iChristian

A cross of their own choosing!

(Thomas Watson, “The Art of Divine Contentment”)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
 I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot.
 In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content;
 whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.”
Philippians 4:11-12

Paul knew how to manage in every state–he learned to be content whatever his circumstances.
If he was in prosperity, he knew how to be thankful.
If he was in adversity, he knew how to be patient.
He was neither lifted up with prosperity, nor cast down with adversity.

A Christian should be content in any and every situation.
Many are contented in some conditions–but not in every condition.
They can be content in a wealthy state.
When they have the streams of milk and honey–now they are content;
  but if the wind turns and is against them–now they are discontented.
While they have a silver crutch to lean upon–they are contented;
  but if God breaks this crutch–now they are discontented.

Many would be content with their affliction–if God would allow them to pick and choose! They could better endure sickness–than poverty; or bear loss of estate–than loss of children. If they might have a cross of their own choosing, they would be content!

But a contented Christian does not desire to choose his cross–but leaves God to choose for him! He is content both for the kind of the afflictions, and the duration of the afflictions, which God gives him. A contented man says, “Let God apply whatever medicine He pleases, and let it lie on as long as He desires. I know when it has done its cure, and eaten the venom of sin out of my heart–that God will take it away!”

A contented Christian, being sweetly captivated under the authority of the Word, desires to be wholly at God’s disposal, and cheerfully lives in whatever circumstances that God has placed him in. “I delight in weaknesses, in  insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) He does not only submit to God’s dealings, but rejoices in them!

O stand amazed at His free grace!

(Thomas Sherman, “Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ”)

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O precious saint! Three questions call for your answer:
   1. What were you? 
   2. What are you? 
   3. What shall you be?

1. What were you? 
  Dead in your transgressions and sins, 
  a rebel to your God, 
  a prodigal to your Father, 
  a slave to your lust, 
  the devil’s captive, 
  on the highway to Hell!

2. What are you? 
  Redeemed by Christ, 
  a royal child of God, 
  the spouse of Christ,
  the temple of the Holy Spirit, 
  the heir of a priceless eternal inheritance!

3. What shall you be? 
  A glorious saint, 
  a companion of angels, 
  a triumphant victor, 
  a crowned king, 
  an attendant on the Lamb, 
  a participant in those soul-ravishing and ineffable excellencies that are in God! 
You shall behold the King of Glory face to face, and enjoy immediate communion with Jesus Christ! 

Nay more, you are made one with Him:
  clothed with His excellencies,
  enthroned with His glories,
  crowned with His eternity,
  and filled with His felicity!

“No eye has seen, 
 no ear has heard, and 
 no mind has imagined . . .
what God has prepared for those who love Him!” 1 Corinthians 2:9

O stand amazed at His free grace–and render all the glory to God!

If you meet that poor wretch who thrust his spear into My side!

(Benjamin Grosvenor, “The Temper of Jesus Christ towards His Enemies, and His Grace to the Chief of Sinners”)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

“Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47

It is very affecting that the first offers of grace should be made to those who, of all people in the world–had done Him the most harm! 

One would rather have expected the apostles would have received another kind of charge, and that Christ wouldhave said: “Let repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached–but do NOT carry it to Jerusalem, that wicked city, that has been the slaughter-house of my prophets, whom I have often sent. Last of all, I myself, the Son, came–and with wicked hands, they have crucified and murdered Me! They may do the same to you! Do not let the gospel enter those wicked gates, through which they led Me, its Author, to crucifixion!”

But Christ singles out exactly these murderous people of Jerusalem–to make monuments of His mercy, and commands the first offer of eternal life to be made to them! 

As if our Lord had said: “Lest the poor house of Israel should think themselves abandoned to eternal despair–as cruel and vile as they have been–go, make the first offer of grace to them! Let those who spilled My blood–be welcome to its healing virtue. Tell them that there is repentance and forgiveness, even for them!

“Nay,  if you meet that poor wretch who thrust his spear into My side, tell him that there is another way, a better way of coming to My heart–even My heart’s love! Tell him, that if he will repent, and look upon Me whom he has pierced, and will mourn–then I will cherish him in that very bosom which he has wounded! Tell him that he shall find the blood which he has shed–to be an ample atonement for the sin of shedding it! And tell him from Me, that he will put Me to more pain and displeasure by refusing this offer of My blood–than when he first drew it forth!” 

