Tested in a Tight Spot

By Warren Wiersbe

      Read Psalm 7:1-9 

      This psalm was born out of a sad experience David had with Cush, a Benjamite (see I Sam. 24-26). Cush was one of Saul's spies. And because of what David did, Cush caused the deaths of innocent men.


      Whenever David had a problem with persecution or with people, he would run to God. "O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me" (v. 1). David's enemies were pursuing him. But the first thing he did was examine his own heart. "O Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands" (v. 3). He was saying, "If I have sinned, then let the enemy persecute me."


      When we are persecuted or experiencing problems, the first thing we should do is examine our own hearts--not examine the enemy or even examine God by saying, "God, why did You allow such a thing to happen?" When you find yourself in a tight spot, look in the mirror and say, "Father, is there something in my life You are talking to me about? Is there some area in my life where I am not as yielded as I ought to be?"


      You may ask, "What about my enemies? Who's going to take care of them?" That was David's question. The answer is that God will take care of the enemy. The wickedness of others will come to an end. Our righteous God will accomplish His purposes, but notice the end of verse 9: "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." Times of trial are not only times of testimony and trusting; they are also times of testing. When God tests you, He is showing you your own heart. You may say, "I know my own heart." But you don't. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).


      God has a purpose for trials and testings. Do you find yourself in a tight spot today? Don't view this as something to endure. Rather, consider it an opportunity for growth. Use this time to examine your heart. Perhaps God wants to teach you something and develop an area of your life. Yield yourself to Him and trust Him to do a good work in you.

The Royal Gate

(Thomas Brooks, "Heaven on Earth" 1667)

"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17

A man may always pray habitually; he may
have his heart in a praying disposition in all
states and conditions--
in prosperity and adversity,
in health and sickness,
in strength and weakness,
in wealth and wants,
in life and death.
The Christian needs . . .
divine mercy to pardon him,
divine grace to purify him,
divine balm to heal him,
divine favor to comfort him,
divine power to support him,
divine wisdom to counsel him,
divine goodness to satisfy him.

Our daily weaknesses,
our daily needs,
our daily fears,
our daily dangers,
our daily temptations,
call for our daily prayers.

Prayer is the royal gate by which
the Lord enters into the heart--
comforting,
quieting,
strengthening,
quickening, and
upholding it.

By prayer--
faith is increased,
hope strengthened,
the spirit exhilarated,
the heart pacified,
the conscience purified,
temptations vanquished,
corruptions weakened,
the affections inflamed,
the will more renewed, and
the whole man more advantaged.

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FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD by Oswald Chambers

"Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" Genesis 18:17


Its Delights. This chapter brings out the delight of real friendship with God as compared with occasional feelings of His presence in prayer. To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will, is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you are rightly related to God, it is a life of freedom and liberty and delight, you are God's will, and all your common-sense decisions are His will for you unless He checks. You decide things in perfect delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will always check; when He checks, stop at once.


Its Difficulties. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He was not intimate enough yet to go boldly on until God granted his desire, there was something yet to be desired in his relationship to God. Whenever we stop short in prayer and say - "Well, I don't know; perhaps it is not God's will," there is still another stage to go. We are not so intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as He wants us to be - "That they may be one even as we are one." Think of the last thing you prayed about - were you devoted to your desire or to God? 


Determined to get some gift of the Spirit or to get at God? "Your Heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him." The point of asking is that you may get to know God better. "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Keep praying in order to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.


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Persevering Through Trials - J.C. Ryle

Would you have perfect peace in life? Then lay hold on this doctrine of perseverance. 


Your TRIALS may be many and great. Your cross may be very heavy. But the business of your soul is all conducted according to an "everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure." (2 Sam. 23:5.) 


All things are working together for your good. Your sorrows are only purifying your soul for glory. Your bereavements are only fashioning you as a polished stone for the temple above, made without hands. 


From whatever quarter the storms blow, they only drive you nearer to heaven. 


Whatever weather you may go through it is only ripening you for the garner of God. 


Your best things are quite safe. Come what will, you shall "never perish."

