Daily Meditation-Come Ye That Thirst

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.”  John 7:37

 Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of his Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy! Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the loudness of his voice, but the tenderness of his tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. “We pray you,” says the Apostle, “as though God did beseech you by us.” What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo his children to his bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come. Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul’s thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it. Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons. Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year’s last day! No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer’s loving voice as he cries to each of us, “IF ANY MAN THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME AND DRINK.”

Morning Meditation-Cheer Up!

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 Look at David’s Lord and Master; see his beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Would you see the end? He sits at his Father’s right hand, expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. “As he is, so are we also in this world.” You must bear the cross, or you shall never wear the crown; you must wade through the mire, or you shall never walk the golden pavement. Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” See that creeping worm, how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flower bells, full of happiness and life; that is the end thereof. That caterpillar is yourself, until you are wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ shall appear you shall be like him, for you shall see him as he is. Be content to be like him, a worm and no man, that like him you may be satisfied when you wake up in his likeness. That rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the lapidary. He cuts it on all sides. It loses muchmuch that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head with trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that very diamond which was just now so sorely vexed by the lapidary. You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process. Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown shall be set upon the head of the King, Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be mine,” saith the Lord, “in the day when I make up my jewels.” “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.

Morning Meditation -Ebenezer

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

 The word “hitherto” seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet, “hitherto the Lord hath helped!” Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honour, in dishonour, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “hitherto hath the Lord helped us!” We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves; even so look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy overhead, and the strong pillars of lovingkindness and faithfulness which bear up your joys. Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received “hitherto.” But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark and writes “hitherto,” he is not yet at the end, there is still a distance to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over now? No! there is more yet-awakening in Jesus’ likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fulness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. O be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy “Ebenezer,” for He who hath helped thee hitherto Will help thee all thy journey through. When read in heaven’s light how glorious and marvellous a prospect will thy “hitherto” unfold to thy grateful eye!

Morning Meditation-A True Christian or A Hypocrite?

“Can the rush grow up without mire?”
 Job 8:11

 The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for this day may help me to try myself whether I be a hypocrite or no. The rush by nature lives in water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture wherein it has taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once. Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from his hands? If so I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that when bodily comforts have been few, and my surroundings have been rather adverse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have still held fast my integrity? then have I hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me. The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord’s right hand planting can and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend him out of love to himself are his own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in thee, and not in the mire of this world’s favour or gain.

Morning Meditation - I Am With You Always

“Lo, I am with you alway.” Matthew 28:20

 The Lord Jesus is in the midst of his church; he walketh among the golden candlesticks; his promise is, “Lo, I am with you alway.” He is as surely with us now as he was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire, and fish laid thereon and bread. Not carnally, but still in real truth, Jesus is with us. And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love becomes inflamed. Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there is nothing like the presence of Jesus! A glimpse of him so overcomes us, that we are ready to say, “Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me.” Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop from his perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow strong. Let there be but a moment’s leaning of the head upon that gracious bosom, and a reception of his divine love into our poor cold hearts, and we are cold no longer, but glow like seraphs, equal to every labour, and capable of every suffering. If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be strengthened, and we shall cast ourselves into the Lord’s service with heart, and soul, and strength; therefore is the presence of Christ to be desired above all things. His presence will be most realized by those who are most like him. If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in conformity to him. Bring yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with Christ’s desires, and motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be favoured with his company. Remember his presence may be had. His promise is as true as ever. He delights to be with us. If he doth not come, it is because we hinder him by our indifference. He will reveal himself to our earnest prayers, and graciously suffer himself to be detained by our entreaties, and by our tears, for these are the golden chains which bind Jesus to his people.

Morning Meditation - Present Your Body As A Living Sacrifice

 

“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” 

Job 1:5

 What the patriarch did early in the morning, after the family festivities, it will be well for the believer to do for himself ere he rests tonight. Amid the cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful levities, and to forget our avowed character as Christians. It ought not to be so, but so it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified enjoyment, but too frequently degenerate into unhallowed mirth. There is a way of joy as pure and sanctifying as though one bathed in the rivers of Eden: holy gratitude should be quite as purifying an element as grief. Alas! for our poor hearts, that facts prove that the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting. Come, believer, in what have you sinned today? Have you been forgetful of your high calling? Have you been even as others in idle words and loose speeches? Then confess the sin, and fly to the sacrifice. The sacrifice sanctifies. The precious blood of the Lamb slain removes the guilt, and purges away the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness. This is the best ending of a Christmas-dayto wash anew in the cleansing fountain. Believer, come to this sacrifice continually; if it be so good tonight, it is good every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood; to them sin, great as it is, is nevertheless no cause for despair, since they draw near yet again to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience is purged from dead works. Gladly I close this festive day, Grasping the altar’s hallow'd horn; My slips and faults are washed away, The Lamb has all my trespass borne.