“For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance!” Matthew 9:13

(John Fawcett, “Christ Precious“)

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You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you READ the text below.

“Leaving you an example so that you should follow in His steps.” 1 Peter 2:21

“He who says he abides in Him, should  walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:6

We see, in our Divine Leader, the several precepts of God’s Word drawn out in living characters. We behold them reduced to practice, and represented to the life–in the whole of His conduct towards God and man. We see one in our nature, amidst all the assaults of temptation, amidst all the opposition which malignity could invent, and all the allurements of this glittering world–behaving in a manner exactly agreeable to the dictates of the Divine law, and leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. 

Surely it must be delightful, not only to contemplate His character–but to the utmost of our power to imitate the most perfect pattern which was ever exhibited. It must be desirable, by constant and strenuous exertions, according to our measure, to endeavor to trace the steps of His lovely feet.

It is impossible to contemplate the character of Jesus, with serious and devout attention–and not be charmed with it. We see in Him, all the human virtues in the highest perfection. His joys were grave, his griefs were just; his gentleness and his severity, his holiness and his humanity–were in perfect harmony with each other. He manifested great tenderness, and genuine affection, and sensibility to human woe–on all occasions.

As He did no sin–so, on the other hand, every shining virtue was exemplified in Him to highest degree.
His humility and meekness; 
His contempt of the world; 
His heavenly temper; 
His love to the Father, and zeal for His honor; 
His activity and diligence in doing good; 
His submission to the Father’s will; 
His patience amidst the heaviest and severest sufferings;
His constancy in the exercises of retired devotion; and 
His praying for His enemies who spilt His blood
–can never be sufficiently admired. 

When you are tempted to any vanity–set the blessed Redeemer before you, consider His example, and ask yourself, “How would Jesus, my Lord and Master, have acted in such a case? Would He have spent His time upon such trifles? Would He have spoken such and such; or done this or the other thing, which I am solicited to do? And shall I give way to that which would be a manifest deviation from His example? God forbid!”

O Christians, fix your eyes intensely on the great exemplar! Thus you will, through Divine grace, daily grow in love with meekness, patience, and lowliness of heart. 

The more I contemplate His lovely character while He sojourned on earth–the more I am delighted with it. To have the same mind in me which was in Christ Jesus, and to tread in His steps–should be my constant aim. Those who are received by Him to the possession of everlasting felicity in Heaven–have humbly traced His footsteps upon earth. Of them it is said, “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes!” They are forevermore led by Him, even in the celestial world–to the enjoyment of ever-new delights and pleasures!

(Octavius Winslow, “Morning Thoughts”)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio 
 
The gospel is the master-work of Jehovah, presenting the greatest display of His manifold wisdom, and the most costly exhibition of the riches of His grace. In constructing it, He would seem to have summoned all the resources of His own infinity to His aid . . . 
    His fathomless wisdom, 
    His boundless love, 
    His illimitable grace, 
    His infinite power, 
    His spotless holiness 
 –all contributed their glory, and conspired to present it to the universe as the most consummate piece of Divine workmanship!
 
 The revelations it makes, 
 the facts it records, 
 the doctrines it propounds, 
 the effects is produces– 
 proclaim it to be the “glorious gospel of the blessed God.”
 
 We live encircled by shadows . . . 
   our friends are shadows, 
   our comforts are shadows, 
   our supports are shadows, 
   our pursuits are shadows, and 
   we ourselves are shadows passing away! 
 
 But in the precious gospel we have substance, we have reality, we have that which remains with us when all other things disappear, leaving . . .
   the soul desolate, 
   the heart bleeding, and 
   the spirit bowed in sorrow to the dust. 
 
 But the gospel . . . 
    guides our perplexities, 
    mitigates our griefs, 
    sanctifies our sorrows, 
    heals our wounds, 
    dries our tears, 
 because it leads us to . . . 
    the love of Jesus, 
    the tenderness of Jesus, 
    the sympathy of Jesus, 
    the grace of Jesus! 
 
 The gospel . . . 
    reveals Jesus, 
    speaks mainly of Jesus, 
    leads simply to Jesus, 
 and this makes it “glad tidings of great joy,” to a miserable, lost, and Hell-bound sinner!

🎶 “Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King…His love endures forever. For He is good, He is above all things, his love endures forever. Sing praise, sing praise!” 🎶 🎤🎸🥁

I do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

All of his views, desires, and pursuits, become changed! 

