God Deals Mysteriously With Me!

Just so, God deals mysteriously with me. 

His footsteps, His judgments, His methods, are often untrackable, like the untried sea. 

What though I cannot comprehend all His winding mazes?

It is enough that He comprehends.

I rest in His wise-heartedness and love.

I know that if He surrounds me with change, He gives me a hold on what is permanent and stable. 

Every breath of wind, every passing shadow, every ray of sun, alters the sea. 

And, meanwhile, by God's will, nothing in my life continues unchangeable. 

The very mutableness of things, drives me into closer communion with Himself. 

Standing on the Rock of Ages, I am rooted in an element that is indestructible.

I know that if He permits me to be assailed by storm, He can keep my heart in peace. 

It is His decree that I am driven hither and thither over moonless waters by contrary winds.

But the certainty is mine, that He makes all things to work together for my good.

He is my holy Father, my unerring Father, my Father of immeasurable grace. 

He makes no mistakes now, and, by and by He will bring me to His house not made with hands, where I will sing with everlasting joy!

~Alexander Smellie~
                                    

Song Of Confidence

Psa 138:7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Wretched walking in the midst of trouble...

Nay, blessed walking, since there is a special promise for it. 

Give me a promise, and what is the trouble? 

What doth my LORD teach me here to say? Why this -- "Thou wilt receive me." 

I shall have more life, more energy, more faith. 

Is it not often so, that trouble revives us, like a breath of cold air when one is ready to faint?

How angry are my enemies and especially the archenemy!

Shall I stretch forth my hand and fight my foes! 

No, my hand is better employed in doing service for my LORD.

Besides, there is no need, for my God will use His far-reaching arm, and He will deal with them far better than I could if I were to try. 

Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the LORD.

He will with His own right hand of power and wisdom save me, and what more can I desire?

Come, my heart, talk this promise over to thyself till thou canst use it as the song of thy confidence, the solace of thy holiness. 

Pray to be revived thyself and leave the rest with the LORD, who performeth all things for thee. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

The Worry Tree

The black walnut tree has a peculiar quality that affects the soil about its roots with a poisonous substance very unfavorable to the growth of many kinds of vegetation. 

Some grasses may grow under it but many other plants shrivel and die.

Something in many lives corresponds to the black walnut tree. 

In its baneful influence, the godly life cannot develop.

This noxious tree grows in the land of unbelief. 

It is found nowhere else. 

It is the worry tree. 

Many lives are cursed with this tree. 

It is one of their most prominent characteristics. 

It spreads its shadow over everything. 

It shuts out the sunlight.

It poisons the soil. 

It draws up into itself the resources of the soul as a natural tree draws water from the soil, leaving spiritual faculties and powers parched and impoverished...

It prevents their proper development and fruition.

Worry is one of the worst things that can come into a life...

Perhaps only sin is worse; worry may even become sinful. 

It is a form of fear. 

Fear, worry, anxiety, foreboding...are all the same in effect and will all be treated together here.

The worry tree does not grow in the land of faith. 

But in the land of unbelief and questioning...

It spreads its great roots of doubt deeply into the soil. 

The results of worry are too numerous to be recounted in full.

One result is that wherever worry is given place, it stops the song of joy. 

We cannot be glad, when we worry. We cannot be free and happy. 

The moment we worry...then peace, joy, satisfaction, comfort, all vanish. 

The sun goes behind a cloud. A chill wind blows. 

Many people make themselves utterly wretched through worry. 

Its effects are not merely spiritual. 

The whole being is poisoned by it. 

Perhaps it would be well to consider some of the effects worry produces. 

If we know those effects then it may help us to avoid their causes.

We note first, the physical effects...

Certain glands that control the bodily functions are excited to action by fear. 

They secrete a powerful substance that is poured into the blood stream and produces immediate effects. 

It is this that enables one to run faster when danger threatens, or to expend greater energy than at any other time. 

A good purpose is served by these glands...but when they are constantly over-stimulated by fear, worry, anxiety, or any other emotion--then they produce too great an effect upon the nerves. 

This tends to make one nervous, and nervousness in turn reacts to produce fear and worry. 

This action and reaction continued, repeated over and over, breaks down the nerves.

A great many nervous people are what they are, simply because they have given way to worry. 

It upsets the whole course of nature.

Many physical disorders are the direct result of worry. 

A few quotations from medical authorities may help to make this plain...

Doctor McCoy says, "The mind can have a powerfully stimulating effect toward either health or disease."

When the mind is properly used and controlled--then health may be maintained under many adverse conditions...

