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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING http://www.heartlight.org/
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Sunday, May 10, 2009
MORNING:
"But now is Christ risen from the dead."
-- 1 Corinthians 15:20
The whole system of Christianity rests upon the fact that "Christ is
risen from the dead;" for, "If Christ be not risen, then is our
preaching vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins."
The divinity of Christ finds its surest proof in his resurrection,
since he was "Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." It would
not be unreasonable to doubt his Deity if he had not risen. Moreover,
Christ's sovereignty depends upon his resurrection, "For to this end
Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of
the dead and living." Again, our justification, that choice blessing of
the covenant, is linked with Christ's triumphant victory over death and
the grave; for "He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again
for our justification." Nay, more, our very regeneration is connected
with his resurrection, for we are "Begotten again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." And most certainly our
ultimate resurrection rests here, for, "If the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you." If Christ be not risen, then shall we not rise; but
if he be risen then they who are asleep in Christ have not perished,
but in their flesh shall surely behold their God. Thus, the silver
thread of resurrection runs through all the believer's blessings, from
his regeneration onwards to his eternal glory, and binds them together.
How important then will this glorious fact be in his estimation, and
how will he rejoice that beyond a doubt it is established, that "now is
Christ risen from the dead."
"The promise is fulfill'd,
Redemption's work is done,
Justice with mercy's reconciled,
For God has raised his Son."
EVENING:
"The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
-- John 1:14
Believer, you can bear your testimony that Christ is the only begotten
of the Father, as well as the first begotten from the dead. You can
say, "He is divine to me, if he be human to all the world beside. He
has done that for me which none but a God could do. He has subdued my
stubborn will, melted a heart of adamant, opened gates of brass, and
snapped bars of iron. He hath turned for me my mourning into laughter,
and my desolation into joy; he hath led my captivity captive, and made
my heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Let others
think as they will of him, to me he must be the only begotten of the
Father: blessed be his name. And he is full of grace. Ah! had he not
been I should never have been saved. He drew me when I struggled to
escape from his grace; and when at last I came all trembling like a
condemned culprit to his mercy-seat he said, 'Thy sins which are many
are all forgiven thee: be of good cheer.' And he is full of truth. True
have his promises been, not one has failed. I bear witness that never
servant had such a master as I have; never brother such a kinsman as he
has been to me; never spouse such a husband as Christ has been to my
soul; never sinner a better Saviour; never mourner a better comforter
than Christ hath been to my spirit. I want none beside him. In life he
is my life, and in death he shall be the death of death; in poverty
Christ is my riches; in sickness he makes my bed; in darkness he is my
star, and in brightness he is my sun; he is the manna of the camp in
the wilderness, and he shall be the new corn of the host when they come
to Canaan. Jesus is to me all grace and no wrath, all truth and no
falsehood: and of truth and grace he is full, infinitely full. My soul,
this night, bless with all thy might 'the only Begotten.'"
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=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE, by Liz Higgs
A beloved humorist offers a unique and clear-sighted approach to
understanding those "other women" in the Scripture, combining a
contemporary retelling of their stories with a study of their mistakes
and what lessons can be learned from them.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?251
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MORNING & EVENING from HEARTLIGHT /\/\
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
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