Word of Truth - Guidance from God's Word

Jun 27, 2008 at 19:12 o\clock

Seek Him in Everything

by: dondegr

Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference: Jeremiah 1:7 

Seek Him in Everything

On whatsoever errand I shall send thee thou shalt go; and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
JEREMIAH 1:7 (R. V. MARGIN)

THERE is no change of time and place with Thee;
Where'er I go, 't is still with me the same;
Within Thy presence I rejoice to be,
And always hallow Thy most holy name.
JONES VERY

BE assured of this, you do not know God in truth, and have no true peace, if you are depending upon times and places. Remember that whatever God gives you to do, from moment to moment, that is the very best thing you could possibly be doing, and you little know where and when the Lord will meet you. He who does not seek and find God everywhere, and in everything, finds Him nowhere and in nothing. And he who is not at the Lord's service in everything, is at His service in nothing.
JOHN TAULER

God must be sought and seen in His providences; it is not our actions in themselves considered which please Him, but the spirit in which they are done, more especially the constant ready obedience to every discovery of His will, even in the minutest things, and with such a suppleness and flexibility of mind as not to adhere to anything, but to turn and move in any direction where He shall call.
MADAME GUYON

Jun 25, 2008 at 19:29 o\clock

Close to Christ

by: dondegr

Author: Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Morning: Higher Knowledge of Christ
Evening: No Rest in Sin

Morning: Higher Knowledge of Christ

"Get thee up into the high mountain."

--Isaiah 40:9

Our knowledge of Christ is somewhat like climbing one of our Welsh mountains. When you are at the base you see but little: the mountain itself appears to be but one-half as high as it really is. Confined in a little valley, you discover scarcely anything but the rippling brooks as they descend into the stream at the foot of the mountain. Climb the first rising knoll, and the valley lengthens and widens beneath your feet. Go higher, and you see the country for four or five miles round, and you are delighted with the widening prospect. Mount still, and the scene enlarges; till at last, when you are on the summit, and look east, west, north, and south, you see almost all England lying before you. Yonder is a forest in some distant county, perhaps two hundred miles away, and here the sea, and there a shining river and the smoking chimneys of a manufacturing town, or the masts of the ships in a busy port. All these things please and delight you, and you say, "I could not have imagined that so much could be seen at this elevation."

Now, the Christian life is of the same order. When we first believe in Christ we see but little of Him. The higher we climb the more we discover of His beauties. But who has ever gained the summit? Who has known all the heights and depths of the love of Christ which passes knowledge? Paul, when grown old, sitting grey-haired, shivering in a dungeon in Rome, could say with greater emphasis than we can, "I know whom I have believed," for each experience had been like the climbing of a hill, each trial had been like ascending another summit, and his death seemed like gaining the top of the mountain, from which he could see the whole of the faithfulness and the love of Him to whom he had committed his soul. Get thee up, dear friend, into the high mountain.

Evening: No Rest in Sin

"The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot."

--Genesis 8:9

Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you. If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false. If your soul can stretch herself at rest, and find the bed long enough, and the coverlet broad enough to cover her in the chambers of sin, then you are a hypocrite, and far enough from any right thoughts of Christ or perception of His preciousness.

But if, on the other hand, you feel that if you could indulge in sin without punishment, yet it would be a punishment of itself; and that if you could have the whole world, and abide in it for ever, it would be quite enough misery not to be parted from it; for your God--your God--is what your soul craves after; then be of good courage, thou art a child of God.

With all thy sins and imperfections, take this to thy comfort: if thy soul has no rest in sin, thou are not as the sinner is! If thou art still crying after and craving after something better, Christ has not forgotten thee, for thou hast not quite forgotten Him. The believer cannot do without his Lord; words are inadequate to express his thoughts of Him.

We cannot live on the sands of the wilderness, we want the manna which drops from on high; our skin bottles of creature confidence cannot yield us a drop of moisture, but we drink of the rock which follows us, and that rock is Christ. When you feed on Him your soul can sing, "He hath satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's," but if you have Him not, your bursting wine vat and well-filled barn can give you no sort of satisfaction: rather lament over them in the words of wisdom, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!"