Morning Meditation - He Became Poor for Your Sake

“For your sakes he became poor.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.” As the rich saint cannot be true in his communion with his poor brethren unless of his substance he ministers to their necessities, so (the same rule holding with the head as between the members), it is impossible that our Divine Lord could have had fellowship with us unless he had imparted to us of his own abounding wealth, and had become poor to make us rich. Had he remained upon his throne of glory, and had we continued in the ruins of the fall without receiving his salvation, communion would have been impossible on both sides. Our position by the fall, apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to communicate with God as it is for Belial to be in concord with Christ. In order, therefore, that communion might be compassed, it was necessary that the rich kinsman should bestow his estate upon his poor relatives, that the righteous Saviour should give to his sinning brethren of his own perfection, and that we, the poor and guilty, should receive of his fulness grace for grace; that thus in giving and receiving, the One might descend from the heights, and the other ascend from the depths, and so be able to embrace each other in true and hearty fellowship. Poverty must be enriched by him in whom are infinite treasures before it can venture to commune; and guilt must lose itself in imputed and imparted righteousness ere the soul can walk in fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe his people in his own garments, or he cannot admit them into his palace of glory; and he must wash them in his own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of his fellowship. O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus “became poor” that he might lift you up into communion with himself.

Morning Meditation-I will strengthen thee

“I will strengthen thee.” 

 Isaiah 41:10 

God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for he is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth’s huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength. While he is able to uphold the universe, dream not that he will prove unable to fulfil his own promises. Remember what he did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how he spake and it was done; how he commanded, and it stood fast. Shall he that created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall he who doth this be unable to support his children? Shall he be unfaithful to his word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth not he ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds his chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of his hand? How can he fail thee? When he has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that he has outpromised himself, and gone beyond his power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer. O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of thy grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of thy strength can never be emptied by thy friends or rifled by thine enemies. “Now let the feeble all be strong, And make Jehovah’s arm their Song.

Morning Meditation-A Covenant with Our God

“Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant.

 2 Samuel 23:5

 This covenant is divine in its origin. “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant.” Oh that great word He ! Stop, my soul. God, the everlasting Father, has positively made a covenant with thee; yes, that God who spake the world into existence by a word; he, stooping from his majesty, takes hold of thy hand and makes a covenant with thee. Is it not a deed, the stupendous condescension of which might ravish our hearts forever if we could really understand it? “HE hath made with me a covenant.” A king has not made a covenant with methat were somewhat; but the Prince of the kings of the earth, Shaddai, the Lord All-sufficient, the Jehovah of ages, the everlasting Elohim, “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant.” But notice, it is particular in its application. “Yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant.” Here lies the sweetness of it to each believer. It is nought for me that he made peace for the world; I want to know whether he made peace for me! It is little that he hath made a covenant, I want to know whether he has made a covenant with me. Blessed is the assurance that he hath made a covenant with me! If God the Holy Ghost gives me assurance of this, then his salvation is mine, his heart is mine, he himself is minehe is my God. This covenant is everlasting in its duration. An everlasting covenant means a covenant which had no beginning, and which shall never, never end. How sweet amidst all the uncertainties of life, to know that “the foundation of the Lord standeth sure,” and to have God’s own promise, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Like dying David, I will sing of this, even though my house be not so with God as my heart desiret

Morning Meditation-The Love of God

“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.”

