in this character by men whose eyes are blinded with self and sin. To them He will be a terrible Judge, and nothing more. We must first look to Him, and then look for Him; and in both cases our look shall be life. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 19th) Heavy Duty Shoes Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. — Deuteronomy 33:25 Here are two things provided for the pilgrim: shoes and strength. As for the shoes: they are very needful for traveling along rough ways, and for trampling upon deadly foes. We shall not go barefoot - this would not be suitable for princes of the blood royal. Our shoes shall not be at all of the common sort, for they shall have soles of durable metal, which will not wear out even if the journey be long and difficult. We shall have protection proportionate to the necessities of the road and the battle. Wherefore let us march boldly on, fearing no harm even though we tread on serpents, or set our foot upon the dragon himself. As for the strength: it shall be continued as long as our days shall continue, and it shall be proportioned to the stress and burden of those days. The words are few, "as thy days thy strength," but the meaning is full. This day we may look for trial, and for work which will require energy, but we may just as confidently look for equal strength. This word given to Asher is given to us also who have faith wherewith to appropriate it. Let us rise to the holy boldness which it is calculated to create within the believing heart. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 18th) Wilderness Communion I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. — Hosea 2:14 The goodness of God sees us allured by sin, and it resolves to try upon us the more powerful allurements of love. Do we not remember when the Lover of our souls first cast a spell upon us and charmed us away from the fascinations of the world? He will do this again and again whenever He sees us likely to be ensnared by evil. He promises to draw us apart, for there He can best deal with us, and this separated place is not to be a Paradise, but a wilderness, since in such a place there will be nothing to take off our attention from our God. In the deserts of affliction the presence of the Lord becomes everything to us, and we prize His company beyond any value which we set upon it when we sat under our own vine and fig-tree in the society of our fellows. Solitude and affliction bring more to themselves and to their heavenly Father than any other means. When thus allured and secluded the Lord has choice things to say to us for our comfort. He "speaks to our heart," as the original has it. Oh, that at this we may have this promise explained in our experience! Allured by love, separated by trial, and comforted by the Spirit of truth, may we know the Lord and sing for joy! #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 17th) Valiant for Truth The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. — Daniel 11:32 "The Lord is a man of war, Jehovah is his name." Those who enlist under His banner shall have a Commander who will train them for the conflict, and give them both vigor and valor. The times of which Daniel wrote were of the very worst kind, and then it was promised that the people of God would come out in their best colors: they would be strong and stout to confront the powerful adversary. Oh, that we may know our God; His power, His faithfulness, His immutable love, and so may be ready to risk everything in His behalf. He is One whose character excites our enthusiasm, and makes us willing to live and to die for Him. Oh, that we may know our God by familiar fellowship with Him; for then we shall become like Him, and shall be prepared to stand up for truth and righteousness. He who comes forth fresh from beholding the face of God will never fear the face of man. If we dwell with Him, we shall catch the heroic spirit, and to us a world of enemies will be but as the drop of a bucket. A countless array of men, or even of devils, will seem as little to us as the nations are to God, and He counts them only as grasshoppers. Oh, to be valiant for truth in this day of falsehood. #faith #bible #christian

I just finished The Mandibles. I'm even more bullish on bitcoin as freedom money now. Thanks @ODELL for harping about this book, and your interview with Shriver was great too! She's a bitcoiner and she doesn't know it yet. Read it if you haven't yet.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 15th) The Mourner Comforted Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. — Matthew 5:4 By the valley of weeping we come to Zion. One would have thought mourning and being blessed were in opposition, but the infinitely wise Saviour puts them together, in this beatitude. What He has joined together let no man put asunder. Mourning for sin - our own sins, and the sins of others - is the Lord's seal set upon His faithful ones. When the Spirit of grace is poured upon the house of David, or any other house, they shall mourn. By holy mourning we receive the best of our blessings, even as the rarest commodities come to us by water. Not only shall the mourner be blessed at some future day, but Christ pronounces him blessed even now. The Holy Spirit will surely comfort those hearts which mourn for sin. They shall be comforted by the application of the blood of Jesus, and by the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost. They shall be comforted as to the abounding sin of their city and of their age by the assurance that God will glorify Himself, however much men may rebel against Him. They shall be comforted with the expectation that they shall be wholly freed from sin before long, and shall soon be taken up to dwell for ever in the glorious presence of their Lord. #faith #bible #christian

“Genuine freedom is enslavement to God, being free to follow His direction and obey His will.” Greg Bahnsen

