A Dose Of Spurgeon

Presence of Mind

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. (Proverbs 3:25-26)

When God is abroad in judgments, He would not have His people alarmed. He has not come forth to harm but to defend the righteous.
He would have them manifest courage. We who enjoy the presence of God ought to display presence of mind. Since the Lord Himself may suddenly come, we ought not to be surprised at anything sudden. Serenity under the rush and roar of unexpected evils is a precious gift of divine love.
The Lord would have His chosen display discrimination so that they may see that the desolation of the wicked is not a real calamity to the universe. Sin alone is evil; the punishment which follows thereupon is as a preserving salt to keep society from putrefying. We should be far more shocked at the sin which deserves hell than at the hell which comes out of sin.
So, too, should the Lord's people exhibit great quietness of spirit. Satan and his serpent seed are full of all subtlety; but those who walk with God shall not be taken in their deceitful snares. Go on, believer in Jesus, and let the Lord be thy confidence.

Consider This..

It is important what we spend our time considering. It is also important that we spend our time considering. I looked up a few texts this morning to help me to see what God wants me to consider.

Deuteronomy 32:7, 32:29
1 Samuel 12:24
Job 37:14
Psalm 8:3
Proverbs 6:6
Matthew 6:28-29
Hebrews 3:1, 12:3

First God wants us to consider the past. We are to consider how God has worked for us in the past. This not only applies to our personal lives, but how he worked for us (as being a grafted in people) in Israel.

Then we are to consider our future. Where do our current actions lead. What will become of me and my family if I continue doing X?

Also we are to consider Gods creation. We are to consider the ants, the clouds, the animals, the stars, and the lilies in the field.

Lastly we are to consider Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We are to consider him when we are in trials, for we have not resisted temptation to the point of shedding blood. Because for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. Consider him who was faithful to God is each and every area of life.

Thinking On The Love Of God

Psalm 48:9 says “We have thought on your steadfast love, O God”… It got me thinking about the love of God this morning. If the author of Psalm 48 is telling us that it is a good thing to think on the love of God, what is it that we should be thinking about exactly?

Romans 5:8 tells us that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 8:39 tells us that “nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 John 4:9-10 says “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

And 1 John 2:5 tells us “but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.”

We are to be thinking upon the love of God. The height of God’s love is the crucification of Jesus. When Jesus bore our wrath on the cross, and gave to us eternal life through faith in him; this is the love of God. And this love becomes perfected in us when we are obedient to God’s word out of love for Him who loved us first.

The Christian Mind

I thank the Lord for thinks like blue tooth ear buds. I was able yesterday to keep my phone in my pocket, ear bud in one ear, and listen to half a conference on the Christian mind; all the while working on HVAC equipment and getting paid for it. I am not always able to listen while I work, but I do have, most mornings and hour commute where I can fill my mind with the preaching of God's Word.

--  listen to   -- This is a link to the conference I listened to. It was the 2012 National Conference of Ligonier Ministries: The Christian Mind. I highly recommend it for all.

I turned in my Bible this morning to Psalm 7:9, Psalm 26:2, Isaiah 26:3, Romans 8:5, and 1 Corinthians 2:15-16. Putting those verses together I learned that God tests the mind of man. I learned that David (who was a righteous man) asked God to test his heart and mind. We can conclude that it is good for us to ask God to do things that his word already tells us that he does. We can also conclude that a righteous man will want God to test his mind. Gulp.

I learned that the man who has his mind stayed on God will have perfect peace.  I also learned that the spiritual man judges all things. He is himself rightly judged by no one, but none the less, he judges (or discerns) all things.

May we know the perfect peace that comes through keeping our minds stayed on the Lord, who gave to us our minds.

A Dose Of Spurgeon

Another devotional from Charles Spurgeon


"Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled." --Matthew 26:56 

He never deserted them, but they in cowardly fear of their lives, fled from Him in the very beginning of His sufferings. This is but one instructive instance of the frailty of all believers if left to themselves; they are but sheep at the best, and they flee when the wolf cometh. They had all been warned of the danger, and had promised to die rather than leave their Master; and yet they were seized with sudden panic, and took to their heels. It may be, that I, at the opening of this day, have braced up my mind to bear a trial for the Lord's sake, and I imagine myself to be certain to exhibit perfect fidelity; but let me be very jealous of myself, lest having the same evil heart of unbelief, I should depart from my Lord as the apostles did. It is one thing to promise, and quite another to perform. It would have been to their eternal honour to have stood at Jesus' side right manfully; they fled from honour; may I be kept from imitating them! Where else could they have been so safe as near their Master, who could presently call for twelve legions of angels? They fled from their true safety. O God, let me not play the fool also. Divine grace can make the coward brave. The smoking flax can flame forth like fire on the altar when the Lord wills it. These very apostles who were timid as hares, grew to be bold as lions after the Spirit had descended upon them, and even so the Holy Spirit can make my recreant spirit brave to confess my Lord and witness for His truth. 

What anguish must have filled the Saviour as He saw His friends so faithless! This was one bitter ingredient in His cup; but that cup is drained dry; let me not put another drop in it. If I forsake my Lord, I shall crucify Him afresh, and put Him to an open shame. Keep me, O blessed Spirit, from an end so shameful.

The Secret Of Contentment

…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. --Philippians 4:11-13

Do you like learning secrets? Most people, I would think love to hear a juicy little secret. Our ears naturally perk up when people whisper. Well Paul has a secret to tell us. It is a secret that he wants to whisper in your ear. It is the secret of being content.

Oh how we (I) need to know and believe this truth. Covetousness (which is the opposite of contentment) made God’s top 10 list (10 Commandments). It is one of those roots that grow near the bottom of all sin. Paul’s secret to us, is that we can learn to be content in any and all circumstances. We can learn to be content through the strength of Jesus Christ. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” The “all things” is in the context of contentment. Paul is telling us the secret of being content in all circumstances. It is through Christ, who strengthens us…

The Wise And Foolish

Ephesians 5:15-17
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Understanding what the will of the Lord is, “is found in all that is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:9). If we do not understand what the will of the Lord is, then we are foolish. We are also foolish if we are not looking carefully at how we walk. We are foolish if we are not making the best use of our time.

We are wise if we do understand what the will of the Lord is. We are also wise if we are looking carefully at our life, and observing what our walk is like. Again, we are wise if we are making the best use of our time.

I hope the will of the Lord speaks to you this day as you sit under the preached word of God. I hope it causes you to think more carefully about your life. I hope you spend some time looking at the minutes of your day to see if there are any that are not used to the glory of God. Speak to us O Lord, for we are a needy people.