The Magnitude of Grace by C.H. Spurgeon

My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Our weakness should be prized as making room for divine strength. We might never have known the power of grace if we had not felt the weakness of nature. Blessed be the Lord for the thorn in the flesh, and the messenger of Satan, when they drive us to the strength of God.

This is a precious word from our Lord's own lip. It has made the writer laugh for joy. God's grace enough for me! I should think it is. Is not the sky enough for the bird and the ocean enough for the fish? The All-Sufficient is sufficient for my largest want. He who is sufficient for earth and heaven is certainly able to meet the case of one poor worm like me.

Let us, then, fall back upon our God and His grace. If He does not remove our grief, He will enable us to bear it. His strength shall be poured into us till the worm shall thresh the mountains, and a nothing shall be victor over all the high and mighty ones. It is better for us to have God's strength than our own; for if we were a thousand times as strong as we are, it would amount to nothing in the face of the enemy; and if we could be weaker than we are, which is scarcely possible, yet we could do all things through Christ.

Loving Your Neighbor

This was shared at our small group tonight and I thought it was to good not to share with y'all!

"You Shall Love Him--Whoever He is

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

What is it to love our neighbor? It is the loving that is hard. We could do almost anything else, short of loving unpleasant neighbors.

But love is the word--and no revised version changes it. No matter how disagreeable, unlovely, unworthy, our neighbors may be--still the commandment persistently and relentlessly says to us, "You shall love him!"

Our neighbors are around us all the time, needing our love. Indeed, they touch our lives so continually, that we must guard our every look, word, and act--lest we hurt some sensitive spirit. 

Some people seem to forget that other people have feelings. They are constantly saying words and doing things which give pain. True love is thoughtful. We ought to train our hearts to the most delicate sense of kindness, that we may never, even jokingly, give pain to any other human being.

Our neighbors have hearts, and we owe to every one of them--the beggar we meet on the street, the degraded wretch we find crawling in the mire of sin's debasement, the enemy who flings his insults in our face--to every one, we owe the love that is thoughtful, gentle, and gives no hurt.

Our love ought also to be patient. Our neighbor will have his faults. But we are taught to bear with one another's infirmities. If we knew the story of men's lives, the hidden burdens they are often carrying, the unhealed wounds in their heart--we would have most gentle patience with them. Life is hard for most people, certainly hard enough without our adding to its burdens--by our criticisms, our jeering and contempt, and our lack of love."

- J. R. Miller

Free Grace Sustains Me Still

Today has been a day of battle for me.  I feel the doubting of all I know to be true of God and of myself warring within me.  It has taken it's toll and I am weak and weary of this fight; more often than not, I just want to give up.  I would like to put down my sword and rest for awhile. The doubts in my mind are raging, but God is the same and nothing can change that.  My standing with Him is the same no matter what lies come or how I feel. 
 There are many days when I come to the realization that if it was my conduct that had saved me, then I would be lost forever.  I'm thankful that it is not of myself that keeps me in the same standing with God.  If it was of my doing I know that I would not be able to even attain a right standing with God much less sustain one.  What a privilege to be a child of God! To be redeemed by His blood, to be made one with Him.What assurance there is in knowing that nothing can sever this union. Not you, nor me, not principalities, not death, Beloved, there is NOTHING that can do so (Romans 8:35-39). When our feelings and doubts get in the way we can still rest assured that we are one in Christ. Why? Because we are not resting in our emotions or our merits, but we are resting in the finished work of Christ.
So, when the battle becomes too intense I can simply rest in Christ because "free grace sustains me still". 


