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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
MORNING:
"Continue in prayer."
-- Colossians 4:2
It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is
occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples,
enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible
before we read, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;" and
just as we are about to close the volume, the "Amen" of an earnest
supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a
wrestling Jacob-there a Daniel who prayed three times a day-and a David
who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see
Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands,
and myriads of promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred
importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God
has made prominent in his Word, he intended to be conspicuous in our
lives. If he has said much about prayer, it is because he knows we have
much need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in
heaven we must not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? Then, I fear
thou dost not know thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then,
may the Lord's mercy show thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a
Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the
shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling
asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the
strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou
wilt seek thy Father's face, and live in thy Father's love. Pray that
this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer
communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of
his love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto
others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The
motto for this year must be, "Continue in prayer."
EVENING:
"Let the people renew their strength."
-- Isaiah 41:1
All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continueth by
itself. "Thou renewest the face of the year," was the Psalmist's
utterance. Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor
shorten their lives with labour, must drink of the rain of heaven and
suck from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon,
which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of
sap fresh drawn from the earth. Neither can man's life be sustained
without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste of the
body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by
feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or
by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our
graces when means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are
who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer!
If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is
but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon him as the
flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration we are not
ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of
heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind shall be
loosed, woe to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap, and grasped
the rock with many intertwisted roots. When tempests arise, woe to the
mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor,
nor sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil
will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery
over us; and so, perhaps, a painful desolation, and a lamentable
disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy
in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfilment of the promise,
"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."
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THE SECRET MESSAGE OF JESUS: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING, by Brian McLaren
Unafraid of controversy or the uncomfortable gray areas of life,
McLaren's quest is to find the essential message of Jesus' life - even
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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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