Jun 19, 2008 at 00:12 o\clock

Christ our Object

by: dondegr

Some of you have truly been brought by God to believe in Jesus. Yet you have no abiding peace, and very little growth in holiness. Why is this? It is because your eye is fixed anywhere but on Christ. You are so busy looking at books, or looking at men, or looking at the world, that you have no time, no heart, for looking at Christ. No wonder you have little peace and joy in believing. No wonder you live so inconsistent and unholy a life. Change your plan. Consider the greatness and glory of Christ, who has undertaken all in the stead of sinners, and you would find it quite impossible to walk in darkness, or to walk in sin. Oh, what low, despicable thoughts you have of the glorious Immanuel! Lift your eyes from your own bosom, downcast believer - look upon Jesus. It is good to consider your ways, but it is far better to consider Jesus. Oh, believer, consider Jesus. Meditate on these things. Look and look again, until your peace flows like a river. - Robert Murray M’Cheyne

To those who love the Lord Jesus and believe in Him, and yet desire to love Him better, suffer this word of exhortation, and apply it to your heart. Keep before your mind, an ever-present truth, that the Lord Jesus is an actual living person, and deal with Him as such. I fear the personality of our Lord is sadly lost sight of by many Christians in the present day. Their talk is more about salvation than about the Savior; more about redemption than about the Redeemer; more about justification than about Jesus; more about Christ's work than about Christ's person. This is a great fault, and one that fully accounts for the dry and sapless character of the faith of many Christians. If you would grow in grace, and have joy and peace in believing, then beware of falling into this error. Cease to regard the gospel as a mere collection of dry doctrines. Look at it rather as the revelation of a mighty living Being in whose sight you are daily to live. Cease to regard it as a mere set of abstract propositions and principles and rules. Look at it as the introduction to a glorious Friend. This is the kind of gospel that the apostles preached. They did not go about the world telling men of love and mercy and pardon in the abstract. The leading subject of all their sermons was the loving heart of an actual living Christ. Nothing surely is so likely to prepare us for that heaven where Christ's personal presence will be all, and that glory where we shall meet Christ face to face, as to realize communion with Christ as an actual living Person here on earth. Oh, there is all the difference in the world between an idea and a person. - J.C. Ryle

Here let us examine ourselves with great anxiety, for on many points we may come short. As for instance, we may fail in reference to the Object of our faith. A man may say, “I have faith,” but another question arises, “What have you faith in?” “Well, I have faith in what I have felt.” Then get rid of it! What you have felt is not an object of faith, nor to be trusted in at all. “I have faith,” says another, “in the doctrines which I have been taught.” I am glad you believe them, but remember, doctrines are not the Savior. A man may believe all the doctrines of the Truth of God and yet he may be lost. A creed cannot save, neither can a dogma redeem. What is the object of faith, then? It is a Person. It is a living, Divine, Person. And who is that Person? He is none other than Jesus, the Son of God, God over all, blessed forever, born into this world for our sakes! No faith will save a man which does not rest upon Jesus Christ. To rely upon Christ in part is deadly—our faith must be altogether unmixed. If I depend in part upon the righteousness of Christ, and in part upon anything else, I am lost forever! Jesus will be a whole Savior or no Savior. I must throw my whole weight upon Him and cling to Him, alone, for no other can save me from destruction. - C. H. Spurgeon

Jun 18, 2008 at 18:42 o\clock

Encouragement when weary

by: dondegr

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: Hebrews 12:12-13 

Limp Hands and Feeble Knees

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed" (Heb. 12:12-13).

This is God's word of encouragement to us to lift up the hands of faith, and confirm the knees of prayer. Often our faith grows tired, languid, and relaxed, and our prayers lose their force and effectiveness.

The figure used here is a very striking one. The idea seems to be that we become discouraged and so timid that a little obstacle depresses and frightens us, and we are tempted to walk around it, and not face it: to take the easier way.

Perhaps it is some physical trouble that God is ready to heal, but the exertion is hard, or it is easier to secure some human help, or walk around in some other way.

There are many ways of walking around emergencies instead of going straight through them. How often we come up against something that appalls us, and we want to evade the issue with the excuse:

"I am not quite ready for that now." Some sacrifice is to be made, some obedience demanded, some Jericho to be taken, some soul that we have not the courage to claim and carry through, some prayer that is hanging fire, or perhaps some physical trouble that is half healed and we are walking around it.

God says, "Lift up the hands that hang down." March straight through the flood, and lo, the waters will divide, the Red Sea will open, the Jordan will part, and the Lord will lead you through to victory.

