THOUGHTS FROM THOMAS BROOKS

"Reader, remember this: if thy knowledge do not now affect thy heart, it will at last, with a witness, afflict thy heart; if it do not now endear Christ to thee, it will at last provoke Christ the more against thee; if it do not make all the things of Christ to be very precious in thy eyes, it will at last make thee the more vile in Christ's eyes."

"A man's most glorious actions will at last be found to be but glorious sins, if he hath made himself, and not the glory of God, the end of those actions. "

"The best way to do ourselves good is to be doing good to others; the best way to gather is to scatter. "

Thomas Brooks, English Puritan, 1608-1680

HOPE, NOT FEAR

By TRAVIS KUTER

"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings." Psalm 112:7

Trials from within, and from without, are nothing new to the world or the Christian. Today, many seem to be shaken, or shaking, with the barrage of news about the stock market, oil prices, and politics. Dear hearts let us be reminded that as Christians we should not be fearful concerning these things. The Christian should not dread the arrival of bad news.

Are we distressed like the world? Distracted like the world? Fearing like the world? Are we so in love with the world, and what we have that we are afraid of losing it all? It may be that we do lose much or all -- here on earth. But our hope is not here. Not in flesh and blood. Not in Democrat or Republican. Not in the future of the economy or stock market, or 401K, or any other thing or any other person---is it? None of these can help us.

As the old hymn says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”. I like that, don’t you? Don’t those words cheer you just a little? Our hope is in God – “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You” (Psalm 39:7). Our hope is in Christ! “The Lord Jesus Christ, our hope" (I Timothy 1:1). We encourage others with our hope “O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy” (Psalm 130:7). We should continue in hope. “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:13). We hope in Christ’s glorious appearing. “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:13-14).

Now, I hope you enjoy this encouragement from C. H. Spurgeon on Psalm 112:7, to take courage, and have continued confidence in the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:

"Christian, you ought not to dread the arrival of evil tidings; because if you are distressed by them, what do you more than other men? Other men have not your God to fly to; they have never proved His faithfulness as you have done, and it is no wonder if they are bowed down with alarm and cowed with fear: but you profess to be of another spirit; you have been begotten again unto a lively hope, and your heart lives in heaven and not on earthly things; now, if you are seen to be distracted as other men, what is the value of that grace which you profess to have received? Where is the dignity of that new nature which you claim to possess?

"Again, if you should be filled with alarm, as others are, you would, doubtless, be led into the sins so common to others under trying circumstances. The ungodly, when they are overtaken by evil tidings, rebel against God; they murmur, and think that God deals hardly with them. Will you fall into that same sin? Will you provoke the Lord as they do?

"Moreover, unconverted men often run to wrong means in order to escape from difficulties, and you will be sure to do the same if your mind yields to the present pressure. Trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Your wisest course is to do as Moses did at the Red Sea, ‘Stand still and see the salvation of God.’ For if you give way to fear when you hear of evil tidings, you will be unable to meet the trouble with that calm composure which nerves for duty, and sustains under adversity. How can you glorify God if you play the coward? Saints have often sung God’s high praises in the fires, but will your doubting and desponding, as if you had none to help you, magnify the Most High? Then take courage, and relying in sure confidence upon the faithfulness of your covenant God, 'Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid'”

(From Morning & Evening, Sept. 15).

THE WORD-NECESSARY FOOD

BY CHARLES SPURGEON

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

If God so willed it we could live without bread, even as Jesus did for forty days; but we could not live without His Word. By that Word we were created, and by it alone can we be kept in being, for he sustaineth all things by the Word of His power. Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well as with it; and we must not tie Him down to one mode of operation. Let us not be too eager after the visible, but let us look to the invisible God. We have heard believers say that in deep poverty, when bread ran short, their appetites became short, too; and to others, when common supplies failed, the LORD has sent in unexpected help. But we must have the Word of the LORD. With this alone we can withstand the devil. Take this from us, and our enemy will have us in his power, for we shall soon faint. Our souls need food, and there is none for them outside of the Word of the LORD. All the books and all the preachers in the world cannot furnish us a single meal: it is only the Word from the mouth of God that can fill the mouth of a believer. LORD, evermore give us this bread. We prize it above royal dainties.

From Faith’s Checkbook for July 4^th. Emphasis mine-cw

PROBLEMS AND PRESSURES

By Charles Woodruff

Do you ever feel like God is sifting you? Are you puzzled by the purpose of pressures and problems in your life? None of us are without them. Some have more and some have less. If we are Christians we have to keep in mind Romans 8:28; "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" These blessed words are written only for Christians. It has been a comfort for believers since Paul wrote the inspired words nearly 2000 years ago. The unbeliever knows nothing of this, and could not claim this truth (if he would even be interested), without first being regenerated. It is a blessed tonic for the children of God, called a "Divine Cordial" by the Puritan, Thomas Watson, in his classic book on the subject.

There are many things in our lives that do not seem to be working for our good, but God says through His apostle that they indeed do work for good. Often we cannot see the good when going through a trial. We may even ask God to remove the trial, and often He does not. We are called according to His purpose, and He has a purpose in our trials and tribulations. Jesus said "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world"(John 16:33).

I believe the following meditation by Mr. Spurgeon says it very well.


DELIVERANCE FROM DUST AND CHAFF-
C.H. SPURGEON

"For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all sections, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth" (Amos 9:9).

