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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING http://www.heartlight.org/
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
MORNING:
"In the world ye shall have tribulation."
-- John 16:33
Art thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy
heavenly Father, and behold him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou
art one day to be like him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to his image?
Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to
purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions,
and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect?
Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes thou
hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king
will willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let
thee alone? No, he will be always at thee, for he "goeth about like a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Expect trouble, therefore,
Christian, when thou lookest beneath thee. Then look around thee. Where
art thou? Thou art in an enemy's country, a stranger and a sojourner.
The world is not thy friend. If it be, then thou art not God's friend,
for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be assured
that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou sleepest, think that
thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou walkest, suspect an
ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more
than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you. Lastly,
look within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there. Sin
and self are still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no
enemies to fight thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still
find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for "the
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Expect
trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee to
help and to strengthen thee. He hath said, "I will be with thee in
trouble; I will deliver thee and honour thee."
EVENING:
"A very present help."
-- Psalms 46:1
Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be
appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use.
Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do. When
thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell him all thy grief? Has he
not a sympathizing heart, and can he not comfort and relieve thee? No,
thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and
telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom of thy Lord. Art thou
burdened with this day's sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood:
use it, saint, use it. Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The
pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Come to him at
once for cleansing. Dost thou deplore thy weakness? He is thy strength:
why not lean upon him? Dost thou feel naked? Come hither, soul; put on
the robe of Jesus' righteousness. Stand not looking at it, but wear it.
Strip off thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on the
fair white linen, for it was meant to wear. Dost thou feel thyself
sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician!
He will give the cordial that will revive thee. Thou art poor, but then
thou hast "a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth." What! wilt thou not go
to him, and ask him to give thee of his abundance, when he has given
thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with him, and has made
over all that he is and all that he has to be thine? There is nothing
Christ dislikes more than for his people to make a show-thing of him,
and not to use him. He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we
put on his shoulders, the more precious will he be to us.
"Let us be simple with him, then,
Not backward, stiff, or cold,
As though our Bethlehem could be
What Sinai was of old."
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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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