Don't let your feet "be turned out of the way," but let your body "be healed," your faith strengthened. Go right ahead and leave no Jericho behind you unconquered and no place where Satan can say that he was too much for you. This is a profitable lesson and an intensely practical one. How often have we been in that place. Perhaps you are there today. --A. B. Simpson

Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible. Plough ahead as a steamer does, rough or smooth--rain or shine. To carry your cargo and make your port is the point. --Maltbie D. Babcock

 



This classic devotional is the unabridged edition of Streams in the Desert. This first edition was published in 1925 and the wording is preserved as originally written. Connotations of words may have changed over the years and are not meant to be offensive.

Jun 9, 2008 at 18:57 o\clock

Overcoming Faith

by: dondegr

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: 1 John 5:4 

Faith Can Change Any Situation

"For every child of God overcomes the world: and the victorious principle which has overcome the world is our faith" (1 John 5:4, Weymouth).

At every turn in the road one can find something that will rob him of his victory and peace of mind, if he permits it. Satan is a long way from having retired from the business of deluding and ruining God's children if he can. At every milestone it is well to look carefully to the thermometer of one's experience, to see whether the temperature is well up.

Sometimes a person can, if he will, actually snatch victory from the very jaws of defeat, if he will resolutely put his faith up at just the right moment.

Faith can change any situation. No matter how dark it is, no matter what the trouble may be, a quick lifting of the heart to God in a moment of real, actual faith in Him, will alter the situation in a moment.

God is still on His throne, and He can turn defeat into victory in a second of time, if we really trust Him.

"God is mighty! He is able to deliver;
Faith can victor be in every trying hour;
Fear and care and sin and sorrow be defeated
By our faith in God's almighty, conquering power.

"Have faith in God, the sun will shine,
Though dark the clouds may be today;
His heart has planned your path and mine,
Have faith in God, have faith alway."

"When one has faith, one does not retire; one stops the enemy where he finds him." --Marshal Foch

 



This classic devotional is the unabridged edition of Streams in the Desert. This first edition was published in 1925 and the wording is preserved as originally written. Connotations of words may have changed over the years and are not meant to be offensive.

Jun 7, 2008 at 21:07 o\clock

Teach me to pray

by: dondegr

MORNING SCRIPTURE: Psalm 59:1-17

MORNING VERSE: Psalm 59:16
But I will sing of Thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning: for Thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Although he had never heard the words, David knew well the lesson of James 5:16, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.." Constantly being pursued by Saul and his men, David knew he must consistently pray to God for deliverance. He needed an open line to Heaven, a prayer line, and he needed to use that line frequently.

David begins Psalm 59 with a prayer: "Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me." Deliverance from enemies and oppressors is the almost constant cry of David (cf. Psalms 22:20; 25:20; 31:1-2, 15; 35:17; 40:13; 43:1; etc.). Here, however, David is still crying out to God and praising Him for deliverance from Saul's many attempts to assassinate him. He notes that Saul's men "lie in wait" for his soul and "run and prepare themselves without my fault" (Psalm 59:3). Saul had sent his emissaries to David's house to watch him and to slay him in the morning (1 Samuel 19:11). Time and time again David was close enough to Saul's men to hear them making noises like a dog. Still, time and time again, God delivered him from the wrath of Saul and his men.

The psalmist is confident of deliverance from his oppressors and declares, "But Thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them." God miraculously arranged for David's malicious enemies to be made the objects of ridicule. For example, Saul's men had been made fools of by Michal, David's wife (cf.1 Samuel 19:12). With a twinkle of confidence shining through, David exclaims, "The God of my mercy shall prevent [meet] me." He knew that continued deliverance was but a prayer away.

Confident of his deliverance, the psalmist resolved, "I will sing of Thy power . . . of Thy mercy in the morning" (Psalm 59:16). While the wicked howl, the righteous sing. It is simply the nature of each. Throughout the night David would be pursued by the wicked men of Saul, but by morning's first light, he would be found singing praises unto God for His power and mercy. The psalmist rightly joins these two divine attributes together. Take away God's strength and He cannot protect us. Take away His mercy and He will not protect us. The two go hand in hand and become ours each time we stretch the prayer line to Heaven.

There is a woman in Kansas who promised many people she would remember them daily in prayer. Because she was a busy woman, washing and ironing daily throughout the week, she came to realize that it would be difficult to fulfill her prayer commitments to her friends. Then one day as she looked out the window she saw clothes drying on the line and an idea came to her. She strung a cord across one corner of her kitchen and hung cards on it with the names of those for whom she had promised to intercede. Now, while she does her ironing, she prays for those whose names are on the cards. The secret to her prayer life is the consistency with which she remembers those for whom she has promised to pray. She literally has a prayer line in her kitchen.

