Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon
Saturday Morning, March 10
In my prosperity I said I shall never be moved.
Psalm 30:6
Moab settled on his lees, he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel. Give a man wealth; let his ships bring home continually rich freights; let the winds and waves appear to be his servants to bear his vessels across the bosom of the mighty deep; let his lands yield abundantly: let the weather be propitious to his crops; let uninterrupted success attend him; let him stand among men as a successful merchant; let him enjoy continued health; allow him with braced nerve and brilliant eye to march through the world, and live happily; give him the buoyant spirit; let him have the song perpetually on his lips; let his eye be ever sparkling with joy--and the natural consequence of such an easy state to any man, let him be the best Christian who ever breathed, will be presumption; even David said, I shall never be moved; and we are not better than David, nor half so good. Brother, beware of the smooth places of the way; if you are treading them, or if the way be rough, thank God for it. If God should always rock us in the cradle of prosperity; if we were always dandled on the knees of fortune; if we had not some stain on the alabaster pillar; if there were not a few clouds in the sky; if we had not some bitter drops in the wine of this life, we should become intoxicated with pleasure, we should dream we stand; and stand we should, but it would be upon a pinnacle; like the man asleep upon the mast, each moment we should be in jeopardy.
We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank him for our changes; we extol his name for losses of property; for we feel that had he not chastened us thus, we might have become too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery trial.
Afflictions, though they seem severe, In mercy oft are sent.
Evening, March 10
Man ... is of few days, and full of trouble.
Job 14:1
It may be of great service to us, before we fall asleep, to remember this mournful fact, for it may lead us to set loose by earthly things. There is nothing very pleasant in the recollection that we are not above the shafts of adversity, but it may humble us and prevent our boasting like the Psalmist in our morning's portion. My mountain standeth firm: I shall never be moved. It may stay us from taking too deep root in this soil from which we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden. Let us recollect the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies. If we would remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodman's axe, we should not be so ready to build our nests in them. We should love, but we should love with the love which expects death, and which reckons upon separations. Our dear relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the lender's hand may be even at the door. The like is certainly true of our worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? Our health is equally precarious. Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon blooming for ever. There is a time appointed for weakness and sickness, when we shall have to glorify God by suffering, and not by earnest activity. There is no single point in which we can hope to escape from the sharp arrows of affliction; out of our few days there is not one secure from sorrow. Man's life is a cask full of bitter wine; he who looks for joy in it had better seek for honey in an ocean of brine. Beloved reader, set not your affections upon things of earth: but seek those things which are above, for here the moth devoureth, and the thief breaketh through, but there all joys are perpetual and eternal. The path of trouble is the way home. Lord, make this thought a pillow for many a weary head!
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Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon
Sunday Morning, March 11
Sin ... exceeding sinful.
Romans 7:13
Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, Is it not a little one? Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent. So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced his heart! It made him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be exceeding sinful.
Evening, March 11
Thou shalt be called, Sought out.
Isaiah 62:12
The surpassing grace of God is seen very clearly in that we were not only sought, but sought out. Men seek for a thing which is lost upon the floor of the house, but in such a case there is only seeking, not seeking out. The loss is more perplexing and the search more persevering when a thing is sought out. We were mingled with the mire: we were as when some precious piece of gold falls into the sewer, and men gather out and carefully inspect a mass of abominable filth, and continue to stir and rake, and search among the heap until the treasure is found. Or, to use another figure, we were lost in a labyrinth; we wandered hither and thither, and when mercy came after us with the gospel, it did not find us at the first coming, it had to search for us and seek us out; for we as lost sheep were so desperately lost, and had wandered into such a strange country, that it did not seem possible that even the Good Shepherd should track our devious roamings. Glory be to unconquerable grace, we were sought out! No gloom could hide us, no filthiness could conceal us, we were found and brought home. Glory be to infinite love, God the Holy Spirit restored us!
The lives of some of God's people, if they could be written would fill us with holy astonishment. Strange and marvellous are the ways which God used in their case to find his own. Blessed be his name, he never relinquishes the search until the chosen are sought out effectually. They are not a people sought to-day and cast away to-morrow. Almightiness and wisdom combined will make no failures, they shall be called, Sought out! That any should be sought out is matchless grace, but that we should be sought out is grace beyond degree! We can find no reason for it but God's own sovereign love, and can only lift up our heart in wonder, and praise the Lord that this night we wear the name of Sought out.
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Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon
Monday Morning, March 12
Thou shalt love thy neighbour.
Matthew 5:43
Love thy neighbour. Perhaps he rolls in riches, and thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side-by-side with his lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous banquets; God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.
Perhaps, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbour. Own that thou art bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth. It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbour even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.
But, perhaps, you say, I cannot love my neighbours, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt. So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbours through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.
Evening, March 12
To whom belongest thou?
1 Samuel 30:13
No neutralities can exist in religion. We are either ranked under the banner of Prince Immanuel, to serve and fight his battles, or we are vassals of the black prince, Satan. To whom belongest thou?