(Charles Simeon)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath!” Ephesians 2:1-3

The heart of an unregenerate man is as spiritually dead and senseless as the nether millstone!

The Gospel, with all its alluring promises, may be proclaimed to him–but the unregenerate man does not receive it. The Gospel has no allurements for him. Nor do the denunciations of judgment and Hell excite any alarm in him.

But when God gives him a new heart, and puts a new spirit within him, and takes away his heart of stone–then all of his views, desires, and pursuits, become changed! Being alive to God–he will be alive to all holy exercises, and find his happiness in the enjoyment of his God!

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us  alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved!” Ephesians 2:4-5

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;
 I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
 I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
 And I will put my Spirit in you and cause you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:25-27

An excellent way of commenting upon the Bible!

(Thomas Watson)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

“How I love Your teaching! It is my meditation all day long.” Psalm 119:97

Chrysostom compares the Scripture to a garden–every truth is a fragrant flower which we should wear, not on our bosom, but in our heart!

David counted the Word “sweeter than honey and the honeycomb”.
There is that in Scripture which may breed delight. It shows us the way . . .
  to riches, Deuteronomy 28:8, Proverbs 3:30;
  to long life, Psalm 34:42;
  to a Kingdom, Hebrews 12:28.

Well then may we count those the sweetest hours, which are spent in reading the holy Scriptures. Well may we say with the prophet, “Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart!”

Conform to Scripture. 
Let us lead Scripture lives.
Oh that the Bible might be seen printed in our lives!
Do what the Word commands.

Obedience is an excellent way of commenting upon the Bible.
“Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth.”
Let the Word be the sun-dial by which you set your life.

What are we the better for having the Scripture,
if we do not direct all our speech and actions according to it?

What are we the better for the rule of the Word,
if we do not make use of it, and regulate our lives by it?

What a dishonor is it to religion, for men to live in contradiction to Scripture!

The Word is called a “light to our feet”. It is not only a light to our eyes to mend our sight–but to our feet to mend our walk. Oh let us lead Bible lives!
 
Be thankful to God for the Scriptures. What a mercy is it that God has not only acquainted us what His will is, but that He has made it known by writing!

The Scripture is our pole-star to direct us to Heaven–it shows us every step we are to take. When we go wrong–it instructs us; when we go right–it comforts us.
 
Adore God’s distinguishing grace, if you have felt the power and authority of the Word upon your conscience–if you can say as David, “Your Word has quickened me.” Christian, bless God that He has not only given you His Word to be a rule of holiness–but His grace to be a principle of holiness. Bless God that He has not only written His Word, but sealed it upon your heart, and made it effectual. Can you say it is of divine inspiration, because you have felt it to be of lively operation?

Oh free grace!
That God should send out His Word, and heal you.
That He should heal you, and not others!
That the same Scripture which to them is a dead letter, should be to you a savor of life!

Milk-white!

(Thomas Watson, “The Lord’s Supper“)

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“The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin!” 1 John 1:7

Christ’s blood is a CLEANSING blood.

As the merit of Christ’s blood pacifies God, so the virtue of it purifies us. Christ’s blood is heaven’s bath. It is a laver to wash in. It washes a crimson sinner, milk-white!

The Word of God is a looking-glass to show us our spots, 
and the blood of Christ is a fountain to wash them away! 

“On that day a fountain will be opened, to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement!”  Zechariah 13:1

But this blood will not wash, if it is mingled with anything. If we mingle our good works with Christ’s blood, it will not wash. Let Christ’s blood be pure and unmixed, and there is no spot which it cannot wash away! It purged out Noah’s drunkenness, and Lot’s incest! 

“Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow! 
 Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool! 
    Isaiah 1:18 

“They are without fault before the throne of God!” Revelation 14:5

The Trojan horse!

(Thomas Watson, “The Lord’s Prayer“)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

“Deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13

In this petition we pray to be delivered from the evil of our heart, that it may not entice us to sin. 

The heart is the poisoned fountain, from whence all actual sins flow. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.” Mark 7:21-22 

The cause of all evil lies in a man’s own bosom–all sin begins at the heart! Lust is first conceived in the heart, and then it is midwifed into the world. Whence comes rash anger? The heart sets the tongue on fire. The heart is the shop where all sin is contrived and hammered out! 