Jeremiah 31:3

 Sometimes the Lord Jesus tells his Church his love thoughts. “He does not think it enough behind her back to tell it, but in her very presence he says, ‘Thou art all fair, my love.’ It is true, this is not his ordinary method; he is a wise lover, and knows when to keep back the intimation of love and when to let it out; but there are times when he will make no secret of it; times when he will put it beyond all dispute in the souls of his people” (R. Erskine’s Sermons). The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our spirits of the love of Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and reveals them unto us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night, but we have a testimony more sure than either of these. If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the saint personally of the Saviour’s love to him, the evidence would not be one whit more satisfactory than that which is borne in the heart by the Holy Ghost. Ask those of the Lord’s people who have lived the nearest to the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had seasons when the love of Christ towards them has been a fact so clear and sure, that they could no more doubt it than they could question their own existence. Yes, beloved believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and then our faith has mounted to the topmost heights of assurance. We have had confidence to lean our heads upon the bosom of our Lord, and we have no more questioned our Master’s affection to us than John did when in that blessed posture; nay, nor so much: for the dark question, “Lord, is it I that shall betray thee?” has been put far from us. He has kissed us with the kisses of his mouth, and killed our doubts by the closeness of his embrace. His love has been sweeter than wine to our souls

This Morning Meditation-Rend Your Heart

Rend your heart, and not your garments.” Joel 2:13

 Garment-rending and other outward signs of religious emotion, are easily manifested and are frequently hypocritical; but to feel true repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Men will attend to the most multiplied and minute ceremonial regulationsfor such things are pleasing to the fleshbut true religion is too humbling, too heart-searching, too thorough for the tastes of the carnal men; they prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly. Outward observances are temporarily comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self-righteousness is puffed up: but they are ultimately delusive, for in the article of death, and at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than ceremonies and rituals to lean upon. Apart from vital godliness all religion is utterly vain; offered without a sincere heart, every form of worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of heaven. Heart-rending is divinely wrought and solemnly felt. It is a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form, but as a deep, soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of and believed in, but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the living God. It is powerfully humiliating, and completely sin-purging; but then it is sweetly preparative for those gracious consolations which proud unhumbled spirits are unable to receive; and it is distinctly discriminating, for it belongs to the elect of God, and to them alone. The text commands us to rend our hearts, but they are naturally hard as marble: how, then, can this be done? We must take them to Calvary: a dying Saviour’s voice rent the rocks once, and it is as powerful now. O blessed Spirit, let us hear the death-cries of Jesus, and our hearts shall be rent even as men rend their vestures in the day of lamentation

Morning Meditation-I Will Remember Thee

“I remember thee.”

 Jeremiah 2:2 

 Let us note that Christ delights to think upon his Church, and to look upon her beauty. As the bird returneth often to its nest, and as the wayfarer hastens to his home, so doth the mind continually pursue the object of its choice. We cannot look too often upon that face which we love; we desire always to have our precious things in our sight. It is even so with our Lord Jesus. From all eternity “His delights were with the sons of men;” his thoughts rolled onward to the time when his elect should be born into the world; he viewed them in the mirror of his foreknowledge. “In thy book,” he says, “all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:16). When the world was set upon its pillars, he was there, and he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. Many a time before his incarnation, he descended to this lower earth in the similitude of a man; on the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18), by the brook of Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30), beneath the walls of Jericho (Jos. 5:13), and in the fiery furnace of Babylon (Dan. 3:19, 25 (refs2)), the Son of Man visited his people. Because his soul delighted in them, he could not rest away from them, for his heart longed after them. Never were they absent from his heart, for he had written their names upon his hands, and graven them upon his side. As the breastplate containing the names of the tribes of Israel was the most brilliant ornament worn by the high priest, so the names of Christ’s elect were his most precious jewels, and glittered on his heart. We may often forget to meditate upon the perfections of our Lord, but he never ceases to remember us. Let us chide ourselves for past forgetfulness, and pray for grace ever to bear him in fondest remembrance. Lord, paint upon the eyeballs of my soul the image of thy Son.

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This Morning Meditation-Have You Counted The Cost

“Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.” 

Ruth 1:14 

 Both of them had an affection for Naomi, and therefore set out with her upon her return to the land of Judah. But the hour of test came; Naomi most unselfishly set before each of them the trials which awaited them, and bade them if they cared for ease and comfort to return to their Moabitish friends. At first both of them declared that they would cast in their lot with the Lord’s people; but upon still further consideration Orpah with much grief and a respectful kiss left her mother in law, and her people, and her God, and went back to her idolatrous friends, while Ruth with all her heart gave herself up to the God of her mother in law. It is one thing to love the ways of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to cleave to them under all discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap and easy, but the practical cleaving to the Lord, which must show itself in holy decision for truth and holiness, is not so small a matter. How stands the case with us, is our heart fixed upon Jesus, is the sacrifice bound with cords to the horns of the altar? Have we counted the cost, and are we solemnly ready to suffer all worldly loss for the Master’s sake? The after gain will be an abundant recompense, for Egypt’s treasures are not to be compared with the glory to be revealed. Orpah is heard of no more; in glorious ease and idolatrous pleasure her life melts into the gloom of death; but Ruth lives in history and in heaven, for grace has placed her in the noble line whence sprung the King of kings. Blessed among women shall those be who for Christ’s sake can renounce all; but forgotten and worse than forgotten shall those be who in the hour of temptation do violence to conscience and turn back unto the world. O that this morning we may not be content with the form of devotion, which may be no better than Orpah’s kiss, but may the Holy Spirit work in us a cleaving of our whole heart to our Lord Jesus.