Reader, let me assist you in your response. Have you been born again? If you have, you belong to Christ, but without the new birth you cannot be his. In whom do you trust? For those who believe in Jesus are the sons of God. Whose work are you doing? You are sure to serve your master, for he whom you serve is thereby owned to be your lord. What company do you keep? If you belong to Jesus, you will fraternize with those who wear the livery of the cross. Birds of a feather flock together. What is your conversation? Is it heavenly or is it earthly? What have you learned of your Master?--for servants learn much from their masters to whom they are apprenticed. If you have served your time with Jesus, it will be said of you, as it was of Peter and John, They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
We press the question, To whom belongest thou? Answer honestly before you give sleep to your eyes. If you are not Christ's you are in a hard service--Run away from your cruel master! Enter into the service of the Lord of Love, and you shall enjoy a life of blessedness. If you are Christ's let me advise you to do four things. You belong to Jesus--obey him; let his word be your law; let his wish be your will. You belong to the Beloved, then love him; let your heart embrace him; let your whole soul be filled with him. You belong to the Son of God, then trust him; rest nowhere but on him. You belong to the King of kings, then be decided for him. Thus, without your being branded upon the brow, all will know to whom you belong.
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Holiness or Hell?
Author: Daryl Wingerd
The definition of holiness includes the concept of being distinct, set apart from everything (or everyone) else. Christians are holy people in two ways. First, believers are holy in God's sight in terms of their position. Through faith in Christ, they are uniquely set apart by God, and for God. In this sense,
no true Christian can be any more holy than he already is.
The Bible also speaks of the need for consistent and increasing holiness in behavior. Therefore, the holy person practices righteousness rather than sin, lives in purity rather than uncleanness, is godly rather than worldly.
Consider four facts from the Bible about holiness in behavior:
Holiness is not optional
"Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification [or "holiness"] without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). The two commands in this verse may initially appear to conflict with each other: get along with all people and be holy in your behavior. If we allow peace with the people of this world to be our overriding concern, we might easily be lax in living according to God's standard of holiness. The practice of holiness, after all, has the tendency to offend. So, as it seems, the writer saw the need to qualify his first command with a second: be holy in your behavior even if it causes conflict with others.
The reason for giving the second command priority over the first is seen in the last phrase: "without which [i.e., without holiness] no one will see the Lord." You may complete your life, as many Christian martyrs did, as the apostles did, and as Jesus Himself did, amid great animosity from most people around you, and still be confident of your entrance into heaven. Yet, if you die as one whose behavior was not consistently and increasingly holy—not set apart from the worldliness all around you—then as this text makes plain, you will not "see the Lord." Instead you will hear, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23).
Holiness is required in every corner of your life
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Pet. 1:14-16)
Note the words, "in all your behavior." In this text, Christian freedom has its boundary. You are free to live as you want to live, and do as you want to do—as long as all of your behavior is holy. And by holy, Peter clearly directs us to imitate God. Would God approve of the things you allow yourself to do, say, think, listen to, or watch? In your ignorance as an unbeliever you felt no qualms about engaging in less-than-holy behavior. But what about now, as one who has been set apart for God? Are you pursuing holiness in every area, or are there still dark corners of your life where you are taking liberties you shouldn't?
Holiness has only one instruction manual: the Bible
The psalmist asks a simple yet profound question: "How can a young man keep his way pure?" (Ps. 119:9). This was no reflection of idle curiosity, but rather an expression of urgent need and conviction. He longed to be pure (holy, righteous) in the way he conducted his life, and so he asked how this can be done. He then gave the only acceptable answer: "By keeping it according to Your word." Holiness is not the product of intuition, but of instruction. The person who walks in holiness is the one who knows and obeys his Bible.
The practice of holiness is one and the same as a vigorous spiritual life. A person cannot have the one without the other, and the person who has the one also has the other. Both flow from one's relationship with Scripture. As the 19th century man of faith, George Muller, once said, "the vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts."
Holiness requires discretion
Paul instructs us to take pains to avoid even being tempted to sin. "Make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" (Rom. 13:14). This is a command to exercise discretion—to recognize the seductive, deceptive nature of sin and the unholy desires of your flesh that still tend to draw you toward sin, and then to make every effort to keep the two apart. If you want to avoid a deadly explosion, you will keep open flames away from gasoline vapor. Likewise, if you want to avoid sinning, you will be careful to avoid unnecessarily placing yourself in the presence of temptation. If our only command were to avoid committing the sin itself, there would be no violation in simply drawing near, as long as we did not actually succumb. But with Paul's command in Romans 13:14, we sin when we get careless.
The best course to prevent falling into the pit is to keep at the greatest distance. He that will be so bold as to attempt to dance on the brink of the pit, may find by woeful experience that it is a righteous thing with God that he should fall into the pit."[1]
[1] Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, 1652.
Copyright © 2011 Daryl Wingerd.
Permission granted for reproduction in exact form. All other uses require written permission.
Find more free articles at www.BulletinInserts.org, a ministry of Christian Communicators Worldwide: www.CCWtoday.org
Permission granted for reproduction in exact form. All other uses require written permission.
Find more free articles at www.BulletinInserts.org, a ministry of Christian Communicators Worldwide: www.CCWtoday.org
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