But...when the mind is torn by conflicting, destructive emotion...then it kills the very cells it is supposed to guard over and control.

Again he says, "You must realize how important the mind is as a factor in the production of many chronic disorders."

Sometimes this process is so insidious as to be unrecognized except by the closest attention of a skilled diagnostician. 

In my practice I have seen a number of cases of paralysis which were induced by fear.

Although these patients had been to many different doctors and undergone many different kinds of treatments, they were not cured until this fear factor was recognized, and then the cure took place almost instantly."

Doctor Copeland, once health commissioner of New York City, says, "Worry has a pronounced effect upon the organisms."

The digestion is upset because the nerves controlling the circulation and muscular structures are 'jumpy' and disturbed in function. 

The intestinal action is disturbed...

The brain and nervous system are upset...

The glands operate irregularly...

The whole system is deranged...

Good teeth, as indeed good eyes and ears and heart and blood vessels and liver and kidneys--are dependent on lack of worry and plenty of restful sleep. 

Worry is deadly to vigor and usefulness.

A whole book of this sort of quotations could easily be selected...

Dr. G.H. McIntosh says, "If men could wipe out all fear from their minds...then nine-tenths of them would be free from sickness."

Henry Ward Beecher said, "It is not work that kills men--it is worry!"

Worry is rust upon the blade.

The mental effect of worry and fear, is equally as great as the physical effect. 

Through worry people often work themselves up into a sort of mental fever so that their nerves "go to pieces." 

When we worry, the mind cannot think clearly...

Minor difficulties seem out of proportion...

They do not seem natural--but appear altogether different from what they do when the mind is in a normal condition.

Sometimes worry produces great mental distress...

Sometimes it partly or entirely unfits one for work. 

Have you not heard people say, "I am so upset I just cannot do anything!"

This mental condition reacts upon the body...

The physical effects of worry react upon the mind; and we have a harmful set of actions and reactions set up, destructive alike to mind and body. 

An agitated state of the mind, affects the brain and tissues....

The poison created in the body through fear and worry, reacts upon the brain tissues and the mind becomes still more troubled.

These things are not imaginary. 

They are being suffered by thousands of individuals. 

People get up in the morning tired out. 

They have no energy. 

They have to drive themselves. 

This is one common effect of worry. 

Another common result of worry is lack of mental control, so that the mind cannot concentrate on anything.

Worry also has a spiritual effect...

It destroys faith. 

In fact, faith and worry are mutually destructive...

Faith will destroy worry and  Worry will destroy faith. 

So whichever is given ascendancy, will destroy the other...

Worry stimulates doubts. 

The more we worry the more we doubt. 

We have heard people talk about blind faith...

Faith is not nearly so blind as doubt. 

Doubt cannot see favorable circumstances...

It sees everything in an unfavorable light, and magnifies it. 

There may be ever so many favorable elements in a situation but doubt sees none of them. 

Worry sees none of them.

Worry brings gloom and discouragement...

It makes one moody, forgetful of God's goodness and mercy and helpfulness.

In fact, worry shuts God out of the picture. 

It causes us to forget him or makes us doubt him. 

Under the influence of worry, we draw the most gloomy mental pictures. 

We clothe everything in somber shades.

Worry also prevents us from exercising our abilities. 

With worry, there is a great troop of evils...

They cluster around it and add to its damaging influence. 

Worry is always evil. 

It never serves any good purpose. 

It never aids us in accomplishing anything. 

It never makes anything easier. 

It has nothing to recommend it.

More than that, worry is never necessary. 

Mark well that statement. 

It is a positive truth. Worry is never necessary.

First, worry never can help us. 

It can never make things easier or better. 

It never did any good.

It never cured any trouble.

Second, we do not have to worry...

There is always a better way. 

We shall attempt to point out that way later.

Worry is altogether folly. 

It not merely does no good--it always makes matters worse. 

It weakens every good thing. 

It strengthens every bad thing. 

Worry is a noxious tree and it bears poisonous fruits.

Have you one of these poisonous worry trees? 

You must rid yourself of it before you can sing the glad songs of rejoicing that come from a free soul. 

One of the secrets of the singing heart, is the remedy for worry.
 
~Charles Naylor~

Much Of The Service Of Some So-Called Christians

Mat 6:1  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
 
Mat 6:2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Our service to God must be an unostentatious. 

Service which springs from true love to God-never desires to display itself. 

Genuine service is not done for the eyes of men to behold; it is done as a loving tribute to God, the object of its love.

The principle here set forth is that what is done with the purpose of being seen by men, brings only the reward that men give...

In other words, it is not accepted by the Lord as service to Him. 

