On Halloween 2022

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. -1 Peter 5

Current steadfast Christians have come into the recent vogue of reminding that there was once a "church-safe" Christian tradition of dressing up as saints instead of movie monsters, on Halloween, the supposed origin of modern Halloween costumes.  This obviously invites us to lament that the saints aren't seen on Halloween, and instead we have to look at people dressed as monsters.......

 

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SELECTIONS:


A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. -Charles H Spurgeon

We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith— faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings.  -Oswald Chambers

-COh, the burdens that we love to bear and cannot understand! Oh, the inarticulate out-reachings of our hearts for things we cannot comprehend! And yet we know they are an echo from the throne and a whisper from the heart of God. It is often a groan rather than a song, a burden rather than a buoyant wing. But it is a blessed burden, and it is a groan whose undertone is praise and unutterable joy.  -Charles Cowman

Unsung but singing: this is the short and simple story of many today whose names are not known beyond the small circle of their own small company. Their gifts are not many nor great, but their song is sweet and clear.... -AW Tozer

 

Isaiah 10-12 KJV

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah Ch 12(FULL)

And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: thou thou wast angry with me, thin anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song: he also is become my salvation.  

Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

10.30.22 End of Harvest approaches, and the indwelling of Faith in the believer

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. -Ephesians 2

 

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Selections:

Praise should always follow answered prayer; as the mist of earth's gratitude rises when the sun of heaven's love warms the ground. Hath the Lord been gracious to thee, and inclined his ear to the voice of thy supplication? Then praise him as long as thou livest. Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life. Deny not a song to him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the desire of thy heart. -Charles H Spurgeon

No one whom the Father has chosen before the foundation of the world, no one whom Christ has shed his precious blood for, no one filled by the Holy Spirit of God is dispensable or unnecessary to the body. -Greg Morse for Desiringgod.org

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-indispensable-lives-of-ordinary-christians

To bless God for mercies received is also the way to benefit our fellow-men; "the humble shall hear thereof and be glad." Others who have been in like circumstances shall take comfort if we can say, "Oh! magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together; this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him." Weak hearts will be strengthened, and drooping saints will be revived as they listen to our "songs of deliverance." -Charles H Spurgeon

Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. -Oswald Chambers

Faith always works in a personal way, because the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.  -Oswald Chambers

How great, how infinite,
The debt of love we owe!
How can we now do less than live
For Him who loved us so?
-Cornelius Stam

 

Verse of the Day: Romans 12 on National Oatmeal Day.

 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. -Romans 12

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National Oatmeal Day and National Cat Day.  If you celebrate either of these, remember who ultimately is the provider of these gifts to mankind, our Lord and His son.

Among today's selections, a blurb about Christ more identifying with our sin nature than actually "loving" us.  Mind, we're told in the Bible that Christ sacrificed himself because of love; however, the nugget of the cause was that man was sinful.  Without Him, where are our hopes?

Only Christ, Only The Cross free man from a lost and dying world.

Hope continues in the cause of Christ and the Cross of Redemption: our hope in glory.

Selections

Every choice reduces a little one’s freedom to choose the next time. There therefore comes a time when the creature is fully built, irrevocably attached either to God or to itself. This irrevocableness is what we call Heaven or Hell. -CS Lewis

We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon

 He is accustomed to walk through the glades of Scripture, and to commune with his people, as the Father did with Adam in the cool of the day, and yet you are in the garden of Scripture, but cannot see him, though he is always there. And why do we not see him? It must be ascribed in our case, as in the disciples', to unbelief. They evidently did not expect to see Jesus, and therefore they did not know him. To a great extent in spiritual things we get what we expect of the Lord. Faith alone can bring us to see Jesus. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon

All of those former heroes of the faith are dead. You are alive in your generation. A Bible proverb says that it is better to be a living dog than a dead lion. You may wish to be Abraham or Isaac or Jacob, but remember that they have been asleep for long centuries, and you are still around! You can witness for your Lord today. You can still pray. You can still give of your substance to help those in need. You can still encourage the depressed.  -AW Tozer

The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. -Oswald Chambers

10.28.22 Verse of the Day. On National Chocolate Day and National Breadstick Day.

Verse of the Day:

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. -1 Peter 1

 

A quiet contented soul dwells not on gaining wealth or using others; Lord, give us a quiet mind today.

Be still, my soul, for it is well with thee....

Today is both National Chocolate Day and National Breadstick Day.  Extra foods that we do not use to sustain us, but entice us.  Let us remember the little things today, without forgetting all the abundance that is set before us.

After all, "if God so clothed the leaves of the field, how much more so, you.."

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Selections:

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible. -CS Lewis

Meat from the King's table will hurt none of his courtiers. Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend more and more the eternal, everlasting, discriminating love of God. When you have mounted as high as election, tarry on its sister mount, the covenant of grace.  -Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A quiet spirit is of inestimable value in carrying on outward activities; and nothing so hinders the working of the hidden spiritual forces, upon which, after all, our success in everything really depends, as a spirit of unrest and anxiety. -Charles Cowman

The Word of God stands alone as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. It does not need the assistance of concepts, which only serve to undermine the Scriptures. -Paul Sadler

 

On The Missionary and the impetus to saving souls.....

 No matter the size of the assembly or its other attributes, our Lord wants it to be known by His presence in the midst. -AW Tozer

The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.

Merely knowing the facts of Scripture, without hiding them in your heart and acting on them, will not bring the blessings of salvation. That was the problem of Jewish unbelievers. Jesus understood their searching of the Scriptures in a desperate and futile attempt to find the key to eternal life. But ironically, they failed to grasp that it is those very Scriptures “that testify about” Jesus.