Although David had no kitchen, and no cord stretched across it, he too had a prayer line to God. He consistently referred to the throne of grace all the difficulties that he encountered. He aroused himself to pray every morning because he knew that God had been his defense and refuge throughout the night.

What a joy it is to greet the morning by greeting God in prayer. Though the dogs of distress howl all night, with the first light of morning comes the song of power and mercy. Don't neglect a consistent, early morning prayer time with the Lord. It will make a positive day for you.

MORNING HYMN

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
This is my heart cry, day unto day;
I long to know Thy will and Thy way;
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

Jun 6, 2008 at 20:02 o\clock

Attitude of Trust

by: dondegr

 

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: Genesis 24:15-27 

Attitude of Trust

"And it came to pass, before he had done speaking...and he said, Blessed be Jehovah…who hath not forsaken his lovingkindness and his truth" (Gen. 24:15, 27).

Every right prayer is answered before the prayer itself is finished--before we have "done speaking." This is because God has pledged His Word to us that whatsoever we ask in Christ's name (that is, in oneness with Christ and His will) and in faith, shall be done.

As God's Word cannot fail, whenever we meet those simple conditions in prayer, the answer to our prayer has been granted and completed in Heaven as we pray, even though its showing forth on earth may not occur until long afterward.

So it is well to close every prayer with praise to God for the answer that He has already granted; He who never forsakes His loving-kindness and His truth. (See Daniel 9:20-27 and 10:12.) --Messages for the Morning Watch

When we believe for a blessing, we must take the attitude of faith, and begin to act and pray as if we had the blessing. We must treat God as if He had given us our request. We must lean our weight over upon Him for the thing that we have claimed, and just take it for granted that He gives it, and is going to continue to give it. This is the attitude of trust.

When the wife is married, she at once falls into a new attitude, and acts in accordance with the fact; and so when we take Christ as our Savior, as our Sanctifier, as our Healer, or as our Deliverer, He expects us to fall into the attitude of recognizing Him in the capacity that we have claimed, and expect Him to be to us all that we have trusted Him for. --Selected

"The thing I ask when God doth bid me pray,
Begins in that same act to come my way."



This classic devotional is the unabridged edition of Streams in the Desert. This first edition was published in 1925 and the wording is preserved as originally written. Connotations of words may have changed over the years and are not meant to be offensive.



Jun 2, 2008 at 20:04 o\clock

Gifts thru Travail

by: dondegr

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: Romans 4:18-19 

Greatest Gifts Come Through Travail

"For Abraham, when hope was gone, hoped on in faith. His faith never quailed" (Rom. 4:18-19).

We shall never forget a remark that George Mueller once made to a gentleman who had asked him the best way to have strong faith.

"The only way," replied the patriarch of faith, "to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings." This is very true. The time to trust is when all else fails.

Dear one, you scarcely realize the value of your present opportunity; if you are passing through great afflictions you are in the very soul of the strongest faith, and if you will only let go, He will teach you in these hours the mightiest hold upon His throne which you can ever know.

"Be not afraid, only believe." And if you are afraid, just look up and say, "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee," and you will yet thank God for the school of sorrow which was to you the school of faith. --A. B. Simpson

"Great faith must have great trials."

"God's greatest gifts come through travail. Whether we look into the spiritual or temporal sphere, can we discover anything, any great reform, any beneficent discovery, any soul-awakening revival, which did not come through the toils and tears, the vigils and blood-shedding of men and women whose sufferings were the pangs of its birth? If the temple of God is raised, David must bear sore afflictions; if the Gospel of the grace of God is to be disentangled from Jewish tradition, Paul's life must be one long agony."

"Take heart, O weary, burdened one, bowed down
Beneath thy cross;
Remember that thy greatest gain may come
Through greatest loss.
Thy life is nobler for a sacrifice,
And more divine.
Acres of bloom are crushed to make a drop
Of perfume fine.

"Because of storms that lash the ocean waves,
The waters there
Keep purer than if the heavens o'erhead
Were always fair.
The brightest banner of the skies floats not
At noonday warm;
The rainbow traileth after thunder-clouds,
And after storm."

 



This classic devotional is the unabridged edition of Streams in the Desert. This first edition was published in 1925 and the wording is preserved as originally written. Connotations of words may have changed over the years and are not meant to be offensive.