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Morning Meditation-crucified with Christ

I am crucified with Christ.” Galatians 2:20

 

 The Lord Jesus Christ acted in what he did as a great public representative person, and his dying upon the cross was the virtual dying of all his people. Then all his saints rendered unto justice what was due, and made an expiation to divine vengeance for all their sins. The apostle of the Gentiles delighted to think that as one of Christ’s chosen people, he died upon the cross in Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally, he accepted it confidently, resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Christ’s death, he had satisfied divine justice, and found reconciliation with God. Beloved, what a blessed thing it is when the soul can, as it were, stretch itself upon the cross of Christ, and feel, “I am dead; the law has slain me, and I am therefore free from its power, because in my Surety I have borne the curse, and in the person of my Substitute the whole that the law could do, by way of condemnation, has been executed upon me, for I am crucified with Christ.” But Paul meant even more than this. He not only believed in Christ’s death, and trusted in it, but he actually felt its power in himself in causing the crucifixion of his old corrupt nature. When he saw the pleasures of sin, he said, “I cannot enjoy these: I am dead to them.” Such is the experience of every true Christian. Having received Christ, he is to this world as one who is utterly dead. Yet, while conscious of death to the world, he can, at the same time, exclaim with the apostle, “Nevertheless I live.” He is fully alive unto God. The Christian’s life is a matchless riddle. No worldling can comprehend it; even the believer himself cannot understand it. Dead, yet alive! crucified with Christ, and yet at the same time risen with Christ in newness of life! Union with the suffering, bleeding Saviour, and death to the world and sin, are soul-cheering things. O for more enjoyment of them

Morning Meditations-Salt without prescribing how much

“Salt without prescribing how much.”

Ezra 7:22

Salt was used in every offering made by fire unto the Lord, and from its preserving and purifying properties it was the grateful emblem of divine grace in the soul. It is worthy of our attentive regard that, when Artaxerxes gave salt to Ezra the priest, he set no limit to the quantity, and we may be quite certain that when the King of kings distributes grace among his royal priesthood, the supply is not cut short by him. Often are we straitened in ourselves, but never in the Lord. He who chooses to gather much manna will find that he may have as much as he desires. There is no such famine in Jerusalem that the citizens should eat their bread by weight and drink their water by measure. Some things in the economy of grace are measured; for instance our vinegar and gall are given us with such exactness that we never have a single drop too much, but of the salt of grace no stint is made, “Ask what thou wilt and it shall be given unto thee.” Parents need to lock up the fruit cupboard, and the sweet jars, but there is no need to keep the salt-box under lock and key, for few children will eat too greedily from that. A man may have too much money, or too much honour, but he cannot have too much grace. When Jeshurun waxed fat in the flesh, he kicked against God, but there is no fear of a man’s becoming too full of grace: a plethora of grace is impossible. More wealth brings more care, but more grace brings more joy. Increased wisdom is increased sorrow, but abundance of the Spirit is fulness of joy. Believer, go to the throne for a large supply of heavenly salt. It will season thine afflictions, which are unsavoury without salt; it will preserve thy heart which corrupts if salt be absent, and it will kill thy sins even as salt kills reptiles. Thou needest much; seek much, and have much.

Morning Meditation-His Ways Are Everlasting

“His ways are everlasting.”