The heart is the greatest seducer, “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.” James 1:14. The devil could not hurt us, if our own hearts did not give consent. All that he can do is to lay the bait, but it is our fault to swallow it! How needful, therefore, is this prayer, “Deliver us from the evil of our hearts!”

It was Augustine’s prayer, “Lord, deliver me from that evil man–myself!”

Beware of the bosom traitor, the flesh. The heart of a man is the Trojan horse, out of which comes a whole army of lusts! O let us pray to be delivered from the lusts and deceits of our own heart!

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9 

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life!” Proverbs 4:23

Strewing flowers on a dead corpse!

(Thomas Watson, “The Beatitudes” 1660)  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

External morality is not heart-purity. A person may be clothed with great moral virtues, such as justice, charity, prudence, and temperance–and yet go to Hell.

We must not rest in mere outward morality. 
A swine may be washed–yet be a swine still. 
Morality does but wash a man, grace changes him. 
Morality may shine in the eyes of the world–but it differs as much from purity, as a pebble differs from a diamond! 

Morality is but strewing flowers on a dead corpse!

A man who is but highly moral, is but a tame devil! 

How many have made ‘morality’ their savior! 
Morality will damn, as well as vice! 
A boat may be sunk with gold, as well as with dung!

The moral person, though he will not commit gross sins–yet he is not sensible of heart sins. He is not troubled for unbelief, hardness of heart, vanity of thoughts. He abhors gross-sins, not gospel-sins.

The snake has a fine appearance, but has a deadly sting! Just so, the moral man is fair to look on, but has a secret antipathy against the holy ways of God. 

Morality is not to be rested in. The heart must be pure. 
God would have Aaron wash the inner parts of the sacrifice. Leviticus 9:14 
Morality does but wash the outside–the inside must be washed. 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

What unsearchable riches there are in this golden mine!

(Letters of William Romaine, 1714-1795)

In books I converse with men; in the Bible I converse with God. 
The more I read, the more I long to read. 
The Scripture is always new, always instructing, always delightful.

The value of the Bible is inestimable. It is not only a perfect map of the spiritual world; but the believer surveying its riches and beauties and pleasures, has a good warrant to say, “All these are mine, for God Himself is mine!”

God has spared me to read through His Word once more. Oh, what a treasure–what unsearchable riches there are in this golden mine! I have never dug deeper, nor found more precious jewels than upon this last perusal. Indeed, upon every reading of the Bible it grows more precious to me, as  it has become the conveyance of the unsearchable riches of Christ to me.

This I chiefly seek for, that I may get a growing experience of the wisdom of God and of the power of God in His Word–and may thereby enjoy the blessings of His love promised in it. 

It is our duty to read and meditate on the Word, but we should always do it with the fixed dependence of our hearts upon His divine teaching; without which the Word itself will profit us nothing. May the Spirit keep us in the use of means, but entirely dependent upon Him in the use of them. The Word of God can be made useful to us, only by the enlightening of the Spirit of God.

It is by continual dependence on the teaching of the Spirit, in and by the Word, and by mixing faith with it–that we come to find its value and to taste its pleasures. For it then opens a new world to us, a spiritual and eternal world.

Thanks be to Him . . .
  who revealed His Word to me,
  who opened my eyes to see wondrous things out of His law, 
  who often made me look up and say, “Oh, how sweet are Your words to my taste; yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

God has made His Word very precious to me. My love for it has grown much in taste and value: in taste, it is sweeter than honey; in value, it is more precious than gold, yes, than much fine gold! As I dig deeper, themine becomes richer, and the treasures of grace are greatly enhanced by their being the pledges of glory. 

The great end and design of the Scripture, is to conform us to itself. When the Word is understood and believed and lived upon–He then makes it the means of conforming the whole man to it. The believer is cast into the mold of it; he takes the impression–every feature. It is so assimilating that every tint is to be seen upon him. He lives the Word–it is to be read in his looks, visible in his walk, manifest in his tempers. See him, study him–he is the living picture of a Bible-Christian! 

Then the worm became a splendid butterfly!

(J.R. Miller, “The Wider Life” 1908)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your hearts on things above!
 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things!” Colossians 3:1-2

Paul reminds us that those who believe on Christ, should live a risen life.

We live on the earth at present. We walk on earth’s streets. We live in material houses, built of stones, bricks, or wood. We eat earth’s fruits, gathering our food from earth’s fields, orchards and gardens. We wear clothes woven of earthly fabrics. We adorn our homes with works of art that human hands make. We engage in the business of earth. We find our happiness in the things of this life.