Free Grace

"1. You children of God,
by faith in His Son
Redeemed by His blood,
and with Him made one
This union with wonder
and rapture be seen
Which nothing shall sunder,
without or within

2. This pardon, this peace
which none can destroy
This treasure of grace
and heavenly joy
The worthless may crave it,
it always comes free
The vilest may have it,
it was given to me

Chorus:
Free grace has paid for all my sin
Free grace, though it cost so much to Him
Free grace has freed even my will
Free grace to the end sustains me still

3. It's not for good deeds,
good tempers nor frames
From grace it proceeds,
and all is the Lamb's
No goodness, no fitness
expects He from us
This I can well witness,
for none could be worse

Bridge: Sick sinner, expect no
balm but Christ's blood
Your own works reject,
the bad and the good
None ever regret it that on Him rely
Though guilty as Saul or Jonah or I"

~J Hart

My Song is Love Unknown by Samuel Crossman

My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take, frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my Friend, my Friend indeed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
Themselves displease, and ’gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they saved,
The Prince of life they slay,
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
But mine the tomb wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

I have made you a watchman

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand." Ez. 3:17-18

"We have got to lay our lives down for the purposes of God. This is not a Sunday school picnic, the Church of Jesus Christ. This is not an invitation to have continuous good times; this is a WAR for the souls of man... My mind is forever branded with a story that I heard of police officers from the city of New York as people were fleeing from a crumbling building. There were police officers and firemen, and others, that were running towards the building, saying "Run for your life!" at their own peril and in some cases I believe they knew they were going to die but there was a sense of duty. I was crying out to God, saying "God, oh Jesus, don't let my sense of duty be less for Your Kingdom than these beloved firemen and policemen were for those that were perishing in the falling tower.""

~ Carter Conlon

Our duty as Christians is to proclaim the good news no matter the cost to ourselves.

 "Remember the song in the movie rendition of Oliver Twist where the little orphan boy sang 'Where is Love?' Well, the kids have yet to see it in any person who professes to be a Christian. What about me and you, my friends? If that is all that lasts forever, may it ever be our deepest quest. If He is love, and that is the only way that we can prove to be His, and affect others, then please love to the end though we must 'die daily' in the pursuit!!! Love is giving up self, and that is often one of the big hindrances to real true love of others." R.H.
This quote came from a missionary update and it convicted me greatly. How are we walking before, not just children, but people? Can they see Christ through us? Oh, may the Lord give grace!

Lofty Opinions

"I remember one of the most shameful moments of my spiritual life, hiking in East Asia going in and out of unreached villages with Gospel literature trying not to get caught, a tough trip, a grueling trip. And we'd set up camp one night, [there was a] little bit of daylight left so I went off by myself to read for a couple of minutes. I had a copy of Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy with me and I sat down. I looked across the countryside, I thought about our hard day of hiking in this difficult area and the thought that came to my mind was 'God must be glad to have me on His team.' And I opened up Tozer's book where I just so happened to be on the chapter dealing with the self sufficiency of God and Tozer said to me:


'Almighty God just because He is all mighty needs no support. The picture of a nervous and graciating God fawning over men to win their favor is not a pleasant one yet if we look at the popular conception of God that is precisely what we see. Twentieth century Christianity has put God on charity, so lofty is our opinion of ourselves that we find it quite easy not to say enjoyable to believe that we are necessary to God. Probably the hardest thought of all for our natural egotism to entertain is that God does not need our help. We commonly represent Him as a busy, eager, somewhat frustrated Father hurrying about seeking help to carry out His benevolent plan to bring peace and salvation to the world. Too many missionary appeals are based upon this fancy frustration of Almighty God. An effective speaker can easily excite pity in his hearers not only for the heathen but for the God who has tried so hard and so long to save them and has failed for want of support. I fear that thousands of younger persons enter Christian service for no higher motive than to help deliver God from the embarrassing situation His love has gotten Him into and His limited abilities seem unable to get Him out of. Add to this a certain degree of commendable idealism and a fair amount of compassion for the underprivileged and you have the true drive behind much Christian activity today.'


