Society's View Of GOD

Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases!

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 

Just as our culture has Radically Redefined Sin, it has also Radically Redefined GOD.

The GOD of Scripture has been replaced in the minds of most people, with a deity fashioned according to Human preference--a god who exists to Affirm, Comfort, and Accommodate us, but who makes No righteous Demands upon us.

The GOD Of The Bible Is Infinitely Different.

The GOD of Scripture is Holy (Isaiah 6:3), yet society Prefers a god who Overlooks sin. 

Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

The GOD of Scripture is Absolutely Sovereign (Psalm 135:5-6), yet mankind Prefers a god who exists to Fulfill their Wishes and Desires. 

Psa 135:5  For I know that the LORD is Great, and that our Lord is Above all gods.

Psa 135:6  Whatsoever the LORD Pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

He Reigns With Absolute Control Over All that is, And Ever Will Be.

He Governs the Flight of Every bird, and the Rise of Every king.

There Is No Detail Too Small, No Power Too Great.

Our lives are Not Ruled by luck or fate, but by the Omnipotent Sovereignty of GOD.

The GOD of Scripture is Truthful and Unchanging (Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6), yet the modern mind wants a god who can Change With The Times.

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

The GOD of Scripture is Righteous and Just (Deuteronomy 32:4), yet our culture Imagines a god Who Would Never Judge Anyone.

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Even GOD'S Love Has Been Distorted.

Scripture Declares that "God is love" (1 John 4:8), but Biblical love is Not Sentimental Approval.

1Jn 4:8  He that Loveth Not Knoweth Not God; for God is Love.

GOD'S Love Is Holy, Purposeful, And Righteous.

He does not Love us by Pretending our Rebellion and Sins are Harmless. Rather, He Commands us to Repent, and Graciously Provides Salvation from the Very Sins we are so Eager to Excuse.

A Culture that Denies Sin, inevitably Creates a god who Cannot Judge it. If there is no Real sin, then there is No need for a Holy Judge. If there is No Judgment, then there is No Need for a Savior.

Thus the False god of our age Ultimately leaves people Comfortable--but Condemned to Eternal Hell.

The TRUE GOD Cannot Be Reshaped According To Our Preferences.

He is the Sovereign Creator, Lawgiver, King and Judge. Yet astonishingly, this Holy GOD is also Merciful and Gracious, Slow to anger, and Abounding in Steadfast Love (Psalm 103:8).

Psa 103:8  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

His Holiness should Cause Us To Tremble; His Justice should Cause Us To Repent; and His Nercy should Cause Us To Flee To Jesus For Salvation.

The question is not whether we Believe in GOD. The question is Which God we Believe in. The God of our Imagination Cannot save us. Only the GOD who has Revealed Himself in Scripture can.

Psa 145:17  The LORD is Righteous in All His Ways, and Holy in All His Works.

Forewarned, Forearmed~Satan Shams Defeat

To Sham Defeat is a well-known Trick in Warfare.

Nothing will sooner disorganize a regiment than to see the enemy Routed on the field.

While the fight rages, a man is nerved and strung for he is carrying his life in his hand and Knows it.

But with the Victory there comes Reaction, and men grow Careless;...

And there are battles where the enemy has Shammed defeat just to inspire that Careless spirit.

O sirs, we are Not ignorant of his devices!

This old device of Sham defeat- have you not seen it?

You fought like a man with your besetting sin and mastered it.

God Keep You Watchful. 

God Keep You On Your Guard.

One Careless hour and the Routed sin is at the gates again, and the whole battle has to be fought anew.

We thought the sin was Dead, and it was only Sleeping.

We thought that we had Slain that habit, and it is Stealing over us again.

We thought we had Defeated Satan, and Satan only Shammed defeat.

Keep the Loins Girded and the Lamps Burning and the Hand Upon the Sword until the End.

Our Unseen foe is a Complete Strategist.

Many a soul has been Lost because it won -won in the first encounter, then said all's well and Laid Its Arms Aside...

Till the old sin crept up again and sprang and the last state was worse than the first.

~George H. Morrison

Forewarned, Forearmed-Satan Lays The Emphasis Upon Tomorrow

2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.                                                    

We are Always Prone to put the accent there.

It is very hard to grasp the True splendor of the present.

Today seems insignificant; Tomorrow shall be the Real day for us....

God Never speaks that way.

God's Bible Never speaks that way.

It tells us that the Present is divine, and lays the whole emphasis upon today: "NOW is the Accepted Time."