But there will be a life after this! We call it Heaven. We cannot see it; there is never a rift in the sky, through which we can get even a glimpse of it. We have in the Scriptures hints of its beauty, its happiness, its blessedness. We know it is a world without sorrow, without sin, without death. Paul’s teaching is that the Christian, while living on the earth, ought to begin to live this heavenly life.

One day a friend sent me a splendid butterfly, artistically mounted, known as the Lima Moth. This little creature is said to be the most beautiful of North American insects. Its color is light green with variegated spots. In its caterpillar state, it was only a worm. It died and entered its other or higher state, as we would say–and then the worm became a splendid butterfly! 

This illustrates the two stages of a Christian’s life. Here we are in our earthly state; after this will come the heavenly condition. “The things that are above” belong to this higher, spiritual life. But the Christian is exhorted to seek these higher things, while living in this lower world. We belong to Heaven, although we are not yet living in Heaven. 

Paul presents the same truth in another form, when he says, “Our citizenship is in Heaven.” Though we are in this earthly world, we do not belong here. We are only strangers and pilgrims.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

“Dear friends, I urge you, as strangers and pilgrims in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” 1 Peter 2:11

Your present trial

(James Smith, “Comfort for Christians!”)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!” Romans 8:28 

All things? Yes! Everything that happens to the Christian is directed and overruled by God’s special Providence for his good! The experience may be very bitter, it may lay him very low and try him to the core; it may keep him in the dust for a long time. But it will do him good, not only in the end, but while it lasts.

Believer, your present trial is for your good. Nothing could be better for you! You may not see it now; you may even feel as if you never could think so, but the time is coming when you will bless God for it.

You love God–and God loves you with an infinite and eternal love! You came to the cross as a poor sinner, and you looked to the Lord Jesus to be your perfect Savior. This proves that you have been called according to God’s purpose. You are one of God’s beloved ones, and as such, you may have the assurance that all things . . .
  light and darkness, 
  health and sickness, 
  hatred and love, 
  prosperity and adversity, 
  life and death, 
will work together for your good!

Dark clouds bring rich blessings, and sharp winters introduce fruitful springs. Even so, sore troubles often precede the sweetest consolations. Your present affliction, whether it is . . .
  sickness of body,
  trouble of mind,
  bereavements,
  losses, 
  crosses, or
  whatever else
–is working for your good. It will work for good in the future, and it is working for good now. While your heart is bleeding, and you are tempted to think that all is against you–all is working together for your good!

Dear Lord, I do not see how my affliction can be good for me. But help me, Lord, to accept it as such by faith, so that I may receive what You have for me through it.

“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope!” Romans 5:3-4

Do not be afraid, for I am with you!

(James Smith, “The Believer’s Companion in Seasons of Affliction and Trouble” 1842)

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“Do not be afraid, for I am with you!” Isaiah 43:5 

The presence of a friend in trouble is cheering and consoling. But it is too often the case that our friends, like the friends of Job, prove to be miserable comforters. They do not enter into our troubles–or they can not help us. The advice they give at times–only aggravates our woe, and adds to our distress. 

But, believer, your God says, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you!” What a thought is this! God, the great, the glorious, the omnipotent Jehovah–is with me!
With me to help me, 
with me to comfort me, 
with me to sanctify me, 
with me to save me, 
with me as a kind benignant Father,
with me in every place, in every trouble, in every conflict,
with me through all my journey and for evermore, 
with me on the bed of sickness,
with me to hold communion with me,
with me to listen to my sighs,
with me to number my tears, and
with me to secure me from all injury! 

Appearances may be very dark; the night may seem very long; and your pains, weakness, and fears may be many and great. Still, if the Lord is with you, you may sing, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty–yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
 I have called you by name; you are Mine! 
 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. 
 When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
 When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!” Isaiah 43:1-3

The picture of the ideal Christian life!

(J.R. Miller, “A Word About TEMPER” 1888)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

Most of us are bad-tempered in various degrees. The dictionary has been well-near exhausted of adjectives, in giving the different shades of bad-temper: aggressive, angry, bickering, bitter, capricious, choleric, contentious, crotchety, despotic, domineering, easily offended, gloomy, grumpy, hasty, huffy, irritable, morose, obstinate, reproachful, peevish, sulky, surly, vindictive–these are some of the qualifying words! 