Judged by this rule, much of the service of some so-called Christians is never, I fear, recognized in Heaven at all. 

Our good deeds are to be done-not that men may see them-but that God, who sees in secret, may see, and reward according to His own will...

And that He may regard them as service done to Himself and not for the reward of men's praise.

It is simple, single-hearted service which pleases the Lord.

The man who is truly godly, has no desire to put himself upon exhibition. 

He thinks, "Not I, but Christ!" and not only thinks it, but feels it in the depths of his heart.

Mat 6:1  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
 
Mat 6:2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

~Charles Naylor~

Christ Fortells That One Of The Twelve Will Betray Him

John 13:18-22. Christ foretells that one of the twelve shall betray him.

The Lord Jesus had just given his disciples a proof of his love by washing their feet. 

Now he gave them a proof of his omniscience. He showed them that he knew all things, by foretelling who should betray him.

Had he intended to convince them at that moment of his wisdom, he would have revealed the past secrets of their lives, as he once had done to the woman of Samaria. 

He told her so much of her past life, that she said to her townsmen, "Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did." 

But on this occasion he sought rather to strengthen the disciples' faith in a trying hour that was approaching. 

He knew that the betrayal of Judas would tend to shake their faith. 

He knew that they might be tempted to think—"If our Master were the Son of God, he would have known that Judas sought to betray him, and he would have hid himself in some secret retreat." 

Therefore he told them beforehand; as he said, "Now I tell you before it comes, that when it comes to pass, you may believe that I am he."

For the same reason he has foretold many events that are now coming to pass. 

He has declared, "Many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." 

Whenever hypocrites are detected, instead of being staggered by the discovery, we ought to be confirmed in the faith, and to think, "Did not Jesus say that there should be many who would call him Lord, but who would work iniquity?"

Can we conceive what our feelings would be, if we could foresee what would befall those around us? 

How would our hearts be pained by the thought,  This dear brother will languish long under a tormenting disease. 

This beloved sister will lose the children that are now smiling on her knees.

But how much more should we be grieved, if we could foresee that some who seem to be faithful followers of Jesus would finally betray him, and perish forever. 

What, then, must have been the feelings of the compassionate Savior, when he looked around and beheld the face of one who would soon plunge into the depth of crime, and sink into the abyss of misery! 

He was troubled in spirit, and testified, saying, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

He still grieves over the sorrows that he foresees. 

When he looks down upon us, he sees the way that we shall take. 

Among the guests at the sacramental table he can distinguish those who will sell their birthright, from those who will inherit his kingdom.

Those who do not love their Master, will not always follow him. 

Judas found it easy to walk with Jesus when an admiring throng tracked his steps; but when circumstances were altered he changed his plan, and found it more convenient to betray him. 

There are seasons when the way of godliness appears even to the worldly-minded a pleasant and a glorious path; but these seasons do not last. 

A time arrives, sooner or later, when the path becomes steep and rugged; then the unconverted man turns aside into some by-way. 

He goes after the world he had forsaken, and seeks for a share in its smiles. 

At first, perhaps, he does not leave the assemblies of the saints. 

Like Judas, he may be found by turns in the councils of the ungodly, and in the society of the believers. 

Is there any one among us who is secretly siding with Christ's enemies, while he appears to be his friend? 

With what compassion Jesus regards such a miserable creature! 

He foresees the sorrows that his sins will bring upon him. 

He knows what remorse will one day tear him; what despair will take hold of him!

~Favell Lee Mortimer (1802—1878)~

Genuine Faith

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
 
Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. 

Distrust, however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the answer never arrives.

There are some letters on my desk that I wrote weeks ago, but I have yet to mail them because of my uncertainty over the address or the contents.

Those letters have not done any good for me or anyone else at this point.
 
And they never will accomplish anything until I let go of them, trusting them to the postal service.

It is the same with Genuine Faith.

It hands it's circumstances over to God, allowing Him to work. 

Psalm 37:5 is a great confirmation of this: Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."

He will never work until we commit. 

Faith is receiving...or even more, actually appropriating the  gifts God offers us.

We may believe in Him, come to Him, commit to Him, and rest in Him...

But we will never fully realize all our blessings until we begin to receive from Him and come to Him having the spirit of abiding and appropriating.

~From Days of Heaven Upon Earth~
 
Dr. Payson, while still a young man, once wrote to an elderly mother who was extremely worried and burdened over the condition of her son. 

He wrote, You are worrying too much about him. 

Once you have prayed for him, as you have done, and committed him to God, you should not continue to be anxious. 

God’s command, Do not be anxious about anything”, is unlimited...