And the Holy Ghost is saying, Today.

And this is the Arch-Device of the Arch-Tempter...

In every life, for every start and every noble deed, God says, Today.

In every life for every start and every noble deed, the devil says, Tomorrow.

Is it conversion? Today, says God: Tomorrow, whispers Satan.

Is it the breaking with that sin? Tomorrow.

Is it the starting on a higher level? Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, always tomorrow! 

Till by tomorrow's road we are at Never-and the Chance is Gone, and the Dream has Vanished, and the Hope is Dead.

O friends, young men and women, be not Ignorant of that Device.

It will never be easier to come to Christ than Now.

It will never be easier to make the start than Now.

God says, Today, Tonight! 

And God who says it is here to give the power that can save Now, and can cleanse Now, and can send you home Now with old things passed away and all things New in Jesus Christ.

~George H. Morrison

The Heart Was Wrong, And Therefore Everything Was Wrong!

Mar 4:5  And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

Mar 4:6  But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

Much is said about these Stony-ground hearers of the Word which is attractive and hopeful.

I Anticipate a True life, a Brave witness, an Abundant harvest.

But Suddenly comes the Check, the Change, the Fall.

And What Was The Problem?

Ah! the Heart was Wrong, and therefore Everything was Wrong!

1. The Heart was Unbroken. The Rock had Never Been Penetrated at all, and the Seed Died soon on its Hard and Impervious surface.

I wonder whether the Stubbornness and the  No Sensibility of my Heart have been Shattered.

Have I been Melted...?

Into Practical Concern of soul...?

Into the Sense of Spiritual Neediness...?

Into Godly Sorrow...?

Into Contrite Prayer?

There can be No New Birth and No Vital Growth, Until then!

After an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the lava Covered the fields with an apparently Invincible crust...

But the peasants Bored Holes in it...

And Pierced to the Ground Below, and Planted their vines...

And in Due Season Gathered the grapes.

Has the lava-crust of my heart been Divinely Pierced and Overcome?

2. And the Heart was Shallow and Superficial.

It had no depth.

Immediately beneath the Thin layer of top-soil, was that Rebellious and Intractable Stiff Neck...

The Seed had not a sufficient resting-place and home.

This is the Fatal Fault of very many.

They do not stop to think about Unseen, Eternal, Heavenly things.

They do not take time to Consider their own Miserable State of Soul, and the Grace of Jesus Christ.

They Nod, and Glance, and Bustle by.

Again I ought to Examine myself.

I can be Eager enough and Resolute enough, about Earthly matters.

But have I ever Roused my very soul...?

Have I ever Set my face like a Flint...?

To Seek and Find the Lord my Savior, my Righteousness, my Strength?

There is no possibility of salvation for the Superficial heart!

3. And the Heart was Dry.

It had None of the Moistening, Subduing, Fruitful influences of the Holy Spirit.

If the showers descend upon the rocky soil, there is no loam to retain them and to derive a benefit from them.

Just so, does everything Depend on the Spirit's presence and Work within me!

Apart from His dews and gentle rains, I am helpless, hopeless, dead, damned!

For until His Almightiness Renews me...

Until His waters Satisfy and Enliven my Parched and Thirsty being...

Until I receive the Outpouring of the Grace of God...I have No Spiritual life.

Is it not a Miserable Heart, this Heart of Stone?

Eze 36:26  A New heart also will I give you, and a New spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the Stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

~Alexander Smellie

The Greatest Earthly Blessing That GOD Can Give Any Of Us

I bear witness that the Worst days I have ever had, have turned out to be my Best days. In the same way, when GOD has seemed to be the Most Unkind to me, He has then been the Most Kind.

If there is anything in this world for which I would Thank Him more than for all else, it is for Pain and Affliction.

I am sure that in these things, His Richest and Tenderest love has been most Manifested towards me.

I am certain that I have never grown in grace, one-half so much anywhere else, as I have upon the Bed of Pain.

I have learned to Kiss the wave, that Throws me against the Rock of Ages. 

Affliction is the Best piece of furniture in my house.

It is the Best Book in a minister's library. 

Those who Dive in the Sea of Affliction, bring up Rare Pearls. 

God's love letters are often sent in black envelopes. The cloud that is black with horror, is Big with mercy.

We may not ask for Trouble; but if we were wise, we would look upon Affliction as the Forerunner of an Unusually Great Blessing.

Dread the calm: it is often Treacherous; and the Pestilence is often lurking beneath its wing.