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Charles H. Spurgeon ~Petty Wars Over Abstruse Points And Unimportant Questions

"For Such a Time as This"

by T. Austin-Sparks


Beloved of God, I have recently been going over writings which expressed the feelings of spiritual people of God at various times during many years. The thing which is characteristic of them all is that the time of writing - although long periods lay between - was felt to be the most critical, ominous, and spiritually difficult or almost unbearable time that ever was. In most cases the conclusion was that the Lord must have been on the very verge of coming. Undoubtedly this has been the feeling of at least some in every part of time since Apostolic times. This might give us pause in saying that the present time - difficult as it is for so many - is more of this nature and portent than ever.


It might just be because now it is our turn. And yet there are certain factors which may well give a deeper shade to the darkness, and a more intense severity to this time. There is the general fact that, the nearer we get to the end of the age, the more terribly will the powers of darkness fight to make good all the possibilities of their shortening time. The Scripture is "...great wrath, knowing that his time is short". Then, the world has grown so much as the years have passed, and it is a much bigger place now than in Roman times or the Middle Ages. Satan has so much more ground in humanity to use. Further - and this is a special point to remember - the challenge to Satan's kingdom is become so much more extended, so that, in a new sense, the issue of "inhabited world" dominion is in view. It is this question of world dominion that lies behind everything, and it is this that determines the degree of spiritual pressure and conflict. Listen to me a moment on this matter, for it is most crucial at this time.


There have been many bids made for the domination of this whole world, and, like the ebb and flow of the tides, sometimes at the Neaps, and sometimes at the Spring, the later ones have been a considerable advance upon the earlier, extending to new territories. Thus was the Roman a great advance upon the Babylonian, for instance.


So the reign of Antichrist, which is the direct succession and consummation of all such bids and movements, will be more far-reaching than all that have been. We are actually living in an emphatic stage of this purpose which is more ambitious than anything yet. Upon the natural side we do not dwell, but we see by analogy some things which should head us straight to the present implication and demand for the Church.


There is the strategical factor. One of the outstanding features of the present campaign is the infiltration into the nations of agents, representatives, missionaries, and colonists. These communities are not only propagandists, but their very presence has been made the occasion of "rights" to be "protected". In every way they give the aggressor-power something of its own to which to come, and a "moral" right and claim is the (professed) strength of the invasion or possession. This has been the case in many instances, at least. For the rest, it is war because such claims and rights are disputed. Now passing from the earthly to the heavenly, this, on the higher level, is exactly the Lord's own strategy, and therefore the occasion of the bitter warfare waged by and with the powers of darkness.

Living in the Light of God

Give me the support of God, and I can easily bear the insults
of men. Let me lay my head on the chest of Jesus, and I will
not fear the interruptions of care and trouble. If my God will
forever give me the light of His smile, and a glimpse of His
blessing--it is enough. Come on enemies, persecutors,
demons, yes, the Devil himself, for "the Lord God is my sun
and shield." Gather, you clouds, and surround me, I carry a
Sun within me; blow, wind of the frozen north, I have a fire of
living coal within me; yes, death, kill me, but I have another
life--a life in the light of God's countenance.


-Spurgeon

Everything you had struggled to gain

(Newman Hall, "The Choice of Moses" 1867) Christian, what is the value of all that which you relinquish to follow Christ? Grant all that may be urged in its favor. Let money, and luxury, and fame, and power, and the pleasures of sin in their fairest forms and largest measure, be combined in one great mountain of attractive fascination; and the question arises, "How long will all this last?" You know the story of the Eastern king, one of whose courtiers, surveying the magnificence, flatteringly asked, "What is lacking here?" The monarch replied, with a sigh, "Continuance." Yes! a worm is hidden in the loveliest blossom, a serpent creeps amid the fairest flowers, the wealthiest summer beckons winter frosts, and the longest and the brightest days close in night. Of what avail is it to say, "Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry;" when the message is given, "This night your soul shall be required of you!" What will be your remorse at death if you shall have chosen, as your chief portion, that which thus perishes? How terrible to find everything you had struggled to gain slipping from your grasp . . .    money,   luxuries,   position,   power,   learning,   fame; all retreating and leaving you alone! Was it for this you refused the enduring riches, and the endless delights of piety? Alas! what multitudes in the unseen world now regret, when it is too late, so mad a choice! What to them is every remembrance of the pleasures of sin, but fuel added to the fire of their remorse? "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Hebrews 11:24-26 link

Hudson Taylor - Powerful Quotes on Prayer

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

“Perhaps if there were more of that intense distress for souls that leads to tears, we should more frequently see the results we desire. Sometimes it may be that while we are complaining of the hardness of the hearts of those we are seeking to benefit, the hardness of our own hearts and our feeble apprehension of the solemn reality of eternal things may be the true cause of our want of success.”

"Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power."

"The power of prayer has never been tried to its full capacity in any church. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine grace and power wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let the whole Church answer God's standing challenged; "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knows not."

"Do we give sufficient attention to the theme of gaining Christ? It is our joy and privilege to know Him as God's unspeakable gift, but none knew this more fully than the apostle Paul. But was he satisfied with this knowledge? Or was Paul's soul-consuming desire, at all possible cost, to gain Christ; and thus to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings? Oh that Christ may be so known by us as a ‘living, bright reality’ that our one desire-our one absorbing heart-passion may be that we personally gain Christ-that we personally know Him as the apostle longed to do."

"You must go forward on your knees."

"All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they believed that God would be with them."

“I myself, for instance, am not especially gifted, and am shy by nature, but my gracious and merciful God and Father inclined Himself to me, and when I was weak in faith He strengthened me while I was still young. He taught me in my helplessness to rest on Him, and to pray even about little things in which another might have felt able to help himself.”

“The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.”

"To every toiling, heavy-laden sinner, Jesus says, ‘Come to me and rest’. But there are many toiling, heavy-laden believers, too. For them this same invitation is meant. Note well the words of Jesus, if you are heavy-laden with your service, and do not mistake it. It is not, ‘Go, labor on,’ as perhaps you imagine. On the contrary, it is stop, turn back, ‘Come to me and rest.’ Never, never did Christ send a heavy laden one to work; never, never did He send a hungry one, a weary one, a sick or sorrowing one, away on any service. For such the Bible only says, ‘Come, come, come.’"

"In Shansi I found Chinese Christians who were accustomed to spend time in fasting and prayer. They recognized that this fasting, which so many dislike, which requires faith in God, since it makes one feel weak and poorly, is really a Divinely appointed means of grace. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength; and in fasting we learn what poor, weak creatures we are-dependent on a meal of meat for the little strength which we are so apt to lean upon."

"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."

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A great nothing

Thomas Brooks


"The next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium 
with great pomp." Acts 25:23. That is, with great phantasy 
or vain show. All the honor, pomp, and accolade of this world 
is but a phantasy. Worldly honor is but a great nothing—a 
glorious illusion, a shadow, a dream. 

Great swelling titles are but as so many rattles, or as 
so many feathers in men's caps. Worldly honor is but 
a wind, which will blow a man the sooner to hell. 

Adonibezek, a mighty prince, is quickly made to eat 
scraps from under the table with the dogs. Judges 1:7. 

Nebuchadnezzar, a mighty conqueror, turned a-grazing 
among the oxen. Daniel 4:28. 

Herod is reduced from a conceited god—to be the most 
loathsome of men, a living carrion attacked by worms,
the vilest of creatures. Acts 12:23. 

Great Haman feasted with the king one day, and 
made a feast for crows the next day. Esther 7:10.


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A Father's Hand

 Father's Hand By Octavious Winslow.

"My times are in thy hand." Psalm 31:15


Our times of adversity are also in God's hand. As every sunbeam that brightens, so every cloud that darkens, comes from God. We are subject to great and sudden reverses in our earthly condition. Joy is often succeeded by grief, prosperity by adversity. We are on the pinnacle today, tomorrow at its bottom. Oh! What a change may one event and one moment create! But, beloved,ALL is from the Lord.

Afflictions do not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Sorrow cannot come until God bids it. Until God in His sovereignty permits—health cannot fade, wealth cannot vanish, comfort cannot decay, friendship cannot chill, and loved ones cannot die. Your time of sorrow is His appointment. 


The bitter cup which it may please the Lord that you shall drink this year will not be mixed by human hands. In the hand of the Lord is that cup! Some treasure you are now pressing to your heart, He may ask you to resign. Some blessing you now possess, He may bid you to relinquish. Some fond expectation you now cherish, He may will that you should forego. Some lonely path, He may design that you should tread.

