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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
http://www.heartlight.org/
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Friday, October 26, 2007
MORNING:
"Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye
brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of
hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every
man unto his own house."
-- Haggai 1:9
Churlish souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary
operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream
that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they
must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the
house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our
God has a method in providence by which he can succeed our endeavours
beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and
dismay; by a turn of his hand he can steer our vessel in a profitable
channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the
teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the
miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide
sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians
of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost
invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to
wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean,
ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he
thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums,
and so it frequently is with the Lord; he gives by cartloads to those
who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the
little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels in a
portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness
looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and
godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an
open hand, but surely he deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a
very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to his goodness.
EVENING:
"All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full;
unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they
return again."
-- Ecclesiastes 1:7
Everything sublunary is on the move, time knows nothing of rest. The
solid earth is a rolling ball, and the great sun himself a star
obediently fulfilling its course around some greater luminary. Tides
move the sea, winds stir the airy ocean, friction wears the rock:
change and death rule everywhere. The sea is not a miser's storehouse
for a wealth of waters, for as by one force the waters flow into it, by
another they are lifted from it. Men are born but to die: everything is
hurry, worry, and vexation of spirit. Friend of the unchanging Jesus,
what a joy it is to reflect upon thy changeless heritage; thy sea of
bliss which will be for ever full, since God himself shall pour eternal
rivers of pleasure into it. We seek an abiding city beyond the skies,
and we shall not be disappointed. The passage before us may well teach
us gratitude. Father Ocean is a great receiver, but he is a generous
distributor. What the rivers bring him he returns to the earth in the
form of clouds and rain. That man is out of joint with the universe who
takes all but makes no return. To give to others is but sowing seed for
ourselves. He who is so good a steward as to be willing to use his
substance for his Lord, shall be entrusted with more. Friend of Jesus,
art thou rendering to him according to the benefit received? Much has
been given thee, what is thy fruit? Hast thou done all? Canst thou not
do more? To be selfish is to be wicked. Suppose the ocean gave up none
of its watery treasure, it would bring ruin upon our race. God forbid
that any of us should follow the ungenerous and destructive policy of
living unto ourselves. Jesus pleased not himself. All fulness dwells in
him, but of his fulness have all we received. O for Jesus' spirit, that
henceforth we may live not unto ourselves!
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MORNING & EVENING from HEARTLIGHT /\/\
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
and preacher Charles Spurgeon. It's part of HEARTLIGHT Magazine,
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