Brothers and sisters let me remind us from the start God does not need us... He does not need you, He does not need me. He does not need your specific church or my specific church... Every one of us, every one of our churches... all our denominations and our associations could drop dead and turn to dust and God will still make a great name for Himself among the nations. God involves us in His mission, not because He needs us but because He loves us and in His mercy He has invited us to be involved in His sovereign design for the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth..."


~ David Platt
Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions

HT: Liyah McDonnell

Journey Down

'Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, May you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of Amana, From the summit of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions, From the mountains of leopards.' Song of Solomon 4:8

"We're so full of pride, we're so full of vanity, we're always walking in high places where we dont belong. Vanity fair is where our flesh wants to live... and God is saying 'come buy from Me, come down from those places that can not feed you, come down from those places that can do you no good and come down from those dangerous haunts.' ...You should fear what self can do to you... Your flesh has the keenest ability to make an idol out of absolutely anything. Your flesh can take the bible and use it and create a idol out of knowledge, create an idol out of ministry, even that which is good and holy and right. He says, come down."

~ Paul Washer

HT:Liyah McDonnell

Everything is Yours by Audrey Assad

When all the world is blossoming
And everything around is bursting into life
And I don't have to strain to hear the beat of Your heart

When all the world is under fire
When skies are threatening to thunder and rain
And I am overcome by fears that I can't see

If everything is Yours
Everything is Yours
If everything is Yours
I'm letting it go
No, it was never mine to hold
No, never mine

Who could command the stars to sing
Or hold the raging seas from breaking through the doors?
And tend the fragile roses with the very same hands

If everything is Yours
Everything is Yours
If everything is Yours
I'm letting it go
I am, I'm letting it go, letting go
Yeah, I'm letting it go

'Cause everything is Yours
Yeah, everything is Yours

If everything is Yours, God
And everything is Yours
If everything is Yours
I'm letting it go, let it go, let it go, let it go

It was never mine, no, no
It was never mine, never mine

Trial of Faith

"What about the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth. Do you know why I like to read Peter? Because Peter was the man that was one day going down the road and Jesus met him and he said to him "listen Peter, right round the corner Satan's there and he's gonna jump on you, beat you up, your gonna have the worst time you ever had in your life. Now, I've prayed for you." Wouldn't it sound a lot better if Jesus said "I saw Satan there and I said, you go back to hell and leave Peter alone!" But Jesus didn't say that, He said "Keep going, He's gonna get on you, but I have prayed for thee... that thy faith fail not." You see, thats the treasure you and I have, not your bible knowledge, not how smart you are, your faith."

~ Leonard Ravenhill

Grace For Today, And Not A Drop More

I was encouraged by this post today, and if you haven't already read it would highly recommend it to you. Grace For Today, And Not A Drop More

"My grace is sufficient for you..." 2 Cor. 12:9

HT: Thoughts On The Way

The Mountaintop

As I was reading the other night, I was struck by this verse in Mark. It says that the disciples "came to Him" when Christ "called those whom He desired" to Himself. I thought about how sometimes I hear the same call but am afraid to go up the mountain because Self begins to speak to me and talk me out of the journey. The following is an account of such a time and promises that have helped me in the battle.


"And He [Christ] went up on the mountain and called to Him those whom He desired, and they came to Him."(Mark 3:13)


He, my Beloved, has gone up to the mountain, am I willing to follow?

The way is steep and treacherous; it may end in death!

But my Beloved has called me. I have heard His voice, and I must go!

But surely you could wait. Surely He will come down and meet with you here, as He has in the past.

No, He desires my company now. If He did not, He would not have summoned me, He would not have called me to come up. I will go to Him though seven deaths lay in between! He will uphold me and will not allow me to fall headlong. He will not allow me to be forsaken(Ps. 37:24-25).

But you lack strength, and you'll have to leave everyone and everything you ever knew. You may be humiliated along the way. What if you are forsaken? What if you get to the top and He's not there? 