Yes, He may even bereave you of all, and yet all, ALL is in His hand! His hand! A Father's hand, moving in thick darkness, is shaping every event, and arranging every detail in your life! Has sickness laid you on a bed of suffering? Has bereavement darkened your home? Has adversity impoverished your resources? Has change lessened your comforts? Has sorrow in one of its many forms crushed your spirit to the earth? The Lord has done it! In all that has been sent, in all that has be recalled, and in all that has been withheld—His hand, noiseless and unseen has brought it about!

Ah! yes, that hand of changeless love blends a sweet with every bitter—pencils a bright rainbow in each dark cloud—upholds each faltering step—shelters within its hollow—and guides with unerring skill, His chosen people safe to eternal glory! Dear child of God, your afflictions, your trials, your crosses, your losses, your sorrows, all, ALL are in your heavenly Father's hand, and they cannot come until sent by Him!

Bow that stricken heart—yield that tempest-tossed soul to His sovereign disposal, to His calm, righteous sway, in the submissive spirit and language of your suffering Savior, "May Your will, O my Father! not mine, be done. My times of sadness and of grief are in Your hand." Beloved, all is in your Father's hand! Be those times what they may—times of trial, times of temptation, times of suffering, times of peril, times of sunshine or of gloom, or times of life or death, they are in your Father's hand!

Has the Lord seen fit to recall some fond blessing, to deny some earnest request, or painfully to discipline your heart? All this springs from a Father's love as fully as though He had unlocked His treasury and poured its costliest gifts at your feet! All of our times are in our Redeemer's hands! That same Redeemer who carried our sorrows in His heart, our curse and sins on His soul, our cross on His shoulder; who died, who rose again, and who lives and intercedes for us, and who will gather all His ransomed around Him in glory, is your Guardian and your Guide! Your times are in the hands of Him who still bears the print of the nails!


Octavious Winslow
1808-1878.

I am going to vomit you out of My mouth!

(James Smith, "Daily Bible Readings for the Lord's Household")

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold—or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold—I am going to vomit you out of My mouth!" Revelation 3:15-16

The Lord Jesus hates lukewarmness! He would rather we made no profession of religion at all—than to profess—and then not practice His precepts!

He loves to see His people zealous—and it is a shame to us, when we are dull and lifeless in His ways.

It is to be feared, that many professors do not realize that their 'indifference' is a sin! They think that having professed Christ, if they just attend to a few religious duties, and creep along in a certain religious course—that this is enough. They are never hot—and they do not really like to see others on fire for the Lord.

Professor of religion, Jesus says, "Be hot—or be cold!"
Be altogether a Christian—OR throw off your vain profession!
Do not wear the Christian name—only to dishonor it!

Professing Christian—are you hot, or cold—or lukewarm?


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We must either leap over them, or tread upon them!

(Thomas Watson, "The Christian Soldier" 1669)

"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.
 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not
 worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more
 than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take
 his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." Matt. 10:36-38

Take heed of the snare in your family! It is one of the
Devil's great subtleties—to hinder us from piety by our
nearest relations—and to shoot us with our own rib!

He tempted Adam by his wife. Who would have suspected
the Devil there? He tempted Job by his wife, "Are you still
holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" Job 2:9
Thus would the Devil have cooled Job's love for God; but
the shield of his faith quenched this fiery dart!

Take heed of such tempters! It is better to go to Heaven
with their hatred—than to Hell with their love! If our
dearest friends and family lie in our way to Heaven—we
must either leap over them, or tread upon them!


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We must be wedded to the Leah of real holiness

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Laban replied—It is not our custom here, to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one." Genesis 29:26

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty—but we desire to learn from the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be taken in order; and if we would win the second—we must secure the first. The second may be the more desirable in our eyes—but the rule of the heavenly country must stand—the elder must be married first.

For instance, many men desire the beautiful Rachel of joy and peace—but they must first be wedded to the bleary-eyed Leah of repentance. Everyone falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully serve twice seven years to enjoy it. But according to the rule of the Lord's kingdom—we must be wedded to the Leah of real holiness—before the Rachel of true happiness can be gained.