And so is the verse, “Cast all your care on him”.

If we truly have cast our burdens upon another, can they continue to pressure us?

If we carry them with us from the throne of grace, it is obvious we have not left them there.

In my own life I test my prayers in this way...
 
After committing something to God, if I can come away, like Hannah did, with no more sadness, pain, or anxiety in my heart, I see it as proof that I have prayed the prayer of faith.
 
But if I pray and then still carry my burden, I conclude my faith was not exercised.

Little Children, Keep Yourselves From Idols!

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Though there is no danger of our bowing down to graven images-to gods that have eyes and see not, ears and hear not-none are exempt from the danger of being idolaters in spirit. 

There are gods many and lords many, in lands of Bibles and gospel privileges-as truly as in heathen countries!

Wealth, honor, sports and pleasure-are the idols of multitudes.
 
Gold is as truly worshiped-as Baal once was!
 
Self is as really the idol of many now-as Diana of the Ephesians was anciently.

Then, too, there are "household gods"-idols in family life. 

Affection in the various relationships we sustain, which is proper and lovely in a right degree-too often becomes idolatrous.

Christians have need to be warned against idolatry, as well as others. 

The exhortation, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols!" was addressed to believers.

Remember, my soul, that whatever may lead your highest affection and supreme devotion away from God your Savior-would be to you an idol!

Help me, O Lord, to watch and pray against the sin of idolatry in all its forms. 

Show me more of Your glory and Your grace-and ever hold the highest place in my heart!

The dearest idol  I have known, Whatever that idol be...
 
Help me to tear it from Your throne, And worship only Thee!

~Author Unknown~

Enemies At Peace

I must see that my ways please the LORD. 

Even then I shall have enemies; and, perhaps, all the more certainly because I endeavor to do that which is right. 

But what a promise this is!

The LORD will make the wrath of man to praise Him and abate it so that it shall not distress me.

He can constrain an enemy to desist from harming me, even though he has a mind to do so. 

This He did with Laban, who pursued Jacob but did not dare to touch him. 

Or He can subdue the wrath of the enemy and make him friendly...

As He did with Esau, who met Jacob in a brotherly manner...

Though Jacob had dreaded that he would smite him and his family with the sword. 

The LORD can also convert a furious adversary into a brother in Christ and a fellow worker, as He did with Saul of Tarsus. 

Oh, that He would do this in every case where a persecuting spirit appears!

Happy is the man whose enemies are made to be to him what the lions were to Daniel in the den, quiet and companionable!

When I meet death, who is called the last enemy, I pray that I may be at peace. 

Only let my great care be to please the LORD in all things. 

Oh, for faith and holiness; for these are a pleasure unto the Most High! 

~Charles Spurgeon~

The Bible's Supreme Place

Psalm 119:165  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

Yes, a true love for the great Book will bring us great peace from the great God and be a great protection to us.

Let us live constantly in the society of the law of the LORD, and it will breed in our hearts a restfulness such as nothing else can. 

The Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter through the Word and sheds abroad those benign influences which calm the tempests of the soul.

Nothing is a stumbling block to the man who has the Word of God dwelling in him richly. 

He takes up his daily cross, and it becomes a delight. 

For the fiery trial he is prepared and counts it not strange, so as to be utterly cast down by it. 

He is neither stumbled by prosperity As so many are...

Nor crushed by adversity as others have been...

For he lives beyond the changing circumstances of external life. 

When his LORD puts before him some great mystery of the faith which makes others cry, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?"...

The believer accepts it without question...

For his intellectual difficulties are overcome by his reverent awe of the law of the LORD...

Which is to him the supreme authority to which he joyfully bows. 

LORD, work in us this love, this peace, this rest, this day. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Sensitive To Warning

2Ki 22:19  Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD. 

Many Despise Warning and Perish. 

Happy is he who Trembles at the Word of God.

Josiah did so, and he was spared the sight of the evil which the LORD determined to send upon Judah because of her great sins.

Have you this tenderness?

Do you practice this self-humiliation?

Then you also shall be spared in the evil day. 

God sets a mark upon the men that sigh and cry because of the sin of the times. 

The destroying angel is commanded to keep his sword in its sheath till the elect of God are sheltered: 

These are best known by their godly fear and their trembling at the Word of the LORD. 

Are the times threatening?

Does infidelity advance with great strides, and do you dread national chastisement upon this polluted nation?

Well you may. 

Yet rest in this promise: "Thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace: and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which l will bring upon this place." 

Better still, the LORD Himself may come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Lead The Way

Deu 28:13  And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

If we obey the LORD, He will compel our adversaries to see that His blessing rests upon us. 