Self, you are right; I haven't the strength to climb this mountain, but the Lord is my strength and I shall be helped (Ps. 28:7) I shall not be left for He has promised me that He shall never leave me nor forsake me (Deut 31:8). Though I am leaving all behind, I know He is my portion (Lam. 3:24). Though, I am laid low what is that to the infinite glory I shall have when I am with Him on the mountaintop? What pleasure is there here that would keep me from the One whom my heart loves most? No, I shall not worry about my self-preservation. I shall care only about the glory of my Lord.

But...

NO, I shall not listen to you any longer; you care not for my good but only for yourself. I know that where my treasure is, there my heart shall be also (Matt 6:21). My heart is on that mountain, and I shall reach the top!

Beams of Heaven

Beams of Heaven, as I go,

Through this wilderness below,
Guide my feet in peaceful ways,
Turn my midnights into days;
When in the darkness I would grope,
Faith always sees a star of hope,
And soon from all life’s grief and danger,
I shall be free some day.

Oftentimes my sky is clear,
Joy abounds without a tear,
Though a day so bright begun,
Clouds may hide tomorrow’s sun;
There’ll be a day that’s always bright,
A day that never yields to night,
And in its light the streets of glory
I shall behold some day.

Harder yet may be the fight,
Right may often yield to might,
Wickedness awhile may reign,
Satan’s cause may seem to gain,
There is a God that rules above,
With hand of power and heart of love,
If I am right, He’ll fight my battle,
I shall have peace some day.

Burdens now may crush me down,
Disappointments all around,
Troubles speak in mournful sigh,
Sorrow through a tear stained eye;
There is a world where pleasure reigns,
No mourning soul shall roam its plains,
And to that land of peace and glory
I want to go some day.

~Charles Tindley

Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood cont'd

Here are the rest of the sermons from the Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood Series by Ryan Fullerton. 

Part 4: Singleness
            Q&A

Part 5: Marriage- After this message the men met with Ryan to discuss the pursuit of purity.

Part 6: Parenting

Persist To The End

'Your work and your life must go off the stage together. Persisting to the end will be the burr in your saddle- the thorn in your flesh- when the road ahead seems endless and your soul begs an early discharge. It weighs down every other difficulty of your calling. We have known many who have joined the army of Christ and liked being a soldier for a battle or two, but have soon had enough and ended up deserting. They impulsively enlist for Christian duties, are easily persuaded to take up a profession of religion, and are just as easily persuaded to lay it down. Like the new moon, they shine a little in the first part of the evening, but go down before the night is over.

This persevering is a hard word! Taking up the cross daily, praying always, watching night and day and never laying aside our armour to indulge ourselves, sends many sorrowful away from Christ. Yet this is your calling: to make the Christian faith your daily work, without any vacation from one end of the year to the other.'
~ William Gurnall

HT: Liyah McDonnell

Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood

Ryan Fullerton, Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, agreed to come and speak on Biblical manhood and womanhood this week at my church.
So far it has been a huge blessing and I would like to encourage you to listen to his sermons in this series. 
Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Part 1: Men and Woman; Who are we?
Part 2 : Biblical Manhood What Is A Real Man?
Part 3: Biblical Womanhood The Godly Woman

I pray that the Lord might encourage your hearts with these sermons and open your eyes to who you were meant to be in Christ.

My times are in Thy Hand

My times are in Thy hand;

My God, I wish them there;

My life, my friends, my soul I leave

Entirely to Thy care.

 

My times are in Thy hand,

Whatever they may be,

Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,

As best may seem to Thee,

 

My times are in Thy hand;

Why should I doubt or fear?

My Father's hand will never cause

His child a needless tear.

 

My times are in Thy hand,

Jesus, the crucified!

Those hands my cruel sins had pierced

Are now my guard and guide.

 

My times are in Thy hand;

I'll always trust in Thee;

And, after death, at Thy right hand

I shall forever be.

