Charles Spurgeon speaks of The Holy Spirit from his sermon, “The Comforter.” “I am in distress, And I want consolation. Some passer-by hears of my sorrow, and steps within, sits down and assays to cheer me; he speaks soothing words but he loves me not; he is a stranger; he knows me not at all; he is only come in to try his skill. And what is the consequence? His words run over me like oil on a slab of marble. They are like the pattering rain upon the rock; they do not break my grief; It stands unmoved as adamant, because he has no love for me.” “But let someone who loves me dear as his own life come and plead with me, then truly his words are music, They taste like honey. He knows the password of the doors of my heart, and my ear is attentive…
Healing at the Cross Posts
The days are bitter-sweet, a joyful celebration, a frightful death. The days are dark, the night is bright, the lows are high, the highs are low. We are living in the last days. Paul called them perilous times where men would by lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:5 Friends, turn away, turn away, He will guide us with His counsel and after lead us to glory. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same…
As we watched and talked and grieved for our final support grouping, a theme emerged as central –pain and joy can co-exist, yes, must co-exist, and often. Moving on from a season, long or short, of grieving may require determined will in the midst of a lot of pain. This hard lesson will be repeated throughout our Christian life as we move past obstacles of failures, sin, regrets, loss, sickness; hurts of all kinds. Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye… Snares and…
I had fed the fire and stirred it, till the sparkles in delight, Snapped their saucy little fingers at the Chill December night; And in dressing gown And Slippers I had tilted back “My throne .” — The old split-bottomed Rocker, And was musing all alone . I can hear the hungry Winter prowling Round the outer door, And the tread of muffled footsteps on the white piazza floor; But the sounds Came to me only as the murmur of a stream That mingled with the current of a lazy flowing dream. Like a fragrant incense rising, Curled the smoke of my cigar, With the lamp light gleaning through it, Like a mist-enfolded star; — And as I gazed, The vapor like a curtain rolled away, With a sound of bells That tinkled, And the clatter of a sleigh. And in a vision Painted like a picture in the…
I visited a friend who was dying in hospice. I was so surprised as there were no family attending his bedroom. We also arrived a hair too late as Bill was already gone. A flurry of thought and adrenaline flooded my brain as I felt also the lone-ness of this sacred passing. First, I wondered where were the family? Then, I thought, where were we, the friends? But; I realized that Bill had left all to follow Jesus and certainly the Lord Himself had witnessed the graduation of Bill into his most blessed state. I rejoiced in myself remembering that “absent from the body” means immediate “presence with the Lord.” Hallelujah! “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalm 115:16 Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman remarks in her commentary: you were never popular on earth, and nobody knew much about you. The life you…
Through the cross of Christ we die to ourselves. He took us with Him to that death; He died ‘for’ us but also ‘as’ us. Our new life has co-crucifixion stamped all over it. Christ died, yea rather has risen and we with Him. We are risen unto eternal life. Eternal; have you thought of it? A life with no beginning and no ending resides in your being. It supersedes and replaces the mere natural life which has been corrupted by the deceitful lusts. That old life and old man are judged forever, and we know it, believe it and reckon it. Romans 6 teaches us. I am required to make the choice of living in the new, otherwise the old usurps and re-establishes itself. ‘Choices’ themselves reside in the new man; in the old I only have the illusion of free choice. I must take care to establish, feed,…
“In 165, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, a devastating epidemic swept through the Roman Empire.” “…it was the first appearance of Smallpox in the west, Zinsser (1934). “But, whatever the actual disease, it was lethal. During the fifteen year duration of the epidemic, from a quarter to a third of the empire’s population died from it, including Marcus Aurelius himself.” ” Then in 251 a new and equally devastating epidemic again swept the empire, hitting the rural areas as hard as the cities.” “This time it may have been measles.” “The Rise of Christianity” Rodney Stark “…the role they, (the plagues), likely played in the decline of Rome was ignored by historians until modern times.” ” again and again, the forward march of Roman power and world organization was interrupted by the only force against which political genius and military valor were utterly helpless — epidemic disease.” Zinsser…
Every day we: Have a new day to rejoice in, Have new mercies, are loaded with benefits, have daily bread take up a daily cross (in identification with His cross). are renewed in the Spirit of our minds. Every day we are counted as sheep for the slaughter as spoken of in Romans 8. But we are already dead, buried and resurrected in taking up our daily cross. We carry about in our body the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the life of Christ might be manifested in our mortal bodies. Death worketh in us that life might be worked in others. Though our outward man perishes, our inward man is renewed dad by day. Many have learned to live one day at a time. They take no thought for tomorrow; sufficient for today is the evil thereof. They forget what is past and press on…
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:12 What is this perfect Law of Liberty?”…the genuine ability of a living creature to manifest its whole nature, to do and be itself — most unrestrainedly.” Where resides this Perfect Law of Liberty? “…the law of liberty is that which issues from the tendencies of a man’s own nature inwardly filled with God.” “Look at Christ, and see it in perfection. His was the freest life man that ever lived. Nothing could ever bind Him. He walked across old Jewish traditions, and they snapped like cobwebs.” Phillips Brooks, The Candle of the Lord. Likewise, the Spirit-filled believer looks into “the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein — ” (James 1:25). He keeps the free posture, he operates freely. “He has a little mirror in his soul that keeps reflecting the nature of…
“His mercy is judgment”; “His judgment is mercy.” — Preacher’s Homiletic. Psalm 62:12 tells us “Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongs mercy…” On the subject of mercy, John Chrysostom speaks. “She has silver wings like the dove, and feathers of gold, and soars aloft, and is clothed with Divine glory, and stands by the throne of God; when we are in danger of being condemned, she rises up and pleads for us, and covers us with her defense, and enfolds us in her wings. God loves mercy more than sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13). Have you ever read James 2:13 where it is said, “mercy rejoices against judgment?” Can this be demonstrated? From Dr. Carl H. Stevens, “In word and deed I love them (others), beyond my understanding, not operating in morality which would legislate ‘an eye for an eye’ in revenge. It’s beyond turning the other cheek, it’s turning my…