Though this be a promise of the law, yet it stands good to the people of God; for Jesus has removed the curse, but He has established the blessing.

It is for saints to lead the way among men by holy influence...

They are not to be the tail, to be dragged hither and thither by others. 

We must not yield to the spirit of the age, but compel the age to do homage to Christ.

If the LORD be with us, we shalt not crave toleration for religion...

But we shall seek to seat it on the throne of society. 

Has not the LORD Jesus made His people priests?

Surely they are to teach and must not be learners from the philosophies of unbelievers. 

Are we not in Christ made kings to reign upon the earth? 

How, then can we be the servants of custom, the slaves of human opinion?

Have you, dear friend, taken up your true position for Jesus? 

Too many are silent because timid, if not cowardly. 

Should we allow the name of the LORD Jesus to be kept in the background? 

Should our religion drag along as a tail? 

Should it not rather lead the way and be the ruling force with ourselves and others?

~Charles Spurgeon~

Established and Kept

Men are often as devoid of reason as of faith.

There are with us still "unreasonable and wicked men." 

There is no use in arguing with them or trying to be at peace with them...

They are false at heart and deceitful in speech. 

Well, what of this? 

Shall we worry ourselves with them?

No; let us turn to the LORD, for He is faithful.

No promise from His Word will ever be broken. 

He is neither unreasonable in His demands upon us nor unfaithful to our claims upon Him. 

We have a faithful God. 

Be this our joy.

He will stablish us so that wicked men shall not cause our downfall...

And He will keep us so that none of the evils which now assail us shall really do us damage.

What a blessing for us that we need not contend with men but are allowed to shelter ourselves in the LORD Jesus, who is in truest sympathy with us. 

There is one true heart, one faithful mind, one never changing love; there let us repose.

The LORD will fulfill the purpose of His grace to us, His servants...

And we need not allow a shadow of a fear to fatal upon our spirits.

Not all that men or devils can do can hinder us of the divine protection and provision. 

This day let us pray the LORD to stablish and keep us. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Continue Upright

This is as good as a promise, for it declares a present fact, which will be the same throughout all ages.

God takes great pleasure in the prayers of upright men...

He even calls them His delight.

Our first concern is to be upright.

Neither bending this way nor that...

Continue upright; not crooked with policy...

Nor prostrate by yielding to evil...

Be you upright in strict integrity and straightforwardness.

If we begin to shuffle and shift, we shall be left to shift for ourselves.

If we try crooked ways, we shall find that we cannot pray...

And if we pretend to do so, we shall find our prayers shut out of  heaven.

Are we acting in a straight line and thus following out the LORD's revealed will?

Then let us pray much and pray in faith.

If our prayer is God's delight, let us not stint Him in that which gives Him pleasure.

He does not consider the grammar of it, nor the metaphysics of it, nor the rhetoric of it; in all these men might despise it.

He, as a Father, takes pleasure in the lispings of His own babes, the stammerings of His newborn sons and daughters.

Should we not delight in prayer since the LORD delights in it?

Let us make errands to the throne.

The LORD finds us enough reasons for prayer... and we ought to thank Him that it is so.

~Charles Spurgeon~

The SWORD Of GOD'S TRUTH!

Their Speech Is Filled With Flattery.

Psalm 5:9  For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

This is the identifying mark of the "hireling," the false pastor.

He aims at pleasing his hearers...

Making them feel satisfied with themselves...

Ever patting them on the back.

But he who has My Word--let him speak My Word faithfully.

Jer 23:28  The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

No matter how unpalatable it may be to the flesh...

How much of a weariness to those who wish to have their ears tickled with novelties...

Or how loud the outcry against it is!

Ministerial faithfulness includes...

Loyalty to his Master...

Devotion to HIS interests...

Steadfast adherence to the preaching of His Word...

Dispensing the truth unto those whose souls are committed to Him...

Not mixing it with his speculations...

Much less substituting false doctrine.

A far higher motive than the pleasing of his hearers must actuate and regulate ministerial service. 

Faithful preaching will render the minister unpopular, and will empty churches...not fill them!

John 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Souls are caught fast in the meshes of Satan's lies... 

And nothing but The Sword Of God's Truth can cut them free!

A faithful man--who can find?

Pro 20:6  Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

Why is this? Because it is the part of fallen human nature to take the line of least resistance, and choose the path easiest to the flesh.

But remember, my reader, whoever you are, that, Lying lips are abomination to the Lord-but those who deal faithfully are His delight. 

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Be faithful unto death-and I will give you a crown of life!

~Arthur Pink~