 Habakkuk 3:6

 What he hath done at one time, he will do yet again. Man’s ways are variable, but God’s ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for this most comforting truth: among them are the followingthe Lord’s ways are the result of wise deliberation; he ordereth all things according to the counsel of his own will. Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion, or fear, and is followed by regret and alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise, or happen otherwise than he has foreseen. His ways are the outgrowth of an immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One himself can undergo change, his ways, which are himself in action, must remain forever the same. Is he eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender?then his ways must ever be distinguished for the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: when those natures change, their conduct varies also; but since God cannot know the shadow of a turning, his ways will abide everlastingly the same. Moreover there is no reason from without which could reverse the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The earth is said, by the prophet, to be cleft with rivers, mountains tremble, the deep lifts up its hands, and sun and moon stand still, when Jehovah marches forth for the salvation of his people. Who can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? But it is not might alone which gives stability; God’s ways are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right, and therefore can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good have about them a vitality which ages cannot diminish. This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence, remembering that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him the Lord is ever gracious to his peopl

Morning Devotion-He's a Faithful God

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Heaven is a place where we shall never sin; where we shall cease our constant watch against an indefatigable enemy, because there will be no tempter to ensnare our feet. There the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. Heaven is the “undefiled inheritance;” it is the land of perfect holiness, and therefore of complete security. But do not the saints even on earth sometimes taste the joys of blissful security? The doctrine of God’s word is, that all who are in union with the Lamb are safe; that all the righteous shall hold on their way; that those who have committed their souls to the keeping of Christ shall find him a faithful and immutable preserver. Sustained by such a doctrine we can enjoy security even on earth; not that high and glorious security which renders us free from every slip, but that holy security which arises from the sure promise of Jesus that none who believe in him shall ever perish, but shall be with him where he is. Believer, let us often reflect with joy on the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, and honour the faithfulness of our God by a holy confidence in him.

May our God bring home to you a sense of your safety in Christ Jesus! May he assure you that your name is graven on his hand; and whisper in your ear the promise, “Fear not, I am with thee.” Look upon him, the great Surety of the covenant, as faithful and true, and, therefore, bound and engaged to present you, the weakest of the family, with all the chosen race, before the throne of God; and in such a sweet contemplation you will drink the juice of the spiced wine of the Lord’s pomegranate, and taste the dainty fruits of Paradise. You will have an antepast of the enjoyments which ravish the souls of the perfect saints above, if you can believe with unstaggering faith that “faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

This Morning's Meditation By C. H. Spurgeon

"Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy."—Revelation 3:4.

E may understand this to refer to justification. "They shall walk in white"; that is, they shall enjoy a constant sense of their own justification by faith; they shall understand that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them, that they have all been washed and made whiter than the newly-fallen snow.
Again, it refers to joy and gladness: for white robes were holiday dresses among the Jews. They who have not defiled their garments shall have their faces always bright; they shall understand what Solomon meant when he said "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. Let thy garments be always white, for God hath accepted thy works." He who is accepted of God shall wear white garments of joy and gladness, while he walks in sweet communion with the Lord Jesus. Whence so many doubts, so much misery, and mourning? It is because so many believers defile their garments with sin and error, and hence they lose the joy of their salvation, and the comfortable fellowship of the Lord Jesus, they do not here below walk in white.
The promise also refers to walking in white before the throne of God. Those who have not defiled their garments here shall most certainly walk in white up yonder, where the white-robed hosts sing perpetual hallelujahs to the Most High. They shall possess joys inconceivable, happiness beyond a dream, bliss which imagination knoweth not, blessedness which even the stretch of desire hath not reached. The "undefiled in the way" shall have all this—not of merit, nor of works, but of grace. They shall walk with Christ in white, for He has made them "worthy." In His sweet company they shall drink of the living fountains of waters.

Morning Devotion-The Throne of Grace

By Billy Graham   •   December 8   •   Topics: Grace

 
Praying is simply a two-way conversation between you and God. Thousands of people pray only when they are under great stress, or in danger, overcome by uncertainty. I have been in airplanes when an engine died; then people started praying. I have talked to soldiers who told me that they never prayed until they were in the midst of battle. There seems to be an instinct in man to pray in times of trouble. We know “there are no atheists in foxholes,” but the kind of Christianity that fails to reach into our everyday lives will never change the world. Develop the power of prayer. Man is more powerful when he is in prayer than when he is behind the most powerful guns. A nation is more powerful when it unites in earnest prayer to God than when its resources are channeled into defensive weapons. The answers to all our problems can be had through contact with almighty God.

Prayer for the day

My time spent in prayer with You, dear Lord, is the highlight of my day. To know You are waiting to have this communion humbles me. Yet You say I can come boldly—this I do now, knowing You hear me!
 