Fear not the Storm: it brings Healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel, then the Tempest only hastens the ship to its Desired Haven.

GOD is Too Good to be Unkind, and He is Too Wise To Be Mistaken.

When We Cannot Trace His Hand, We Must Trust His Heart.

I venture to say that The Greatest Earthly Blessing That GOD Can Give To Any Of Us is health, with the exception of sickness.

The Furnace of Affliction is the most beneficial place for you, Christian.

My son, do not Regard Lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor Faint when you are Reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord Loves He Disciplines, and He Scourges every son whom He receives. 

Our Earthly fathers Disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He Disciplines us for our Good, so that we may share His holiness. 

All Discipline for the moment seems Not to be Joyful, but Sorrowful; yet to those who have been Trained by it, Afterwards it Yields the Peaceful Fruit of Righteousness.

~Charles Spurgeon

 

The Astonishing Wisdom And Power Of GOD In Sustaining And Governing ALL Of HIS Creation

Col 1:17  And He Is Before All Things, And By Him All Things Consist.

It is a Glorious Truth that God not only Created All Things, but that He also Governs and Sustains them. Scripture assures us that He Upholds All things moment by moment. 

His hand has never once lifted from the universe that He brought into being. The same voice that Spoke the worlds into existence, still Commands the rising of the sun, the falling of the rain, and the beating of every heart.

Nothing is random. Nothing is left to chance. The entire cosmos is Maintained and Upheld by the Power and Wisdom of GOD.

How staggering is His power!

He does not merely uphold the visible things, but also the unseen: the bonds between atoms, and the orbits of galaxies. 

If God were to withdraw His Sustaining Power for a moment, the universe would dissolve in an instant!

Every breath we take, every step we walk--is Upheld by the Power of Almighty GOD.

Yet this is not a cold or mechanical support--it is governed by His wisdom. The Lord reigns with care, and purpose, and perfect understanding.

He Rules over the affairs of men, the Paths of nations, the timing of seasons.

He opens His hand and Satisfies the Needs of every living thing. 

He is not only Infinite In Power, but Flawless In Judgment. His Governance is Never hasty, Never unjust, and Never in error.

For the believer, this Truth brings deep comfort. We are not at the mercy of chance or chaos.

The One who Numbers the stars, also Numbers our days. He who Upholds His universe, also upholds His people.

Even in trials and storms--His Hand is Steady, and His Purpose is good. What He Governs, He Governs well. What He Sustains, He Sustains Perfectly.

Let us marvel today at the All-Wise, All-Powerful GOD who sits enthroned over His creation. He Rules it with might, and Sustains it with mercy.

Let us stand in awe of the One who not only Creates but Sustains; not only Commands but Cares.

And let us Fall on our Knees Before Him, Confessing that we are but dust, and yet Exalting Him who Rules Over All with Perfect Wisdom, Limitless Power, and Never-Failing Love.

Psa 145:15  The eyes of All Wait Upon Thee; and thou Givest them their meat in due season. Psa 145:16  Thou Openest thine hand, and Satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

~Various Puritan Authors

A Breath, A Shadow, A Mist!

James 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Time is but the Narrow Porch to Eternity. 

Life is...a Candle soon extinguished, a Flower soon withered, a Dream soon ended.

The LORD calls us Not to presume on tomorrow, but to Live this fleeting day in the fear of God, and in Preparation for the Eternal world to come.

Man is Born to Die. His cradle rocks upon the brink of the grave. His pulse beats a funeral march to the tomb.

Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.  He comes up like the grass in the morning, but before the evening he is cut down and withers.

The world lives in a delusion. 

They build Babels of Ambition, dig cisterns that hold No water, and Heap Up treasures for time--though Eternity hastens toward them like a Rushing flood. 

1Co 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world Passeth Away.  

Yet who lays it to heart?

David prayed, Psa 39:4  LORD, make me to know mine end, and the Measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how Frail I am. 

The Godly wisely Weigh time in the scales of Eternity, and number their days as steps toward the day of judgment.

Oh, how Uncertain is our Last Hour On Earth! 

Youth is no shield against God's Summons to death.

Strength Cannot barter with the grave.

Riches are No ransom.

A thousand may fall at your side in a moment. 

You Do Not Know What A Day May Bring Forth.

Lost sinner, what will you do when Your Hour comes? The clock of mercy now ticks--soon it will cease. 

2Co 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, Now is the Accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Tomorrow is the devil's day-Today is GODS Day.