We do not like to believe that the case is quite so serious, that many of us are unamiable in some offensive degree. It is easier to confess our neighbor’s faults and infirmities, than our own! So, therefore, quietly taking refuge for ourselves among the few good-tempered people–we are willing to admit that a great many of the people we know, have at times rather ungentle tempers. They are easily provoked; they fly into a passion on very slight occasion; they are haughty, domineering, peevish, fretful or vindictive!

What is even worse, most of them appear to make no effort to grow out of their infirmities of disposition! The sour fruit does not come to mellow ripeness in the passing years; the roughness is not polished off the diamond to reveal its lustrous hidden beauty. The same petulance, pride, vanity, selfishness and other disagreeable qualities are found in the life, year after year!

Where there is a struggle to overcome one’s faults and grow out of them, and where the progress toward better and more beautiful spiritual character is perceptible, though ever so slow–we should have sympathy. But where one appears unconscious of one’s blemishes, and manifests no desire to conquer one’s faults–there is little ground for encouragement!

Man-like it is–to fall into sin.
Fiend-like it is–to dwell therein.
Saint-like it is–for sin to grieve.
God-like it is–for sin to leave.

Bad temper is such a disfigurement of character, and, besides, works such harm to one’s self and to one’s neighbors, that no one should spare any pains or cost to have it cured!

The ideal Christian life, is one of unbroken kindliness. It is dominated by love, the love whose portrait is drawn for us in the immortal thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” That is the picture of the ideal Christian life!

We have but to turn to the gospel pages, to find the story of a life in which all this was realized. Jesus never lost his temper. He lived among people who tried Him at every point–some by their dullness, others by their bitter enmity and persecution–but He never failed in sweetness of disposition, in patience, in self-denying love. Like the flowers which give out their perfume only when crushed; like the odoriferous wood which bathes the axe which hews it with fragrance; the life of Christ yielded only the tenderer, sweeter love–to the rough impact of men’s harshness and wrong. That is the pattern on which we should strive to fashion our life and our character! Every outbreak of violent temper, every shade of ugliness in disposition–mars the radiant loveliness of the ‘picture’ we are seeking to have fashioned in our souls!

Bad-tempered people are continually hurting others, ofttimes their best and truest friends. 

Some people are sulky, and one person’s sulkiness casts a chilling shadow over a whole household! 

Others are so sensitive, ever watching for slights and offended by the merest trifles–that even their nearest friends have no freedom of fellowship with them! 

Others are despotic, and will brook no kindly suggestion, nor listen to any expression of opinion! 

Others are so quarrelsome that even the meekest and gentlest person cannot live peaceably with them! 

It would be easy to extend this portrayal of the evils of bad temper, but it will be more profitable to inquire HOW a bad-tempered person may become good-tempered. There is no doubt that this happy change is possible in any case. There is no temper so obdurately bad, that it cannot be trained into sweetness. The grace of God can take the most unlovely life, and transform it into the image of Christ!

The love of Christ which surpasses knowledge!

(Alexander Smellie, “The Secret Place” 1907)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

“The love of Christ which surpasses knowledge!” Ephesians 3:19 

No love stoops like Christ’s love. 
It abandoned place and prospects and power–to save me! 
It traveled from the heights of Heaven, to the depths of sinful earth. 
God, pure and holy, chose voluntarily to make His home with me a sinner!

The sole qualification I need to commend myself to Him is not my conviction of worth, but my conviction of worthlessness–my knowledge that I am devoid of goodness and holiness! Then, when I confess myself penniless, He will invest me with His treasures. He banishes no self-destroyed and forlorn and penitent man outside the pale of His grace.

His love stoops!

No love suffers like Christ’s love. The test of affection is its willingness to suffer sacrifice and pain for another. Never has any affection stood the test like the love of Jesus. 

“It is certain,” one writes, “that not for one hour on earth, was our Lord without the anguish of His passion.” And at last He made the supreme offering of His life, for me. Such bitterness, such dereliction, such unspeakable sorrow–there were in my Savior’s death. For me He bore the hiding of His Father’s face on Calvary. It is an unfathomable pre-eminence of grief. It is a horror of great darkness which I may not pierce. 

His love suffers!

No love gives like Christ’s love. Love is always giving. But when was there human love with such wealth to bestow, and such willingness to communicate it–as the love of Christ? In simple fact, He imparts nothing less than Himself to me! The most unholy, the most tempted, the most despairing–cannot desire anything more sufficient. 

