The American Right has little to offer the people except a slower paced leftism. “The Land of the Free” has become the home of would-be tyrants with ever-expanding dreams of control. ~ R. J. Rushdoony
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John
jtrain@fountain.fm
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Reformed Baptist, Single Dad of a tremendous 10 year old boy, USAF veteran, #Bitcoin, #Carnivore, Soli Deo Gloria!
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 19th)
Afflictions, but No Broken Bones
He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken — Psalm 34:20
This promise by the context is referred to the much afflicted righteous man: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." He may suffer skin-wounds and flesh-wounds, but no great harm shall be done, "not a bone of him shall be broken."
This is great comfort to a tried child of God, and comfort which I dare accept; for up to this hour I have suffered no real damage from my many afflictions. I have neither lost faith, nor hope, nor love. Nay, so far from losing these bones of character, they have gained in strength and energy. I have more knowledge, more experience, more patience, more stability than I had before the trials came. Not even my joy has been destroyed. Many a bruise have I had by sickness, bereavement, depression, slander, and opposition; but the bruise has healed, and there has been no compound fracture of a bone, not even a simple one. The reason is not far to seek. If we trust in the Lord, He keeps all our bones; and if He keeps them, we may be sure that not one of them is broken.
Come, my heart, do not sorrow. Thou art smarting, but there are no bones broken. Endure hardness, and bid defiance to fear.
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Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 18th)
Defended and Covered
As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem — Isaiah 31:5
With hurrying wing the mother bird hastens up to the protection of her young. She wastes no time upon the road when coming to supply them with food, or guard them from danger. Thus as on eagle's wings will the Lord come for the defense of His chosen; yea, He will ride upon the wings of the wind.
With outspread wing the mother covers her little ones in the nest. She hides them away by interposing her own body. The hen yields her own warmth to her chicks, and makes her wings a house, in which they dwell at home. Thus doth Jehovah Himself become the protection of His elect. He Himself is their refuge, their abode, their all.
As birds flying, and birds covering (for the word means both), so will the Lord be unto us: and this He will be repeatedly and successfully. We shall be defended and preserved from all evil: the Lord who likens Himself to birds will not be like them in their feebleness, for He is Jehovah of hosts. Let this be our comfort, that almighty love will be swift to succor, and sure to cover. The wing of God is more quick and more tender than the wing of a bird, and we will put our trust under its shadow henceforth and for ever.
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Fits of depression come over the most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.
Charles Spurgeon
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Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 17th)
Nearest and Dearest Fellowship
So shall we ever be with the Lord — 1 Thessalonians 4:17
While we are here the Lord is with us, and when we are called away we are with Him. There is no dividing the saint from His Saviour. They are one, and they always must be one: Jesus cannot be without His own people, for He would be a Head without a body. Whether caught up into the air, or resting in Paradise, or sojourning here, we are with Jesus; and who shall separate us from Him?
What a joy is this! Our supreme honor, rest, comfort, delight, is to be with the Lord. We cannot conceive of anything which can surpass or even equal this divine society. By holy fellowship we must be with Him in His humiliation, rejection, and travail, and then we shall be with Him in His glory. Before long we shall be with Him in His rest and in His royalty, in His expectation and in His manifestation. We shall fare as He fares, and triumph as He triumphs.
O my Lord, if I am to be for ever with thee, I have a destiny incomparable. I will not envy an archangel. To be for ever with the Lord is my idea of Heaven at its best. Not the harps of gold, nor the crowns unfading, nor the light unclouded, is glory to me; but Jesus, Jesus Himself, and myself for ever with Him in nearest and dearest fellowship.
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Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 16th)
Divine Expulsion
Thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong — Joshua 17:18
It is a great encouragement to valor to be assured of victory, for then a man goes forth to war in confidence, and ventures where else he had been afraid to go. Our warfare is with evil within us and around us, and we ought to be persuaded that we are able to get the victory, and that we shall do so in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are not riding for a fall, but to win; and win we shall. The grace of God in its Omnipotence is put forth for the overthrow of evil in every form: hence the certainty of triumph.
Certain of our sins find chariots of iron in our constitution, our former habits, our associations, and our occupations. Nevertheless we must overcome them. They are very strong, and in reference to them we are very weak; yet in the name of God we must master them, and we will. If one sin has dominion of us we are not the Lord's free men. A man who is held by only one chain is still a captive. There is no going to Heaven with one sin ruling within us, for of the saints it is said, "Sin shall not have dominion over you." Up, then, and slay every Canaanite, and break to shivers every chariot of iron! The Lord of hosts is with us, and who shall resist His sin-destroying power?
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“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 LSB)
Consider these prophetic words, written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. What foundational theological reality undergirds them? What did people have to believe to understand their message and their fulfillment? No Open Theist could make heads or tails of such a prophecy because, of course, the fulfillment would require millions of "free will" decisions made by creatures that, by that system, cannot be known to God. And those who properly recognize the incoherence of open theism are left cobbling together some kind of system that pretends to affirm the biblical statements of God's sovereignty over time while still allowing man to be sovereign over his own fate. But the fact is, one of the key texts we celebrate at this time of year can only be understood when you recognize that "the zeal of Yahweh of armies" will accomplish exactly what He wishes to accomplish, when He wishes to accomplish it, all to His glory and honor. - James White
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John the Baptist and Jesus preach the coming of the kingdom, the reign of God.
That is to say: In Jesus, God asserts His claim on the world.