Thanks be to God, there is One who Conquered death!

Though we are Vapors-He Is the Rock of Ages.

Though we are grass-His Word Endures Forever.

Though we fade as a shadow-His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him! Psalm 103:17

Therefore, Believer, Do Not Spend Your Fleeting Days upon Passing Vanities. 

Live As A Stranger And Pilgrim Upon Earth. 

Set Your Affection On Things Above. 

Lay Up Treasure In Heaven. 

Live Each Hour As Though It Were Your Last-For Soon It Will Be.

Psa 90:12  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Eternal GOD, Teach Me To Number My Days Wisely, That I May Not Squander My Brief Span Upon Dust And Wind. 

Let Me Live As One Ever Ready To Die. 

Fix my eyes upon Jesus, who is My Hope.

So Teach us to Number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 

Make me diligent in duty, fervent in spirit, watchful in prayer, and weaned from this present evil world. 

Prepare me, O Lord, for that last hour--when time shall be no more. Amen. 

~Various Puritan Authors                                                                               

Tempted To AVOID The Cross

We see Him first, and we see Him often, Tempted to Avoid the Cross.

That Sore Temptation Never left Him.

At the very outset of His ministry, such was the Suggestion of the Devil.

It runs like some Dark Thread Of  Hell through all the encounters of the wilderness.

Let Him with all His brilliant gifts ally Himself with Worldly policies and what need would there be of the bloody way of Calvary?

It smote Him again after many days and this time through the lips of Simon Peter.

Was not our LORD recalling the scene out in the wilderness when He said, "Get Thee Behind Me, Satan" (Mat 16:23)? 

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an Offence unto me: for thou Savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

And near the end when the Greeks came craving an interview with Christ, was that not the Old Temptation back again?

Why, in that thrilling hour, did our Lord say "Now is my soul troubled" (Joh 12:27)? 

Joh 12:27  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

Why did He not rejoice in spirit when the "Other Sheep" were coming to His feet?

Surely it was because these Greeks were Envoys offering an open door to the big world Without the imminent agonies of Calvary.

It is notable that in the Gospel of St. John there is no mention whatever of Gethsemane.

To St. John that offer of the Grecian world was the spiritual equivalent of Gethsemane.

It was the Temptation to achieve the Kingship on which His Kingly heart was set By Some Way Other Than The Cross.

He was Tempted to Avoid the cross, to Shun it, to Take Some Other Road.

Have we not all been Tempted just like that?

And does it not bring the Master Very Near Us in a brotherhood Intensely Real to remember that He was Victorious just there?

~George H. Morrison~

The One Is Drawn In Pomp To Hell - While The Other Swims In Tears To Heaven!

The Wicked have their Heaven here...and their Hell hereafter.

Dives had his good things in this life and Lazarus his evil things.

Now Lazarus is Comforted and Dives is Tormented!

I will not, therefore, envy the Prosperity of the Wicked...

Nor be Cast Down at the Afflictions of the Righteous...

Seeing the one is drawn in Pomp to Hell - while the other Swims in Tears to Heaven!

Luke 16:19  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

Luke 16:20  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Luke 16:21  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

Luke 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Luke 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luke 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Luke 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Luke 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

~Thomas Sherman~

Stand Firmly!

Stand Firmly in the Place where your Dear LORD has Put You,
and Do Your Best there.

God Sends us Trials or Tests, and places life before us as a face-to-face opponent.

It is through the Pounding of a Serious Conflict that He expects us to Grow Strong.

The tree planted where the Fierce winds twist its branches and
bend its trunk, often nearly to the point of breaking, is commonly more Firmly Rooted than a tree growing in a secluded valley where storms never bring any stress or strain.

The same is true of human life.

The Strongest and Greatest character is Grown Through Hardship.

~Selected~

There Is Nothing More Deceitful, Tempting, Foolish, Idolatrous, Perilous, And Heart-Ensnaring!

 Luk 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; Luk 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

David's men Wanted To Mingle with the Philistine army...

This was Decidedly Wrong.

It is Always Wrong when God's people Unite with the world, Contrary to His Holy Word.

We may ask, "What are these Christians doing here?"

What are they doing Joining with the world?

Their Master has told them to "Come out from among them and be separate! Touch no unclean thing!"

He has said, "Arise and depart, for this is not your rest...because it is Defiled, it is Ruined, Beyond All Remedy!"

What are these Christians doing Out Of The Path Of Duty...or By Their Presence, Sanctioning Sin?