His love gives!

And no love lasts like Christ’s love. The truest and tenderest earthly love says farewell to its beloved in death. And too often, even on this side of the grave, doubts insinuate themselves, and suspicions arise, and covenants are snapped and broken. It is not so with the love of Christ. Neither things present nor things to come, the demands of today and the contingencies of tomorrow–chill that great heart of love! Christ’s love is like Himself–eternal and unchangeable. 

His love lasts!

Does not His wondrous love deserve my whole soul and body–all that I have, and all that I am? Nothing is stranger, and nothing more sad, than that, bathed in Christ’s love–I should be so indifferent, so forgetful, so cold!

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!” 2 Corinthians 8:9 

Jesus Christ is completely sufficient!

(author unknown)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it most helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power!” Colossians 2:9-10 

One of the great tenets of Scripture, is the claim thatJesus Christ is completely sufficient for all matters of life and godliness! 2 Peter 1:3-4 

He is sufficient for:
  Creation (Colossians 1:16-17)
  Salvation (Hebrews 10:10-12)
  Sanctification (Ephesians 5:26-27)
  and Glorification (Romans 8:30). 

So pure is He, that there is no blemish, stain, spot of sin, defilement, deception, corruption, error, or imperfection in Him! (1 Peter 1:18-20)

So complete is He, that . . .
  there is no other God besides Him (Isaiah 45:5)
  He is the only begotten Son (John 1:14, John 1:18)
  all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him (Colossians 2:3)
  the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Colossians 2:9)
  He is heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2)
  He created all things–and all things were made by Him,
      through Him, and for Him (Colossians 1:16)
  He upholds all things by the word of His power (Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3)
  He is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)
  He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3).

He has no beginning and no end (Revelation 1:17-18) 
He is the spotless Lamb of God (John 1:29)
He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14) 
He is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1) 
He is our life (Colossians 3:4) 
He is the living and true Way (John 14:6) 
He is the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16) 
He is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11) 
He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2) 
He is Captain of our Salvation (Hebrews 2:10)  
He is the Elect One (Isaiah 42:1) 
He is the Apostle and High-Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1) 
He is the Righteous Servant (Isaiah 53:11)
He is the Lord Almighty (Malachi 3:17)
He is the Redeemer (Isaiah 41:14)
He is the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 54:5)
He is the God of the whole earth (Isaiah 54:5) 
He is the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3) 
He is the Light of the world (John 9:5)
He is the Son of Man (Matthew 20:28) 
He is the true Vine (John 15:5)
He is the Bread of Life (John 6:48)
He is the Door to Heaven (John 10:7)
He is the Sovereign Lord (Philippians 2:10-13) 
He is Prophet, Priest and King (Hebrews 1:1-3) 
He is our Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9) 
He is our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6) 
He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, 
    the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) 
He is the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) 
He is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5)
He is the Rock of Salvation (Psalm 62:2)
He is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13)
He is the Counselor and Comforter (John 14:26)
He is the Messiah (John 4:25-26) and 
He is the great I AM! (John 8:58)

The seed, the source, the essence of unhappiness

(James Smith, “The Way of Salvation Set Forth”)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

Sin is the seed, the source, the essence of unhappiness. “There is no peace to the wicked”–nor is there any happiness for the sinner in his sins. The carnal mind may find something like pleasure in carnal things–but real, solid, lasting joy, cannot be found, never has been found by the sinner, until converted to God. Carnal pleasure is empty, fleeting, and unsatisfactory in its very nature! 

The true Christian has enough to make him genuinely happy: 
All of his sins are forgiven and forgotten. 
He is adopted into God’s family. 
His person is justified before God. 
He is clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus.
He is a child of God. 
He is regenerated by the Holy Spirit. 
He has the Spirit of adoption in his heart. 
He is at peace with God, and God is at peace with him. 

All the promises of God are his, which represent Jehovah as pledged to support, sustain, comfort, supply, and bless him in time and eternity! 

His God is with him. 
His God is for him. 
His God will never fail him in any trial, nor leave him under any circumstances for one moment. 

Such is the Christian’s blessed state, and such are his blessed privileges–though he may appear poor, afflicted, and despised among men.

In proportion . . .
  as sin is subdued,
  as sanctification is deepened,
  as the Savior is prized, 
  as our talents are laid out for the Lord’s glory
–are we happy. But if sin is allowed to conquer, if personal sanctification is neglected, if the intimations of the Holy Spirit are slighted–then the believer is not, and cannot be happy. 