Some are telling us today that this brand of fundamentalism is out of date and ineffective in these fast-changing times. We reply that all of us ought to get back to this brand of fundamentalism, this earnest effort to personally win souls to Christ by showing them God’s plan of salvation from the Scriptures.

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10.27.22 Verse of the day and Charles Spurgeon

 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  -Hebrews 4

The believer is a new creature, he belongs to a holy generation and a peculiar people--the Spirit of God is in him, and in all respects he is far removed from the natural man; but for all that the Christian is a sinner still. He is so from the imperfection of his nature, and will continue so to the end of his earthly life. The black fingers of sin leave smuts upon our fairest robes. Sin mars our repentance, ere the great Potter has finished it, upon the wheel. Selfishness defiles our tears, and unbelief tampers with our faith. -Charles H Spurgeon

Oh, how precious the blood of Christ to such hearts as ours! How priceless a gift is his perfect righteousness! And how bright the hope of perfect holiness hereafter! Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken. It has no dominion; it is a broken-backed snake; we are in bitter conflict with it, but it is with a vanquished foe that we have to deal. Yet a little while and we shall enter victoriously into the city where nothing defileth.  -Charles H Spurgeon

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On missionary work, and the complexities of the Bible.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. -Oswald Chambers

The Bible is indeed a very large Book, so that the greatest of us will never understand it all. Moreover, it is God’s Book and must necessarily contain much that is “hard to understand.” But this makes it the greater challenge to the believing heart to seek divine aid in exploring its depths and the greater joy when precious stones are brought up from this exhaustless mine.  -Cornelius Stam

10.26.22 Verse of the Day.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. -2 Timothy 3

 If a brother comes to you and you realize that he is weak, you should water him. Instead of calling for the elders, you should feed him and nourish him. It is crucial for us all to learn this. You may feel that you are weak and very low in life. However, other saints are even weaker and lower than you are. Should one of these weaker ones contact you, you need to water him. Then you will be watered also. This is true revival. -Witness Lee

our first responsibility is not to make converts but to uphold the honor of God in a world given over to the glory of fallen man. No matter how many persons we touch with the gospel we have failed unless, along with the message of invitation, we have boldly declared the exceeding sinfulness of man and the transcendent holiness of the Most High God. -AW Tozer

No possible complexity which we can give to our picture of the universe can hide us from God: there is no copse, no forest, no jungle thick enough to provide cover…In the twinkling of an eye, in a time too small to be measured, and in any place, all that seems to divide us from God can flee away...  -CS Lewis
 

Oswald Chambers on ministry, plus the Center for Christogenesis

 

 

Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. -Oswald Chambers

 let us not be too ready to condemn Jonah, for we may be more guilty than he. Surely the world today is passing through a fearful storm and souls all about us are in peril of their lives. -anonymous

daily 10.25.22 Maybe we ARE the happiest people in the world, and with good reason.

 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ  -KJV, Ephesians 5:19-5:20

"We oughtta be the happiest people in the world, we Christians, because we're not going to hell."  -Joyce Meyer

This is the age of the Laodiceans. The great goddess Numbers is worshiped with fervent devotion and all things religious are brought before her for examination. Her Old Testament is the financial report and her New Testament is the membership roll. To these she appeals as arbiters of all questions, the test of spiritual growth and the proof of success or failure in every Christian endeavor.
-AW Tozer

What a thousand mercies are wrapped up in the assurance that the truth will be with us forever; will be our living support, our dying comfort, our rising song, our eternal glory; this is Christian privilege, without it our faith were little worth. Some truths we outgrow and leave behind, for they are but rudiments and lessons for beginners, but we cannot thus deal with Divine truth, for though it is sweet food for babes, it is in the highest sense strong meat for men. The truth that we are sinners is painfully with us to humble and make us watchful; the more blessed truth that whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus shall be saved, abides with us as our hope and joy. -Charles H Spurgeon

God's work in nature: we have but to see, feel or hear the natural world.

 We can experience God in nature, and in fact, so often, we experience the Lord and moves of the spirit in less natural places.  But it's in nature that we not only can hear ourselves breath, get comfortable in our thoughts, but also open ourselves to the recognition and appreciation of God as he works in nature.

They use some terms like "theophany" and "Christogenesis", particularly in talking about how God dealt with Moses.  It was Gregory of Nyssa who wrote that looking at either the water from the stone or the burning bush, was like looking at the face of God, through his direct manifestation in handiwork.

This morning I was outside early, up early and outside, the dawn was beginning to break, but there were pines and oaks between me and thee.  There were clouds crossing near the horizon, and I was thinking to myself....

"I'm watching God paint the sky."  It was beautiful radiance on the underside and trailing edges of the clouds, almost sun-like brilliance, that luminous hit of reflected sunshine.

We can experience God everyday, instead of only moments of pure inspiration, if we open ourselves to the experience.

Seemingly random drawing of Bible verses as a message from the Lord.

I petitioned the Lord.

I asked, within me, directed to Him, what I could do to improve my walk.  I asked for a sign, and remember, I hesitate in part to ask for signs because Jesus seemed almost exasperated that people in his day continually wanted signs.  But they wanted signs to prove their faith.

I have the faith, on the other hand, have the belief, and asked for direction from the Lord, not proof of his superiority.  I have zero doubt in the Lord.  I submit to the Lord.

What I wanted was direction.

So I did something strange.

I took my fingers along the pages of the Bible and seemingly randomly selected a word, not unlike a gambler drawing a random card, or like a Tarot reader might select a seemingly random card as an insight.

Top of the page, in the book Luke, Christ teaching the disciples how to pray.  

So that was what I needed.  Christ's instruction on how to pray.

And from there, my hope grows, hope through faith, hope through the word on a bedrock of faith.

So I could do it through prayer, advance my case.  Prayer, the way.