God Has Said, "Be holy for I am holy."

What are these Christians doing on Satan's ground?

They Are In the Enemy's Ranks?

Do they Intend to Leave Jesus and Go Back to the world?

Are they Tired of His Company...Set Against His Word, and Determined to throw off His yoke?

Do they Intend to Share in the Slavery of Satan,  the Sinner's Doom, the Wrath of God?

What are these Christians doing here?

Their conduct is Unnatural, Degrading, Traitorous!
Christian! you should Keep the Company of Jesus...
 
Walk with Holy people...

And Keep yourselves Unspotted from the world!

Gal 1:3  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
 
Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

~James Smith~                                                   

GODS Dealings With His Children

We can take one of two attitudes toward the ways of God with us...

We can get bitter, sour, hard...

Or we can have the enlargement by exercise, development by exercise, to develop capacity...

To bring us into the large place that we may be intelligently His instrument for governing under His Headship in ages to come.

Things that enter into our history we cannot always fathom...

But the explanation which we can give is that, whatever there may be as second causes, the Lord is Sovereign...

And He thinks it worthwhile sometimes to allow what the world would call the most terrible thing to overtake for the time being...

And it would seem that His Name and interests suffer through that thing...

But through that thing He brings His people to a place of maturity and they get to know the Lord for themselves.

Through these terrible things we find the Lord produces something that is very much more worthy of Himself in the life of His children.

That is His justification, His vindication...

if He could do it in any other way He would.

In the long run He does get spiritual maturity among His people, where they know Him.

He would get us to a place where we know the Lord and we have our senses exercised to know.

The Lord give us grace to Accept all His dealings with us in the light of His great purpose.

~T. Austin Sparks

Why The Intense Trial And Testing?

                                                                                 

It is True that the True Children Of GOD are going through a time of Intense Trial and Testing spiritually in these days; everywhere it is so.

 

Why?

Because the Lord Must Have something against which hell is Impotent...

 

And by which He Demonstrates to the universe that Strength of His Might which causes to Stand and Withstand and having done all to Stand.

 

If one were asked what the last issue for the Church in this age is, I would say That It Stands, and that is saying a tremendous thing.

 

Oh, you say, that is surely limiting things, are you not expecting much more than that?

 

Progress, advance, sweeping movements?

 

The Church Will Have All Its Work Cut Out In The End To Stand, But Its Standing Will Be Its Victory.

 

Just to Be Able, through Testing, Trial, when everything is blowing round you like a blizzard...

 

When everything is dark, mysterious, and even God seems far away and unreal, and faith is Tested...

 

And you are being Assailed on the right hand and on the left...

 

And there is Every Reason Outwardly for your Moving, Giving up, Falling down, Surrendering, Lowering your standard...

 

Just to Stand and Not Be Moved in your Faith is the Greatest Possible Victory.

 

~T. Austin Sparks~

The Devil Is A Deceiver And Will Lead You Into Hell!

 2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The Devil Disguises himself as an Angel Of Light that he may more effectually lead us into darkness.

If he were to come like a devil, like an enemy-then everyone would run from him.

But he comes Masked and puts on the Face Of A Friend-and so he Tricks and Cheats us.

Indeed, he prevails more by his wily subtleties than by his power.

If the Devil had come to Eve and spoken to her as follows: 'I was once a glorious angel and lived above in the Court of Heaven-but I have sinned and am now cast down to Hell...

Eat the forbidden fruit and you will be like me!'

Would this have succeeded?

Surely not!

Thus if he came and tempted men to sin, by telling them that sin is the sure way to Hell...would this prevail with them to sin?

No!

The Devil is a Subtle Old Serpent.

He Cloaks and Paints sin.

He Covers his hook with a Bait-and draws men in before they are aware of it.

He is a deceiver-and lest he should be known, he Puts On A False Garb and Disguises himself as an Angel Of Light.

He dare not say, "I am the Devil--I am a deceiver! I will lead you into Hell!"--for that would spoil his wily schemes.

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

~Ralph Venning~

The LORD Will Be With YOU!

 2Ch 20:17  Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

This was a Great mercy for Jehoshaphat, for a Great multitude had come out against him...

And it will be a Great mercy for me, for I have great need, and I have no might or wisdom.

If the LORD be with me, it Matters Little who may desert me.

If the LORD be with me, I Shall Conquer in the battle of life...

And the Greater my trials the More Glorious will be my Victory.

How can I be sure that the LORD is with me?

For certain He is with me if I am with Him.

