-/\/\-----------------------------------------------------------------
\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
http://www.heartlight.org/
--\/------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
MORNING:
"Grieve not the Holy Spirit."
-- Ephesians 4:30
All that the believer has must come from Christ, but it comes solely
through the channel of the Spirit of grace. Moreover, as all blessings
thus flow to you through the Holy Spirit, so also no good thing can
come out of you in holy thought, devout worship, or gracious act, apart
from the sanctifying operation of the same Spirit. Even if the good
seed be sown in you, yet it lies dormant except he worketh in you to
will and to do of his own good pleasure. Do you desire to speak for
Jesus-how can you unless the Holy Ghost touch your tongue? Do you
desire to pray? Alas! what dull work it is unless the Spirit maketh
intercession for you! Do you desire to subdue sin? Would you be holy?
Would you imitate your Master? Do you desire to rise to superlative
heights of spirituality? Are you wanting to be made like the angels of
God, full of zeal and ardour for the Master's cause? You cannot without
the Spirit-"Without me ye can do nothing." O branch of the vine, thou
canst have no fruit without the sap! O child of God, thou hast no life
within thee apart from the life which God gives thee through his
Spirit! Then let us not grieve him or provoke him to anger by our sin.
Let us not quench him in one of his faintest motions in our soul; let
us foster every suggestion, and be ready to obey every prompting. If
the Holy Spirit be indeed so mighty, let us attempt nothing without
him; let us begin no project, and carry on no enterprise, and conclude
no transaction, without imploring his blessing. Let us do him the due
homage of feeling our entire weakness apart from him, and then
depending alone upon him, having this for our prayer, "Open thou my
heart and my whole being to thine incoming, and uphold me with thy free
Spirit when I shall have received that Spirit in my inward parts."
EVENING:
"Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him."
-- John 12:2
He is to be envied. It was well to be Martha and serve, but better to
be Lazarus and commune. There are times for each purpose, and each is
comely in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such
clusters as the vine of fellowship. To sit with Jesus, to hear his
words, to mark his acts, and receive his smiles, was such a favour as
must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels. When it has been our
happy lot to feast with our Beloved in his banqueting-hall, we would
not have given half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so
much breath could have bought them.
He is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had
not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus
had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave
him life was at his house, would have been ungrateful indeed. We too
were once dead, yea, and like Lazarus stinking in the grave of sin;
Jesus raised us, and by his life we live-can we be content to live at a
distance from him? Do we omit to remember him at his table, where he
deigns to feast with his brethren? Oh, this is cruel! It behoves us to
repent, and do as he has bidden us, for his least wish should be law to
us. To have lived without constant intercourse with one of whom the
Jews said, "Behold how he loved him," would have been disgraceful to
Lazarus, is it excusable in us whom Jesus has loved with an everlasting
love? To have been cold to him who wept over his lifeless corpse, would
have argued great brutishness in Lazarus. What does it argue in us over
whom the Saviour has not only wept, but bled? Come, brethren, who read
this portion, let us return unto our heavenly Bridegroom, and ask for
his Spirit that we may be on terms of closer intimacy with him, and
henceforth sit at the table with him.
/--- THE LIGHT EN ESPAÑOL! -----------------------------\
The wait for a Spanish language Heartlight is over!
Come enjoy Today's Verse in Spanish, with many more
features already in development. Heartlight is
now reaching even more people around the world with
the positive message of Jesus Christ. Praise God!
\----------------------- http://www.laluzdelalma.com ---/
Content-type: text/html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
WOW WORSHIP 2006, by Various Artists
Fly away on the wings of the year's best worship songs! Two CDs.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?257
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
each purchase you make, you're helping to support Heartlight's
ministry. Thanks SO MUCH for your help!
MORNING & EVENING from HEARTLIGHT /\/\
===============================================================\ /===
http://www.heartlight.org/spurgeon
\/
Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
and preacher Charles Spurgeon. It's part of HEARTLIGHT Magazine,
the leading Christian living e-zine on the Web. Visit HEARTLIGHT
on the web for even more devotionals, plus music, articles and more
for your Christian walk!
ABOUT HEARTLIGHT:
Heartlight, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) religious non-profit organization.
Donations are needed and welcome (and tax-deductible)! Find out how
to help!
http://www.heartlight.org/support
EDITOR: Phil Ware, phil@heartlight.org
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE?
It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to:
join-spurgeon@maillists.heartlight.org
HOW DO I LEAVE?
Send a blank email to the unsubscribe address:
spurgeon-unsub@maillists.heartlight.org
STILL HAVING TROUBLE?
If our automated unsubscribe system isn't working for you,
send an email to mailmaster@heartlight.org and let us know
what list you would like to leave. We'll take care of you.
OTHER QUESTIONS?
Find answers to your frequently asked questions:
http://www.heartlight.org/help/faq/spurgeon.html
======================================================================