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 14th) Burdens Cast on Him Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. — Psalm 55:22 It is a heavy burden, roll it on Omnipotence. It is thy burden now, and it crushes thee; but when the Lord takes it, He will make nothing of it. If thou art called still to bear it, "he will sustain thee." It will be on Him, and not on thee. Thou wilt be so upheld under it that the burden will be a blessing. Bring the Lord into the matter and thou wilt stand upright under that which in itself would bow thee down. Our worst fear is lest our trial should drive us from the path of duty; but this the Lord will never suffer. If we are righteous before Him, He will not endure that our affliction should move us from our standing. In Jesus He accepts us as righteous, and in Jesus He will keep us so. What about the present moment? Art thou going forth to this day's trial alone? Are thy poor shoulders again to be galled with the oppressive load? Be not so foolish. Tell the Lord all about thy grief, and leave it with Him. Don't cast your burden down, and then take it up again; but roll it on the Lord, and leave it there. Then shalt thou walk at large, a joyful and unburdened believer, singing the praises of thy great Burden-bearer. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 13th) Implicit Trust For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. — Jeremiah 39:18 Behold the protecting power of trust in God. The great men of Jerusalem fell by the sword, but poor Ebed-melech was secure, for his confidence was in Jehovah. Where else should a man trust but in his Maker? We are foolish when we prefer the creature to the Creator. Oh, that we could in all things live by faith, then should we be delivered in all time of danger! No one ever did trust in the Lord in vain, and no one ever shall. The Lord saith, "I will surely deliver thee." Mark the divine "surely." Whatever else may be uncertain, God's care of believers is sure. God Himself is the guardian of the gracious. Under His sacred wing there is safety even when every danger is abroad. Can we accept this promise as sure? Then in our present emergency we shall find that it stands fast. We hope to be delivered because we have friends, or because we are prudent, or because we can see hopeful signs; but none of these things are one half so good as God's simple "because thou hast put thy trust in me." Dear reader, try this way, and, trying it, you will keep to it all your life. It is as sweet as it is sure. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 12th) Whom, When, How to Deliver The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. — 2 Peter 2:9 The godly are tempted and tried. That is not true faith which is never put to the test. But the godly are delivered out of their trials, and that not by chance, nor by secondary agencies, but by the Lord himself. He personally undertakes the office of delivering those who trust Him. God loves the godly or godlike, and He makes a point of knowing where they are, and how they fare. Sometimes their way seems to be a labyrinth, and they cannot imagine how they are to escape from threatening danger. What they do not know their Lord knows. He knows whom to deliver, and when to deliver, and how to deliver. He delivers in the way which is most beneficial to the godly, most crushing to the tempter, and most glorifying to Himself. We may leave the "how" with the Lord, and be content to rejoice in the fact that He will, in some way or other, bring His own people through all the dangers, trials, and temptations of this mortal life, to His own right hand in glory. This day it is not for me to pry into my Lord's secrets, but patiently to wait his time, knowing this, that though I know nothing, my heavenly Father knows. #faith #bible #christian