If I Trust in His faithfulness, Believe His words, and Obey His commands, He is Assuredly With Me.

If I am on Satan's side, God is Against Me and Cannot be otherwise...

But if I live to Honor God, I may be sure that He Will Honor me.

I am quite sure that God is with me if Jesus is my sole and only Savior.

If I have placed my soul in the hands of God's only-begotten Son, then I may be Sure that the Father will put forth all His power to Preserve me, that His Son may not be dishonored.

Oh, for faith to take hold upon the short but sweet text for today!

O LORD, fulfill this word to Thy servant!

Be with me in the house, in the street, in the field, in the shop, in company, and alone.

Be Thou also with all Thy people.

~Charles Spurgeon

GOD Is Not Unobservant

                                                                                      

I Will Be Still, And I Will Behold In My Dwelling Place. 

Assyria was marching against Ethiopia, the people of which are described as tall and smooth. 

And as the armies advance, God makes no effort to arrest them; it seems as though they will be allowed to work their will. 

He is still watching them from His dwelling place, the sun still shines on them; but before the harvest, the whole of the proud army of Assyria is smitten as easily as when sprigs are cut off by the pruning hook of the husbandman.

Is not this a marvelous conception of God being Still and Watching? 

His Stillness Is Not Approval. 

His Silence Is Not Consent. 

He is Only Biding His time, and Will Arise, in the Most Opportune Moment, and when the Designs of the wicked seem on the point of success, to Overwhelm them with disaster. 

As we look out on the evil of the world; as we think of the apparent success of wrong-doing; as we wince beneath the oppression of those that hate us, let us remember these marvelous words about God being still and beholding.

There is another side to this. 

Jesus beheld His disciples toiling at the oars through the stormy night; and watched though unseen, the successive steps of the anguish of Bethany, when Lazarus slowly passed through the stages of mortal sickness, until he succumbed and was borne to the rocky tomb. 

But He was only waiting the moment when He could intervene most effectually. 

Is He still to thee? 

He is not unobservant...

He is Beholding All Things...

He has His finger on thy pulse, Keenly Sensitive to all its fluctuations. 

He Will Come To Save Thee When The Precise Moment Has Arrived.

~Daily Devotional Commentary

Whatever His questions or His silence, we may be Absolutely Sure of an unperplexed and undismayed Saviour.

O troubled soul, Thy Father speaks, Be Still, Be Still,,,

Learn to be silent unto God, And let Him Mold Thee to His Will.

O praying soul, Be Still, Be Still, He Cannot Break His plighted Word...

Sink down into His Blessed Will, And Wait In Patience on the Lord.

Oh waiting soul, Be Still, Be Strong, And though He tarry, Trust and Wait; Doubt not...

He Will Not Wait Too Long...

Fear Not, He Will Not Come Too Late.

NOT Ourselves BUT Christ Jesus The LORD!

Your Christian Influence, your Reputation as a worker for God, and your Standing among your brethren, may be an Idol to which you Must Die, Before you can be Free to Live for Him Alone.

If you have ever noticed the type on a printed page, you must have seen that the little "i" has always a dot over it, and it is that dot that Elevates it Above the other letters in the line.

Now, each of us is a little i, and over every one of us there is a little dot of Self-Importance, Self-Will, Self-Interest, Self-Confidence, Self-Complacency, or something to which we Cling and for which we Contend, which just as surely reveals Self-Life as if it were a Mountain of Real Importance.

This Is a Rival of Jesus Christ...

And the Enemy of the Holy Ghost and of Our Peace and Life...

And therefore God has Decreed its Death...

And the Holy Spirit, with His flaming sword is waiting to Destroy it, that we may be able to enter through the gates and come to the Tree of Life. 

Lord, crowd me out by Thy Fulness even as the Glory of the Lord left no room for Moses in the Tabernacle.

~A. B. Simpson

But The Choice Is In Better Hands!

Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

Moses asked to be shown the way. The way is not shown.

But better than this, God says, "Trust Me, I will go with you!"

Afflicted one! Hear this wilderness promise which God speaks to His spiritual Israel still. 

He who led His people of old "like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron," will manifest towards you the same Shepherd love.

The way may be very Different from what we would have Wished; and what we would have Chosen. 

But the Choice is in better hands! 

God had His own wise and righteous ends, in every erratic turning in the wilderness wanderings.

Just so, who can look back on the past leadings of God, without gratitude and thankfulness? 

When His sheep have been conducted to the rougher parts of the wilderness-He, their Shepherd, has been with them. 