Heaven is not first—but second; and only by persevering to the end, can we enter into it. 

The cross must be carried—before the crown can be worn! 

We must follow our Lord in His sufferings—or we shall never rest with Him in glory.

Dear heart, are you so vain as to hope to break through this heavenly rule? Do you hope for reward without labor—or honor without toil? Dismiss the idle expectation! Be content to take the difficult things—for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense you for all. In such a spirit, laboring and suffering, you will find that bitters grow sweet—and that hard things grow easy. Like Jacob, your years of service will seem unto you but a few days—for the love which you have to Jesus. And when the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come—all your toils shall be as though they had never been! An hour with Jesus—will make amends for ages of pain and labor!

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If he is a liar, a talebearer, a railer, a flatterer or a jester

(Letters of John Newton)

There is, perhaps, no one test or proof of the reality of a work of grace upon the heart, more simple, clear and infallible—than the general tenor of our speech; for our Lord's aphorism is of certain and universal application, that "out of the abundance of the heart—the mouth speaks."

To the same purpose, the apostle James proposes to all who make a profession of the gospel, a searching criterion of their sincerity, when he says, "If anyone considers himself religious, and yet does not keep a tight bridle on his tongue—he deceives himself and his religion is worthless!" James supposes that the grace of God in a true believer will check the evils of the heart, and prevent them from breaking out by the tongue.

The grace of God will necessarily influence and govern the tongues of those who partake of it, in what they say when they speak of God, of themselves, and of or to their fellow-creatures.

Having seen a glimpse of the holiness and majesty, the glory and the grace, of the great God with whom they have to do—their hearts are impressed with reverence, and therefore there is a seriousness in their language. They cannot speak lightly of God, or of His ways. One would suppose that no person, who even but seems to be pious, can directly and expressly profane His glorious name. But there is a careless and flippant manner of speaking of the great God, which is very disgusting and very suspicious. Likewise, the hearts of believers teach their mouths to speakhonorably of God under all their afflictions and crosses, acknowledging the wisdom and the mercyof His painful dispensations. And, if an impatient word escapes them—it grieves and humbles them, as quite unfitting to their situation as His creatures, and especially as sinful creatures, who have always reason to acknowledge, that it is of the Lord's mercy alone—that they are not wholly consumed.

When they speak of themselves, their tongues are bridled, and restrained from boasting. They speak as befits poor, unworthy creatures—because they feel themselves to be such! In what they say, either of their comforts or of their sorrows, sincerity dictates a simplicity which cannot be easily counterfeited.

In what they say of or to others, the tongues of believers are bridled by a heart-felt regard totruth, love and purity.

Where saving grace is in the heart—the tongue will be bridled by the law of TRUTH. It is grievous to see how nearly and readily some professors will venture upon the borders of a lie; either . . .
  to defend their own conduct,
  to avoid some inconvenience,
  to procure a supposed advantage,
  or sometimes merely to embellish a story!
Where instances of this kind are frequent, I hardly know a fouler blot in profession, or which can give a more just warrant to fear that such professors know nothing aright, either of God or themselves! The Lord is a God of truth; and He teaches His servants to hate and abhor lying, and to speak the truth from their hearts. I may add likewise, with regard to promises—that the person, whose simple word may not be safely depended upon—scarcely deserves the name of a Christian!

Where grace is in the heart, the tongue will likewise be bridled by the law of LOVE. If we love our neighbor—can we lightly speak evil of him, magnify his failings, or use provoking or insulting language to him? Love thinks no evil—but bears, hopes and endures. Love acts by the golden rule, to "Do unto others—what you would like them to do unto you." Those who are under the influence of Christian love, will be gentle and compassionate, disposed to make the most favorable allowances, and of course their tongues will be restrained from the language of malevolence, harsh censure, and slander—which are as familiar to us as our mother tongue—until we are made partakers of the grace of God.

The tongue is also bridled by a regard to PURITY, agreeable to the precepts, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths!" "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking!" Ephesians 4:29, 5:4. Grace has taught believers to hate these things! How then can their tongues speak of them?

There are false professors, indeed, who can suit their language to their company. When with the people of God—they call talk very seriously. But at other times, they are well pleased to join in vain, frothy and evil conversation. But this double-mindedness is of itself, sufficient to discredit all their pretenses to a pious character.