Jesus declares to Satan, to demons, to Caesars and Stalins: This world is not yours. It is mine.
That’s the Advent gospel. - Peter Leithart
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Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 14th)
Nothing Old
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new — Revelation 21:5
Glory be to His name! All things need making new, for they are sadly battered and worn by sin. It is time that the old vesture was rolled up and laid aside, and that creation put on her Sunday suit. But no one else can make all things new except the Lord who made them at the first; for it needs as much power to make out of evil as to make out of nothing. Our Lord Jesus has undertaken the task, and He is fully competent for the performance of it. Already He has commenced His labor, and for centuries He has persevered in making new the hearts of men, and the order of society. By-and-by He will make new the whole constitution of human government, and human nature shall be changed by His grace; and there shall come a day when the body shall be made new, and raised like unto His glorious body.
What a joy to belong to a kingdom in which everything is being made new by the power of its King! We are not dying out: we are hastening on to a more glorious life. Despite the opposition of the powers of evil, our glorious Lord Jesus is accomplishing His purpose, and making us, and all things about us, "new," and as full of beauty as when they first came from the hand of the Lord.
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Seed oils are trying to kill you! #carnivore
The gospel is the grand emanation from the fountain of blessedness, an overflow of the Divine goodness. It is the infinitely happy God, pouring forth his happiness upon miserable sinners, through Jesus Christ. — Andrew Fuller
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New article in the local paper by my pastor: Restoration is focus of Advent.
"Many churches that follow a traditional calendar in their activities will regard this upcoming Sunday as the third Sunday in the season of Advent. In the first, they focused on themes of hope and expectation. Last Sunday was about promise and fulfillment. Looking over the suggested Scripture readings for the third Sunday, the theme of restoration is prominent.
The people of God who had managed to hold on to their faith at the time of Jesus of Nazareth were in need of restoration, severely so. Beginning with the captivity in Babylon, at the time of the book of Daniel, they had been oppressed and harassed by four successive world empires.
After the Babylonians came the Medes and Persians. These were ousted by the fierce Greeks under the swift generalship of Alexander the Great. The Greek reign over Israel was so bloody and tyrannical that when the Romans finally booted them out, many Jews were tempted to believe the Romans were the messengers of God’s grace toward them, and had, for all practical purposes, established the kingdom of God on Earth.
This pro-Roman faction among the Jews shows up as the sect of the Sadducees in the Gospel accounts. Their basic issue with Christ’s preaching was that, if people followed it, the Romans might feel a need to come and crack some heads in Israel, and their (relatively) comfortable lifestyle would be reduced to shambles.
Their nightmarish past with the Greeks had made them eager to live quietly under the oppression of the Romans. It wasn’t great, but it was night-and-day better than it had been. This trauma response made the offer of Christ’s restoration sound dangerous and upsetting. Living under the iron boot of Rome was enough for them.
But the prophets had promised them actual freedom. God had prophesied about making sure all their previous losses were repaid. Ruined cities would be rebuilt, teeming with laughing children like a field teeming with well-kept flocks. Those who robbed and destroyed would be cast down, and restitution extracted from them.
Isaiah, for instance, prophesied about this day of restoration in Isaiah 61 (one of the Advent readings). Jesus then applied this same text to himself in Luke 4, saying, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The offer was clear. Here I am. The time is now. Today, the promised restoration is yours.
Less than 10 verses later, they all tried to murder him.
And you? How does the offer of Christ’s restoration strike you today, this Advent season? Hopefully, like a piping mug of something smooth on a snowy day.
Or, maybe your past troubles have convinced you that a day without the walls burning down is about all you can hope for.
The good news is this, but it will challenge your faith: God has something better for you.
The promised Messiah, who died and was raised, still offers restoration. He’s still in the business of rebuilding ruins. He’s still the king of justice, who will make sure that no one gets away with anything. The books will all be balanced and the debts will be paid.
May this season be healing to you."
Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com
https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2023/12/13/opinion/restoration-is-focus-of-advent/25406.html
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Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 13th)
Evening Brightens Into Day
It shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light — Zechariah 14:7
It is a surprise that it should be so; for all things threaten that at evening time it shall be dark. God is wont to work in a way so much above our fears and beyond our hopes, that we are greatly amazed, and are led to praise His sovereign grace. No, it shall not be with us as our hearts are prophesying: the dark will not deepen into midnight, but it will on a sudden brighten into day. Never let us despair. In the worst times let us trust in the Lord who turneth the darkness of the shadow of death into the morning. When the tale of bricks is doubled Moses appears, and when tribulation abounds it is nearest its end.
This promise should assist our patience. The light may not fully come till our hopes are quite spent by waiting all day to no purpose. To the wicked the sun goes down while it is yet day: to the righteous the sun rises when it is almost night. May we not with patience wait for that heavenly light, which may be long in coming, but is sure to prove itself well worth waiting for?
Come, my soul, take up thy parable and sing unto Him who will bless thee in life and in death, in a manner surpassing all that nature has ever seen when at its best.
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New Dune Part 2 trailer. I'm down. #dune
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Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 12th)
A Quiet Heart
In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength — Isaiah 30:15
It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mistrusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action, and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.
Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!
Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne.
Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.
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A little faith is no less faith than a great faith; yea, a little faith will carry a man as safely to heaven, though not so comfortably, nor so fruitfully, as great faith.
—John Owen
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He that would be saved by Christ, and not ruled by him, shall not be saved by him at all.
—John Owen
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