When their fleece was torn, and they were footsore and weary, He has borne them in His arms. 

His presence has lightened every cross, and sweetened every care.

Let us trust Him for an unknown and checkered future!

With Him for our portion, take what He will away-we must be happy. 

We can rise above the loss of the earthly gift, in the consciousness of the nobler possession which we enjoy in the Great Bestower.

He may have seen fit to level 'clay idols'- that He, the "All Satisfying One" might reign paramount and supreme.

He will not allow us to raise havens on earth, and to write upon them: "This is my rest."

But "Fear not," He seems to say, "You are not left without a friend or without solace on the way home. 

Pilgrim in a pilgrim land! 

My presence shall go with you...

In all your dark and cloudy days...

In your hours of faintness and depression...

In all your sickness and sadness...

In life and in death!

When the journey is ended, I will give you Eternal Rest with Me!"

The pledge of Grace will be followed with the fruition of Glory!

Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

~John Macduff

TOO TIMID To TELL The TRUTH

The Contemporary Moral climate does not favor a Faith as Tough and Fibrous as that taught by our Lord and His apostles.

The Delicate, Brittle saints being produced in our Religious Hothouses today are hardly to be compared with the Committed, Expendable believers who once gave their witness among men.

 

And the fault lies with our leaders. 

 

They are too Timid to tell the people All the Truth.

 

They are now asking men to give to God that which Costs Them Nothing.

Our churches these days are filled (or one-quarter filled) with a Soft breed of Christian that must be Fed on a diet of Harmless Fun to keep them Interested.

 

About theology they know little.

 

Scarcely any of them have read even one of the great Christian classics, but most of them are familiar with religious fiction and spinetingling films. 

 

No wonder their moral and spiritual constitution is so frail. 

 

Such can only be called weak adherents of a faith they never really understood.

When will Christians learn that to Love Righteousness it is Necessary to Hate Sin? 

 

That to Accept Christ it is Necessary to Reject Self? 

 

That to Follow the Good Way we must Flee from evil?

 

That a Friend of the World is an Enemy of God?...

 

~A. W. Tozer

The Evil Of Not Fearing!

Now we pass over to the other side - the evil of not fearing. 

But this is another kind of fear, fear of the Lord, walking in the fear of the Lord, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord. 

"Great fear came upon the church" - with what result? 

It lost heart, it became afraid, it was paralyzed? No! - the Name of the Lord Jesus was glorified and the Church multiplied. 

Oh, this then, must be another kind of fear. 

It operates in exactly the opposite way from that of which we have been speaking.

What is this fear? 

Well, it is the fear of devotion to the Lord. 

It is that fear which, in the first place, has all questions of relationship with the Lord settled, has the whole matter of acceptance by the Lord settled, the sin question is got out of the way through the righteousness which is of faith. 

Then the fear of the Lord means recognition of His glory, recognition of His greatness, recognition of His holiness, His majesty, and a humble submission to Him in the fear that would not in any way work against Him and His honor. 

It is another kind of fear, the fear of devotion to the Lord, and the chief characteristic of this fear is meekness. 

And that is where the sin of not fearing is found in the Word of God.

If you go through the Word and you find those various instances where God came out in judgment because this fear was not there, you will find that it was that those instances represented something like this. 

In Numbers 16 you have Dathan and Abiram and their company. What are they doing? 

To Moses, the meekest of men, the anointed servant of the Lord, they say, "You take too much on yourself. You are not the only one through whom the Lord speaks. We are as much the children of God as you are!" 

That is how they speak, and they fear not to put their hand upon that which is anointed.

It is not that Moses is anything, but it is the anointing. 

It is something anointed of God and they were guilty of the sin of spiritual assumption; it was due to a lack of meekness. 

The Lord came out in terrible judgment, showing for all time that when the Lord anoints anyone or anything, that anointing is not something that constitutes that person a special office or officer. 

The anointing is the Lord, the Lord Himself. 

The Lord is on that, the Lord Himself is in that, the Lord is there, and when you touch that, you touch the Lord; you touch that in word, you touch the Lord, you touch that in deed, you touch the Lord. 

"He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm" (Psa. 105:14-15).

If you and I ever have the slightest reason to conclude that the Lord is anywhere or with any person or with anything or with any people, we touch that to our peril if it is touching it other than in the fear of the Lord.

It is a tremendous check. We read that little bit from 1 Samuel. 