Upon the whole, though perfection is not to be expected, though true believers may, on some occasions, speak rashly, and have great cause for humiliation, watchfulness, and prayer, with respect to the government of their tongues; yet Scripture authorizes this conclusion: That, if the tongue is frequently without a bridle; if it may be observed, that a person often speaks . . .
  lightly of God and of divine things,
  proudly of himself, and
  harshly of his fellow-creatures; 

if he is a liar, a talebearer, a railer, a flatterer or a jester—then, whatever other good qualities he may seem to possess—his speechbetrays him! He deceives himself, and his religion is worthless!

Let us think of these things, and entreat the Lord to cast the salt of His grace into the fountain of our hearts—that the streams of our conversation may be wholesome.


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Complaining Christian

(James Smith, "Bread from Heaven!" 1857)

"Do you have a father?" Genesis 44:19

Standing at my window one day, while the cholera was raging in London, I saw two corpses carried by, followed by one little child, walking alone next to the coffins, with a few neighbors behind. That child was now an orphan. Both parents had been carried off by the pestilence. The sight of that child produced deep emotions, and awakened painful sympathy in my heart.

I was led to think of the sorrows and privations of orphanhood, and then of the happiness of the Lord's people to whom Jesus has said, "I will not leave you as orphans." A believer can never be an orphan! He has an ever-living, ever-loving, ever-present Father! But many of the Lord's people do not realize this, therefore they do not live and act under its influence.

There are believers who are always complaining of their circumstances:
They are worked too hard.
They are tried more than others.
They have such a vexing family.They have such a demanding job.
They have such financial losses.
They have no end of things to vex, harass, and distress them!

Complaining Christian, "Do you have a father?"
If so, had your Father anything to do with fixing your lot?
Did He place you where you are?

Is He wise?

Is He good?

Has He ever told you, that all things shall work together for your good?

Does He know what is best for you?

Has He left things to 'chance'—or has He arranged all in His own infinite mind, and does He work all by His unerring providence? If He does—then are you justified in complaining?

Have you any real cause to complain?

Will it better your circumstances?

Will it please your Father?

Will it any way help you?

If not, leave off complaining, and "having food and clothing, let us be content with these!"

Seek grace from God, that you may . . .
  do all that is required,
  bear all that is sent, and
  endure all that is to be suffered—to His glory!


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Complaining Christian

(James Smith, "Bread from Heaven!" 1857)

"Do you have a father?" Genesis 44:19

Standing at my window one day, while the cholera was raging in London, I saw two corpses carried by, followed by one little child, walking alone next to the coffins, with a few neighbors behind. That child was now an orphan. Both parents had been carried off by the pestilence. The sight of that child produced deep emotions, and awakened painful sympathy in my heart.

I was led to think of the sorrows and privations of orphanhood, and then of the happiness of the Lord's people to whom Jesus has said, "I will not leave you as orphans." A believer can never be an orphan! He has an ever-living, ever-loving, ever-present Father! But many of the Lord's people do not realize this, therefore they do not live and act under its influence.

There are believers who are always complaining of their circumstances:
They are worked too hard.
They are tried more than others.
They have such a vexing family.They have such a demanding job.
They have such financial losses.
They have no end of things to vex, harass, and distress them!

Complaining Christian, "Do you have a father?"
If so, had your Father anything to do with fixing your lot?
Did He place you where you are?

Is He wise?

Is He good?

Has He ever told you, that all things shall work together for your good?

Does He know what is best for you?

Has He left things to 'chance'—or has He arranged all in His own infinite mind, and does He work all by His unerring providence? If He does—then are you justified in complaining?

Have you any real cause to complain?

Will it better your circumstances?

Will it please your Father?

Will it any way help you?

If not, leave off complaining, and "having food and clothing, let us be content with these!"

Seek grace from God, that you may . . .
  do all that is required,
  bear all that is sent, and
  endure all that is to be suffered—to His glory!


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None of us would want to have our hearts photographed!

(J. R. Miller, "When the Song Begins" 1905)

"Having loved His own who were in the world—He loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

A friend is one who loves—and does not cease to love. Christ having loved His people—loves them unto the end.