New article in the local paper by my pastor: Purity culture opposes the Gospel. "Within American Christianity, we’ve seen the rise of “purity culture” in the last generation. At the heart of this movement are the best intentions. The goal was to keep our children from the devastation that results from sexual sin, including unwanted pregnancy and disease. Purity culture places a lot of emphasis on sexual abstinence until marriage. As a father who raised daughters, I did the same. One of my goals for them was to make sure they didn’t fall prey to charming scoundrels. Y’know, young men who are just like I was. Purity culture has its downfalls, though, and they are serious and damaging. Two books that have been very successful in Christian circles exemplify this. One is “The power of a praying wife,” by Stormie Omartian and the other is “Every man’s battle” by Arterburn, Stoeker, and Yorkey. Together, they teach the worst tenets of modern purity culture. Those are, that men are hard-wired to see women as sexual objects. They can’t control it, and, to some extent, they can’t be held responsible for it. They remain all their lives as slaves to what they see. The other pillar of purity culture is that women and girls must take responsibility for the consequences. That is, since men have no real control over themselves, and cannot be expected to, it’s on the ladies to make sure this ever-present fire doesn’t break out and burn everything down. These ideas (the slavish inability of men, and the great responsibility of women) combine to create an environment of abuse and victim-blaming. This is exemplified in the documentary series, “Shiny happy people.” Even young girls are trained to dress modestly, covered from neck to wrist to ankle, for the sake of not enticing the men around them, including those in their churches and their own families. If a woman is sexually abused, it’s common for her to deal with accusations that she must have tempted her attacker. It’s all on her. She’s the sexual gatekeeper, and the man is hard-wired to constantly storm the gates. He can’t help it. In marriage this becomes “duty sex,” where the wife is obligated to be the outlet for his uncontrollable urges, whether she wants to or not in the moment. She must keep him on the straight and narrow. He can’t be moral on his own, for Pete’s sake! If he’s a villain, addicted and abusive, it’s on the Christian wife to pray harder; have more faith; do a better job submitting to his authority, and, have more (and raunchier) sex with him. If he doesn’t get better, or he gets worse, she’s not doing enough. To top it off, you can’t leave or divorce him. If you do, you’ve failed God. She can’t go to her church for help because they’re the very ones teaching this nonsense. Purity culture combines unrelenting male domination with inescapable female culpability. It mocks the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which promises power to change, and the faithfulness of God to make it happen. Even for men. Go figure. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com" https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2023/07/12/opinion/purity-culture-opposes-the-gospel/24937.html #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 10th) Love the Church Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. — Psalm 102:13-14 Yes, our prayers for the church will be heard. The set time is come. We love the prayer meeting, and the Sunday school, and all the services of the Lord's house. We are bound in heart to all the people of God, and can truly say, "There's not a lamb in all thy flock I would disdain to feed; There's not a foe before whose face I'd fear thy cause to plead." If this is the general feeling, we shall soon enjoy times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Our assemblies will be filled, saints will be revived, and sinners will be converted. This can only come of the Lord's mercy; but it will come, and we are called upon to expect it. The time, the set time, is come. Let us bestir ourselves. Let us love every stone of our Zion, even though it may be fallen down. Let us treasure up the least truth, the least ordinance, the least believer, even though some may despise them as only so much dust. When we favor Zion, God is about to favor her. When we take pleasure in the Lord's work, the Lord Himself will take pleasure in it. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 9th) Faithful and Useful Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me — Psalm 101:6 If David spoke thus, we may be sure that the Son of David will be of the same mind. Jesus looks out for faithful men, and He fixes His eyes upon them, to observe them, to bring them forward, to encourage them, and to reward them. Let no true-hearted man think that he is overlooked; the King Himself has His eye upon him. There are two results of this royal notice. First we read, "that they may dwell with me." Jesus brings the faithful into His house, He sets them in His palace, He makes them His companions, He delights in their society. We must be true to our Lord, and He will then manifest Himself to us. When our faithfulness costs us most it will be best rewarded; the more furiously men reject, the more joyfully will our Lord receive us. Next, he says of the sincere man, "he shall serve me." Jesus will use for His own glory those who scorn the tricks of policy, and are faithful to Himself, His Word, and His Cross. These shall be in His royal retinue, the honored servants of His Majesty. Communion and usefulness are the wages of faithfulness. Lord make me faithful, that I may dwell with thee, and serve thee. #faith #bible #christian

The fear of man is strong, the opposition of this evil world is mighty, the lusts of the flesh rage horribly, the fear of death is terrible, the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; but Jesus is stronger than them all. - J.C. Ryle

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. — Romans 6:12-13

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 8th) An Angel Encampment The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. — Psalm 34:7 We cannot see the angels, but it is enough that they can see us. There is one great Angel of the Covenant, whom not having seen we love, and His eye is always upon us both day and night. He has a host of holy ones under Him, and He causes these to be watchers over His saints and to guard them from all ill. If devils do us mischief, shining ones do us service. Note that the Lord of angels does not come and go, and pay us transient visits, but He and His armies encamp around us. The headquarters of the army of salvation are where those live whose trust is in the living God. This camp surrounds the faithful, so that they cannot be attacked from any quarter unless the adversary can break through the entrenchments of the Lord of angels. We have a fixed protection, a permanent watch. Sentineled by the messengers of God, we shall not be surprised by sudden assaults, nor swallowed up by overwhelming forces. Deliverance is promised in this verse - deliverance by the great Captain of our salvation, and that deliverance we shall obtain again and again until our warfare is accomplished and we exchange the field of conflict for the home of rest. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (July 3rd) A Guide All the Way He will be our guide even unto death — Psalm 48:14 We need a guide. Sometimes we would give all that we have to be told exactly what to do, and where to turn. We are willing to do right, but we do not know which out of two roads we are to follow. Oh, for a guide! The Lord our God condescends to serve us as guide. He knows the way, and will pilot us along it till we reach our journey's end in peace. Surely we do not desire more infallible direction. Let us place ourselves absolutely under His guidance, and we shall never miss our way. Let us make Him our God and we shall find Him our guide. If we follow His law we shall not miss the right road of life, provided we first learn to lean upon Him in every step that we take. Our comfort is, that as He is our God for ever and ever, He will never cease to be with us as our guide. "Even unto death" will He lead us, and then we shall dwell with Him eternally, and go no more out for ever. This promise of divine guidance involves life-long security: salvation at once, guidance unto our last hour, and then endless blessedness. Should not each one seek this in youth, rejoice in it in middle life, and repose in it in old age? This day let us look up for guidance before we trust ourselves out of doors. #faith #bible #christian

Any Reformed here? I got saved pretty much right into an understanding of God's sovereignty in salvation and that He saves whomever He wills. How about you?