 

~William Freeman Lloyd

HT: Liyah McDonnell

Messages on Faith by Charles Leiter

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'" ~Luke 17:5

The Importance of Faith

Little Faith

"O Lord, if only my will may remain right and firm towards You, do with me whatever will please You.  For it cannot be anything but good, whatever You will do with me.  If it is Your will I should be in darkness, may You be blessed.  If it is Your will I should be in light, may You again be blessed.  If You deign to comfort me, may you be blessed.  If You will have me afflicted, may You be equally blessed.  O Lord, for Your sake I will cheerfully suffer whatever will come on me with Your permission."  --Thomas A Kempis

The Triumphant Believer

"What Much-Afraid was shouting up there on the old sea wall was this:
  'And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about; therefore
I will sing praises unto the Lord; yea I will offer the sacrifice of joy and will praise
the Name of the Lord' (Psalm 27:6).
  "As she sang she thought to herself, 'It must be really dreadful to be the Shepherd's
enemies.  Always, always to find themselves frustrated.  Always, always to have
their prey snatched away.  How simply maddening it must be to see even the silliest
little weaklings set up out of reach on the High Places and made to triumph over
all their enemies.  It must be unbearable.'" ~from "Hind's Feet on High Places" by Hannah Hurnard

He has Leaned

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1

Inclined-having a physical tendency; leaning. dictionary.com

What an encouragement this verse is to me. The Lord has leaned towards me making Him closer to me. He's near to me for He has placed Himself closer to me, but why? Why should He incline Himself to me, why should He tilt His head so that His ear is closer to me than before? So that He can hear what I have to say!

He has not been forced to hear me. God was not sitting on His throne and, because I was near to Him, He happened to hear what I had to say. Nay, but He has positioned Himself so that He may hear me. He loves and is concerned with what I have to say. He delights in hearing my voice therefore, He has positioned Himself to be nearer to me; as a parent bends over closer to a child's mouth to better hear what the his beloved child should want to say.

Oh, joy above all joys, My God, My Savior, My Friend, longs to be nearer to me and to speak with me. Oh, That I might not take this precious treasure for granted, but that I might cherish and come before the One who is so willing to hear my cries.

Ezekiel 37

""The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”" Ez 37:1-2

"O Lord God, You know that these bones can not live! They are not just dry, but they are very dry! Perhaps You could cause them to live if they were just men who died a few hours before, or even if the flesh had still been on them, You could possibly breathe life into these dead men, but no, Lord, these bones can not live. There is not even the remotest possibility that these bones can live!"

The above would have been my response had the Lord come to me with the question of whether or not these dry bones could live. I have put God into a box, thinking that He can only do that which is in the ordinary or that He works only through things that can be explained. It is true that God is a god of order and reason, but just because He has set the world up in that way does not mean that He can not do the impossible. He has made the heaven's and the earth, nothing is to difficult for Him! (Jer. 32:17) Ezekiel was a man of faith, humility, and honesty; his answer was not what mine would have been, but one of faith. Ezekiel knew that the Lord could cause these dry bones to live if He but said a word.

May our faith in the Lord be like that of Ezekiel's. May we learn to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding.. When all seems impossible, may we learn that we serve a very big God, and He alone knows what the outcome will be.

Perfect love casts out fear

"Anxiety and misgivings proceed solely from love of self. The love of God accomplishes all things quietly and completely; it is not anxious or uncertain. The Spirit of God rests continually in quietness. Perfect love casteth out fear. It is in forgetfulness of self that we find peace. Happy is he who yields himself completely, unconsciously, and finally to God. Listen to the inward whisper of His Spirit and follow it--that is enough; but to listen one must be silent, and to follow one must yield."

~François Fénelon

"The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting..." Ps. 138:8 (NASB)

"For thus the Lord GOD...has said, '... In quietness and trust is your strength.'” Isaiah 30:15 (NASB)