Let the Christian therefore . . .
  cleave unto the Lord with full purpose of heart, 
  cultivate close fellowship with God,
  walk softly, uprightly, and daily with God.
So will his peace be like a river, and his path be like the shining light which shines more and more unto the perfect day. 

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You!” Isaiah 26:3

The God of contemporary Christianity!

(A.W. Tozer)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“These things you have done, and I kept silent.
 You thought that I was altogether like you!But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face!” Psalm 50:21

The God of contemporary Christianity is only slightly superior to the pagan gods of ancient Greece and Rome, if indeed He is not actually inferior to them–in that He is weak and helpless, while they at least had some imagined power.

Among the sins to which the human heart is prone, hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry; for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is, in itself a monstrous sin; and substitutes for the true God, one made after its own likeness. Always this god will conform to the image of the one who created it–and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the mind from which it emerges.

The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God, and acts as if they were true.

If we insist upon trying to imagine Him–we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts. And an idol of the mind, is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand!

Before a Christian Church goes into a decline, there must first be a corrupting of her Scriptural thoughts of God. She simply gives a wrong answer to the question, “What is God like?” and goes downhill from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is, and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind!

The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God, until it is once more worthy of Him, and of her!

I shall sin no more!

(The following is an excerpt from the diary of James Smith, written in 1860 when Smith was 58)

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I am weary of myself, ashamed of myself–and often turn with disgust from myself! And yet I find a great deal of self-love, self-esteem, and self-pity working within me! I sometimes get into such a state of confusion, into such misery and wretchedness, that I cry out, “Oh, what a wretched man I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death!” Romans 7:24

I feel that I am too carnal, too much like the generality of professors. I do not follow the Lord fully. I am not wholly set apart for God. But I am ashamed of complaining, I have done so, so often, and it has ended there. I need more life, more savor, more love in my religion; and to be more energetic and self-denying in my ministry. I need, alas, what do I not need? I am only a mere skeleton of a Christian. I can keep up the outward form pretty well, but the power–the power is what I need! I want to be like Jesus. O for a Christ-like spirit, temper, and course of conduct! 

I am obliged to renounce self entirely–all that I do, all that I feel, and all that I say, and build on Jesus Christ, and on Him alone. This is very mortifying to poor, proud human nature, but so it must be. The creature must be nothing, that the Savior may be all in all!

How swift-footed is time! Soon, very soon, it will land me on the shores of eternity! Well, to die will be gain. I shall then be with Christ–with Christ forever! Then all my trials will be ended, all my sorrows will cease, and I shall sin no more! If I could but live without sin, I would not care how long I lived. Nothing grieves me like sin–and yet I sin daily. I grieve the loving heart of Jesus, and wound the tender bosom on which I lean. What a pleasant thing perfect holiness will be!

Christ’s sword!

(Alexander Smellie, “The Hour of Silence” 1899)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!” Matthew 10:34 

Not peace, but a sword! Lord Jesus, this is a hard saying! Teach me to believe it, and to submit to the ordeal–sharp and piercing and painful though it may be.

Between me and my world, Christ’s sword may pierce with its remorseless edge. 
He separates me . . .
  from old sinful habits, 
  from old sinful employments, 
  from old sinful pleasures, 
  from old sinful friendships. 

He divides me from the society in which I was accustomed to move. “Your home is no longer there!”He says. And I go out from the familiar surroundings, into an untrodden region and realm.

Between me and my nearest and dearest, Christ’s sword may pierce pitilessly. Perhaps the loved ones of my own house will have nothing to do with my Redeemer and Lord. Perhaps they see no beauty in Him, that they should desire Him. Then, in the deepest and noblest things, they and I will stand apart–a sundering tide rolling between us. And how immeasurably sad that will be!

Between me and myself, Christ’s sword is sure to pierce with a blade that does not spare! The I, the self, which used to be so vain, so confident, so proud–must be slain outright! Its days of pride, pleasure and selfishness must end–until I can say, “It is no more I who live, but He–my Prophet, my Priest, my King–who lives in me!” What a change that is! What a martyrdom!

It is painful, this stroke of Christ’s sword. But the old confessor was right: “The nearer the sword–the nearer Heaven!” If I am victim–I am victor too. Smitten down by Jesus–I am not destroyed, but crowned!