Morning Devotion-A Thousand Anxieties

By Billy Graham   •   December 5   •   Topics: Worry

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
—Psalm 34:4

Man has always been beset by worry, and the pressures of modern life have aggravated the problem. To men of all time Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow . . . but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33-34). Many of you are filled with a thousand anxieties. Bring them to Jesus Christ by faith. He will bring peace to your soul and your mind.

Prayer for the day

Knowing You hear me, Lord, as I talk with You brings me peace in the midst of any storm.
 

Today Bible Studies-THE NARROW WAY THAT LEADS TO HEAVEN

Special Study                                                                                                              01/12/2014                                                                                                                                                          

Matthew 7:13,14

“Enter ye in at the strait...because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Before Christ came, the religious leaders among the Jews assumed and assured themselves and others that they had already entered the gate of heaven through circumcision, and were already walking in the way that would lead to eternal kingdom through their religious activities (Luke 18:9-14; John 8:33-44; Romans 2:17-29). As the Jews thought that they were already citizens of God’s kingdom from infancy, likewise, many people erroneously think that they have already entered through the gate of infant baptism into the Kingdom of God. The Pharisees believed that they were on the right way, the way of self-righteousness, but it was a dangerous error. The Spirit of God called them a “generation of vipers”; the Son of God called them “an evil and adulterous generation” who were on their way to “the damnation of hell” (Matthew 3:7; 12:39; 23:33). The situation is the same today. Multitudes are religious and they troop to religious and Christian gatherings. Many of them think they are on the way that leads to heaven, but Jesus said “few there be that find” the way.

The multitudes who first heard the Sermon on the Mount were adults, not infants or little children (Matthew 5:1,21-24; 6:2; 7:11,28,29), yet He said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate”. He was calling them to adult decision and conversion. Here, conversion is likened to entering a gate; so conversion is an instantaneous experience, not a gradual process. “Enter ye in at the strait gate”. It is not enough to listen to preaching about this “gate ”, nor to study its structure or admire its place and position: each of us must “enter”. Sermons on repentance and faith in Christ avail us nothing unless they move our hearts to truly repent and believe in Christ.

1.      THE NECESSARY GATE TO ETERNAL LIFE FOUND BY FEW

Matthew 7:13,14; Luke 13:24-30; Mark 1:14,15; Acts 2:38-40; 3:19,26; 17:30,31; 20: 20,21; 26:18-20; Luke 24:45-47; Matthew 18:2,3; John 3:3-5; 10:9-11.

“Enter ye in.” This definitely implies that those Christ addressed were yet outside - they were still unsaved. They were not pagans or heathen idolaters; they had heard sermons and messages from preachers who sat in Moses’ seat (Matthew 5:21,27,33; 7:28,29; 23:1,2). Many of them had also gone with the multitudes to hear the message of John the Baptist who was to “prepare the way of the Lord ” and “make ready a people prepared for the Lord ” (Matthew 3:1-9; Luke 1:13-17). These multitudes who were being instructed to “enter in” had seen and received great and spectacular miracles of healing and deliverance (Matthew 4:23-25; 5:1). Yet they were outside the Kingdom of God and the Lord now called on them to “enter in” so that they would be saved. He also wants them to begin to walk in the narrow way that leads to heaven. Attending a good church, worshiping with multitudes of worshippers, listening to good, sound, spiritual preachers, receiving great miracles of healing and deliverance - all these good and wonderful things do not save anyone, they do not guarantee a place for anyone in heaven unless he “enters in at the strait gate ” and walks in the narrow way, the way of truth, life and righteousness, till the end.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate.” All who do not enter in through this gate will be eternally barred from the presence of God and will be denied the eternal joy and happiness of the blessed forever. What does it mean to “enter in at the strait (narrow) gate”? It means to come out of the city of destruction, and then come in through the gate of repentance into the way or life of righteousness which leads to the eternal city “wherein dwelleth righteousness ”. The gate is strait, that is narrow. None can go in through the narrow gate except he drops all his sins. He must “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset ” him (Hebrews 12:1). True repentance is necessary and is not possible except we see sin to be deeply sinful indeed and hate every sin and detest all sins as deadly poison. True repentance includes genuine sorrow for all the sins we have committed, “for godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Turning away from sin, we turn to Christ in faith, believing and receiving forgiveness and salvation from Him.