One quality of true friendship, is trust. What could be more sacred than this comfort of feeling safe with a person, absolutely safe? That is the kind of friend Jesus is. You may always feel safe with Him. You may confess all your sins to Him. You may tell Him all your faults and yourfailures—how you denied Him the other night, how you failed to be true to Him, and all the evil thoughts of your heart; and He will be just as tender and gracious—as if you never had sinned! He loves unto the end!

None of us would want to have our hearts photographed, and the picture held up before the eyes of our neighbors! We would not want even our best friends to see a full transcript of our secret life—what goes on within us:
  the jealousies,
  the envyings,
  the bitter feelings,
  the impure thoughts,
  the meannesses,
  the selfishnesses,
  the suspicions,
  the doubts and fears!

Yet Christ sees all this unworthy inner life—He knows the worst that is in us—and loves us still! We do not need to hide our weaknesses from Him. He never withdraws His love. We may trust Him absolutely and forever!

"Having loved His own who were in the world—He loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

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Luke 15:8-10

8Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

9And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

10Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

The King Gives Victory

By Theodore Epp

      
2 Samuel 5:1-10


      So impregnable did the Jebusites think their fortress to be that they jeered at David and his men, saying that the blind and the lame could hold it against David's army. 


"Nevertheless," we are told, "David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David" (2 Sam. 5:7). David then moved into the city and made it the headquarters for his government, and later on it became the central place of worship for God's people. Eventually Solomon's great temple was erected in Jerusalem. From this city the Lord Jesus Christ will rule in the Millennium and establish His New Jerusalem of which the Prophet Ezekiel spoke.


      There is a rich spiritual lesson for us here. Some habits of sin are so deeply entrenched in our minds and bodies that we have struggled in vain against them from the day of our new birth. We may have felt it was no use to try to overcome these habits and that we might as well give up. What we need, of course, is to let the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, lead us in the battle against this entrenched sin. We can never defeat the Enemy by ourselves. It must always be done through the strength of Christ.


      "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31)

A Famine for the Hearing of the Word by Art Katz

“The time is surely coming,” says the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11-12).

The thought strikes me that the famine is not so much for the lack of speaking as the lack of hearing.  I have had the increasing impression that God’s people do not know how to hear the word of God.  Or, unlike the Thessalonian converts from paganism, they do not believe that the word they are hearing is indeed God’s word.  Therefore, the word is received casually if not indifferently as the word of man, that is to say, without effect.  Perhaps we have been filling up on verbal “junk food” and have dulled our appetites for “real food” by the profusion of much speaking of our own that leaves us sated if not bloated, and therefore we suffer malnutrition in the midst of seeming plenty.  Certainly we lack the evidence of growth and change that the word of God shouldaccomplish, and we seem fixed in our immaturity and shallowness.

Perhaps we need to consider that the act of hearing is as much an act of grace as that of speaking itself.  Surely God’s word requires an attentiveness and retention for which the world has not schooled us.  The sobering caution, “When you hear My voice, harden not your hearts” implies that God’s word will not allow our indifference.  If there is not a hearing, then there will certainly be a hardening!  Even now, vast numbers of us are numb.  We are “hearing” but not hearing.  We are unchanged in both our life and our knowledge of God, and consequently find ourselves itching for any momentary and engaging novelty.   Man shall, after all, “live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” and if people are deprived of the word of God, their spirits will become as gaunt and desperate as the victims of any famine.  Is it not here that our deficit of faith, hope, love, patience, forbearance and all the resiliency of our spirit is to be traced?

How many of us are numbed, unresponsive, not reflecting, not internalizing, and not doing the word?  We do not retain the word, hold it, cherish it, and speak of it in the way to one another, but too quickly dismiss it in a sea of forgetfulness.  We lack a mindset that cultivates and nurtures an attitude toward the word of God as is appropriate to the great privilege that is ours to be able to hear it.  Perhaps it is too late, and we are already under judgment for a callous attitude of indifference and disregard.  If it is only the pure in heart who see God, what corresponding purity of heart is needed to hear God?  How often have we dismissed His word because it has come through an earthen vessel not of our choosing and whose accent and coloration conceals God, but does not make Him mute?