The sifting process is going on still. Wherever we go, we are still being winnowed and sifted. In all countries God's people are being tried "like as corn is sifted in a sieve." Sometimes the devil holds the sieve and tosses us up and down at a great rate, with the earnest desire to get rid of us forever. Unbelief is not slow to agitate our heart and mind with its restless fears. The world lends a willing hand at the same process and shakes us to the right and to the left with great vigor. Worst of all, the church, so largely apostate as it is, comes in to give a more furious force to the sifting process. Well, well! Let it go on. Thus is the chaff severed from the wheat. Thus is the wheat delivered from dust and chaff. And how great is the mercy which comes to us in the text, "Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth"! All shall be preserved that is good, true, gracious. Not one of the least of believers lose anything worth calling a loss. We shall be so kept in the sifting that it shall be a real gain to us through Christ Jesus.
(From Faith's Checkbook for September 23rd).

A SON'S MEMORIES OF SPURGEON

by Charles H. Spurgeon Jr.

If ever a man was sent of God, my father was -- a true apostle and a faithful ambassador of Jesus Christ. Although my judgment may be deemed very partial, I venture to express the opinion that, since the days of Paul, there has not lived a greater or more powerful exponent of the doctrines of grace, or a more able and successful preacher of the "saying" which is "worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." There was no one who could preach like my father. In inexhaustible variety, witty wisdom, vigorous proclamation, loving entreaty, and lucid teaching, with a multitude of other qualities, he must, at least in my opinion, ever be regarded as the prince of preachers. From the days when, as a little boy, I sat behind the platform, in the high-backed and well-cushioned seat in the dear old Tabernacle, with silver pencil-case and neat pocket-book, to take notes of my beloved father's sermons, until this present time, I have looked upon him as "the prime minister of England."

There was one trait in his noble and godly character, which, among many others, always shone with a lustre peculiarly its own. His humility was of a Christlike character. Words of eulogy concerning himself were ever painful to him, his motto in this, as in all other matters, being, "not I, but Christ;" yet, from his own child some meed of praise may surely come, and the son would fain render all due honour to the best of fathers. His blameless example, his holy consistency, his genial love, his generous liberality, his wise counsel, and his fearless fidelity to God and His truth, are all on a par with his fatherliness; and in my heart, as in all those with whom he came into contact, these qualities have been enshrined. The matchless grace and goodness, manifested in the home, found their counterpart in his public career, and proved how completely the spirit of the Master permeated the whole life of His servant. What my father was to me, to the Church of Christ, and to the world at large, none can ever fully estimate, but those who knew him best understood the secret of his magic power, for they felt that he "had been with Jesus," and that Jesus lived in him.

C. H. SPURGEON AUTOBIOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, THE FULL HARVEST, pp. 278-279 (Banner of Truth, 1973).

The famous Spurgeon of London is thus memorialized by one of his twin sons. Note please the emphasis upon Spurgeon's "humility" and "holy consistency," some of the marks which his son and others saw to be "the secret of his magic power." To some small degree may this grace, goodness, and Christlikeness be ours. Adapted by w.F. Bell

UNCOVER AND CONFESS SIN- C.H. SPURGEON

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

Here is the way of mercy for a guilty and repenting sinner. He must cease from the habit of covering sin. This is attempted by falsehood, which denies sin; by hypocrisy, which conceals it; by boasting, which justifies it; and by loud profession, which tries to make amends for it. The sinner's business is to confess and forsake. The two must go together. Confession must be honestly made to the LORD Himself, and it must include within itself acknowledgment of the wrong, sense of its evil, and abhorrence of it. We must not throw the fault upon others, nor blame circumstances, nor plead natural weakness. We must make a clean breast of it and plead guilty to the indictment. There can be no mercy till this is done. Furthermore, we must forsake the evil; having owned our fault, we must disown all present and future intent to abide in it. We cannot remain in rebellion and yet dwell with the King's majesty. The habit of evil must be quitted, together with all places, companions, pursuits, and books which might lead us astray. Not for confession, nor for reformation, but in connection with them we find pardon by faith in the blood of Jesus.
(from Faith's Checkbook for August 16th)

POLITICS AND POLITICIANS

BY W.F. BELL

QUESTION: Do we ever really learn anything from the past?

Providentially, I came across the following quotes about politics, nestled in the back of a book I have had for many years. In light of the current hoopla in America about politics and who are the best political candidates, may these "words of truth and soberness" from past politicians and writers speak powerfully to us as reminders that "All is not gold that glitters." Christ alone is "The Truth." I cannot verify the accuracy or the exact source of these quotes, but they are given as published by a large publishing company:

"Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."
Mao Tse-tung

"Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war, you can be killed once, but in politics many times."
Sir Winston Churchill

"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."
Robert Louis Stevenson

"Politics makes strange bedfellows."
Charles Dudley Warner

"The politician is an acrobat. He keeps his balance by saying the opposite of what he does."
Maurice Barres

"Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river."
Nikita Khrushchev

"Politics is such a torment that I would advise everyone I love not to mix with it."
Thomas Jefferson

"I learned one thing in politics. If you go into it, then sooner or later you have to compromise. You either compromise or get out."
Hugh Sloan

"Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him."
Charles de Gaulle

"SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE SEEK UNTO THEIR GOD?" (Isaiah 8:19).

"BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (Matthew 6:33).