2.      THE NARROW WAY TO EVERLASTING LIFE, FOLLOWED BY FEW

Matthew 7:14; Psalms 119:30-33; 143:8,10; Proverbs 15:24; 12:28; Isaiah 35:8-10;

Jeremiah 32:38-40; Matthew 22:16,37-40; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:7; Luke 1:74-79; 2 Peter 2:20-22; Isaiah 30:20,21.

We enter in at the gate in order to walk in the way and keep walking until we reach our final destination. We do not stand still at the gate after entering in, neither should we stop our journey halfway. “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved ” (Matthew 24:13). Getting saved is the beginning not the end of the Christian life. Entering in at the strait gate is not the climax of our decision to follow the Lord; it is important but we have to take His yoke upon us and learn of Him, living by the teaching of His word if we are to inherit “life” at the end. This narrow way that leads to life has no attraction for multitudes in the world who are given to worldly pursuits and fleshly pleasures. So, our companions on the narrow way will be “few”. The vast majority of those who profess to have received Christ as their personal Saviour but who love the world and are carnal and worldly-minded will not want to keep company with the few on the narrow way. They prefer association with their dishonest and fraudulent business partners on the broad way that leads to eternal doom and damnation. With a miracle of grace performed in the heart of the true believer, he denies self, he loves the narrow way, he delights in the word of righteousness, he perseveres in times of trials and temptations, continually receiving grace from God to live an overcoming life. Walking along the narrow way implies a steady perseverance in faith, obedience to God, crucifixion of the flesh and submission to God’s will in all things. It means also that we reject all temptations to turn away from the highway of holiness to follow the way of the world. To get to heaven, which is the chief aim of all pilgrims on the narrow way, our minds, our affections, our wills, our motives, our prayers, our desires, and our actions all have to be brought under the control of God’s Word.

3.      THE NEVER-ENDING WONDER IN ETERNITY FOR THE FAITHFUL FEW

Matthew 7:14; 5:10-12; Psalm 16:11; John 17:6, 14-17,24; John 12: 23-26; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Daniel 12:2,3; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 13:43; 1 Peter 1:3,4; Revelation 21:4-7; 22:3-5.

“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto LIFE.” In that single word “LIFE” our Lord includes all the joy, glory, inheritance, state, bliss, happiness and perfect rest for believers when we get to heaven. He came from heaven, He went back to heaven, He is now in heaven, He is preparing mansions for His people in heaven. He knows what no man on earth knows about heaven and He has revealed much about our “life” in heaven when we get home (John 3:13; Acts 1:9-11;Luke 24:50,51; Mark 16:19; John 14:1-3).

The future destiny of those who persevere on the narrow way till the end is glorious beyond what human tongues can tell. In heaven, we shall be in a “far better” state (Philippians 1:23), we shall be “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8), we “shall shine as the sun”                (Matthew 13:43; Daniel 12:3), like the radiance of Christ on the Mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). In heaven, we shall be “as the angels of God” (Matthew 22:30; Luke 20:36) and we shall be with Christ where He is (John 14:3). We shall behold His glory (John 17:24) and we ourselves shall have His glory revealed in us (Romans 8:18;  2 Corinthians 4:17).

Heaven is a better place than the most beautiful place on earth (Hebrews 11:10,16) and the Lord has gone to prepare a place for each pilgrim who endures to the end (John 14:2). It is a place of perfect security (Revelation 21:25) and perfect rest (Hebrews 4:9). We shall be like Him (1 John 3:2) and be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17). In heaven, there will be no sorrow, no tears, no hunger, no thirst, no more curse, no pain, no death (Revelation 7:13-17; 21:4; 22:3). We shall forever be in the presence of God, in the company of shinning angels and dazzling saints, everyone loving and holy, living and worshipping, beholding endless wonders of glory in heaven through endless ages.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Congregational Song:

                                    THERE’S  A LAND THAT IS FAIRER THAN DAY

1.         There’s a land that is fairer than day,

            And by faith we can see it afar:

            For the Father waits over the way,

            To prepare us a dwelling-place there.

                        In the sweet by and by,

                        We shall meet on that beautiful shore;

In the sweet by and by,

                        We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

2.         We shall sing on that beautiful shore

            The melodious songs of the blest,

            And our spirits shall sorrow no more.

            Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

3.         To our bountiful Father above,

            We will offer our tribute of praise,

            For the glorious gift of His love,

            And the blessings that hallow our days.