Yes, David was anointed, David was God's chosen one, but Saul had been anointed and Saul was not yet dead. 

Saul was not yet set aside finally, although potentially. 

David got an opportunity and cut off the skirt of Saul's garment and then it says, "David's heart smote him". 

David's heart smote him. 

We in New Testament times in whom the Spirit dwells would say, "The Lord rebuked me, smote me in my heart, in my spirit". 

Again and again this comes up - exactly what happens in the case of the bringing up of the ark. 

When Uzzah died before the Lord, what was the reason? 

It was a lack of the fear of the Lord of the right kind. 

It was an assumption. 

It was a putting forth of a hand to touch holy things. 

That is terrible. 

The evil of not fearing, you see. 

It comes from an insufficient apprehension of the sacredness of what is of God.

But this fear is a holy fear. 

Let no one think for a moment that this fear of the Lord is death, bondage, useless and crushing. Not at all. 

Wherever you find this fear of the Lord you find joy, love, peace and liberty. 

People are not afraid of the Lord. 

But they are careful not to grieve the Lord.

They do not take liberties with the Lord. 

They do not think of spiritual liberty as spiritual license. 

They do not cast off restraint, they do not ride rough-shod over all sacred things, calling it liberty. 

No, there is holy fear which restrains and in restraining keeps things pure and keeps things clear and makes a straight way for the Lord. 

The true fear of the Lord is not dread. 

It is a very blessed and precious thing.

Now you notice these passages in the New Testament show us that it was at such times when this kind of fear came in a special way that there was something to the glory of God. 

You know, if you get into the book of the Acts and you begin to see things happening, getting to the realm of "things doing" as we say, the expression and manifestation of divine power there is your peril. 

That was so in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. 

Things were happening. 

What a peril when the Lord is doing something, for the flesh to just step in and begin to sport itself in what God is doing, to take advantage, to exploit the situation for its improvement, and the Lord had to step in to save the situation. 

What did He do? 

Well, what He did in the issue was to recover a wholesome fear, a fear that would keep things pure and "fear fell upon all". 

That kept things pure. 

It did not arrest the Lord. 

It did not mean that things had got to come under bondage again. 

No, it just kept things pure, and so that was repeated from time to time. "Great fear came upon all... the Name of the Lord was glorified and the Church multiplied."

What I want to say is this, that a right kind of fear, a fear of the Lord, is something which gives the Lord a very clear way to do what He wants.

"To this one will I look..." - and oh, what a lot is bound up with that phrase. 

It does not just mean that the Lord takes a look at us, looks in our direction. 

When the Lord looks to us, well, there is everything we want. 

All that we want is in the light of His countenance.

If the Lord looks upon us, it is like the sun looking out with all the beneficent rays of warmth and light and energy. 

"To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at My word" (Isa. 66:2). 

Do you want, do I want, spiritual increase in understanding, in knowledge, in revelation? 

Do we want spiritual increase in strength from the Lord? 

Do we want fullness? 

Let me say that this is going to come to the humble man, the weak, meek one in the eyes of the Lord, the one who trembles at His word, who does not assume.

Oh, let us ask the Lord that there may be found in us that true holy fear which is love, not the fear which is contrary to love, but the true holy fear which is love. 

The Lord will be able to go on and lead us into all His fullness if He has that quality in us, that in us which simply means that we honor Him, we recognize Him, we trust Him, we have perfect confidence in Him, and that we are very reserved either by word of criticism, or judgment, or by any other way, to put a hand upon what is sacred to the Lord, even a child of God. 

If it is a child of God, then the Lord is in that one and we must be very careful. 

That is what it means, and this matter of the blessing of the Lord which makes rich, this matter of the light of His countenance, is a very practical matter. 

It may all hang upon some matter of our attitude towards another child of God. 

The whole of the fullness of Christ may be held up and suspended for us because of some injurious way in which we talk about what is precious to God, if we criticize it, judge it, think that we can improve it. 

The Lord may stand back.

Let us ask the Lord to put into our hearts His fear while on the other hand He is seeking to root out of us that evil which is so much to His dishonor. 

I simply bring this to you and urge upon you further prayerful reflection. 

Ask the Lord about this. 

Do not forget the enemy's drive along the line of fear...

But do not forget that freedom from the enemy's kind of fear does not make us those fire-eaters who care for nothing and simply trample all sacred things down under foot because we are very bold. 

No, there is a right boldness and a wrong boldness, a right fear and a wrong fear. 

The Lord teach us the meaning of that! 

T. Austin Sparks