Bring Heaven to Us

 “A saving, though an immethodical knowledge of Christ, will bring us to heaven, John 17: 2, but a regular and methodical, as well as a saving knowledge of him, will bring heaven into us, Col. 2: 2, 3.”

― John Flavel, The Fountain of Life Opened, Or, a Display of Christ in His Essential and Mediatorial Glory Wherein the Impetration of Our Redemption by Jesus Christ Is Orderly Unfolded as It Was Begun, Carryed On, and Finished by His Covenant-Transaction

THEY SEE NO REASON

 People do not believe in God’s wrath; they think He is incapable of it. They listen to preachers everywhere tell them that God loves them unconditionally, and when they hear that, they see no reason to fear His wrath. R.C. Sproul

A Letter of John Newton

 "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows!" John 16:33

Dear friend,
You have lately been in the furnace--and are now brought safely out. I hope you have much to say of the grace, care, and skill of the great Refiner, who watched over you; and that you have lost nothing but dross. Let this experience be treasured up in your hearts for the use of future times. Other trials will come--but you have found the Lord faithful to His promise, and have good encouragement to trust Him again.

I doubt not, but you will have your share of trials; but when the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit, it sweetens what bitter things the Lord puts into our cup, and enables us to say, "None of these things move me!"

Yes, the life of faith is a happy life, and
  if attended with conflicts--there is an assurance of victory;
  if we sometimes get a wound--there is healing balm near at hand;
  if we seem to fall--we are raised again; and
  if tribulations abound--consolations shall abound likewise.

Is it not happiness--to have an infallible Guide, an invincible Guard, an almighty Friend! To be able to say of the Maker of heaven and earth, "He is my Beloved, my Shepherd, my Savior, and my Husband!"

Oh the peace that flows from believing . . .
  that all events in which we are concerned, are under His immediate disposal;
  that the hairs of our head are all numbered;
  that He delights in our prosperity;
  that there is a need-be, if we are in heaviness, and
  that all things shall surely work for our good!

How happy to have such views of God's sovereignty, wisdom, love, and faithfulness--as will enable us to meet every painful dispensation with submission, and to look through the changes of the present life--to that unchangeable inheritance to which the Lord is leading us, when all evil shall cease, and where joy shall be perfect and eternal!

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away!" Revelation 21:4

God Sees

  1 million is 0.0142857143% of 7 billion.  More than likely our lives will not directly (personally) impact even 1 million people;  which means over 99% of the population will know essentially nothing of our life on a personal level.  It stands to reason therefore, that our labors should be primarily towards God who does directly observe our labors.  Sure, the names of American Presidents are known by millions, but that doesn't mean they directly (personally) impact the people who know their name.  People are impacted by people the talk to daily, weekly in a home or church, or co-worker.  A good book may shape someone, but most of the stuff we read wears off in a month or two, we need that repeated guidance which comes from conversations, friendships that are given by a spouse, parent, or close friend.  Your faith and endurance will renew me much more than some book I read 9 years ago.  A book will not listen to my frustrations or struggles, but a spouse and parent will.  My final point is that we should labor diligently (not because mankind notices, because 99% will not notice) because God sees, and God knows our faith, love, and motive to glorify Him in that labor and ministry.

The Natural Man needs grace.

 

The Love of Christ

 Remember:

“All that Christ does for us is but the expression of that love which was originally taken up in God’s own heart...Christ adds 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 of love to God’s heart, but only draws it out…and makes it flow forth…” —Puritan Thomas Goodwin, Works, 4:86

Several by Spurgeon

 “The day will come, dear friend, when your cheeks, all befouled with weeping, shall be washed, and made fair to look upon. Your eyes may be weary with waiting and watching, and red with weeping; but that weeping shall endure only for a night. “Joy cometh in the morning,” as surely as the morning cometh after the night. Bear your sorrows bravely, for they are appointed of your Heavenly Father in supreme wisdom. Bear them joyfully, for they will bring forth to you the peaceable fruits of righteousness.” -- CHS.

“It is for love; in the gospel, sinner, you are invited to be reconciled to God, you are assured that God forgives your sins, ceases to be angry, and would have you reconciled to him through his Son. Thus love is established between God and the soul. Then it is for laughter, for happiness, for joy. Those who come to God in Christ Jesus, and believe in him, have their hearts filled with overflowing peace, which calm lake of peace often lifts up itself in waves of joy, which clap their hands in exultation. It is not to sorrow but to joy that the great King invites his subjects, when he glorifies his Son Jesus. It is not that you may be distressed, but that you may be delighted that he bids you believe in the crucified Savior and live.” -- CHS. “Behold, I make all things new,” saith he. Oh! thou canst not tell the influences of his scepter when he sits upon the throne of the heart! Thou canst not tell what showers of mercy, what streams of benediction, what mountains of joy, and hills of happiness, shall be thine when Jesus comes and reigns in thy soul.” -- CHS. Lay down this principle as a law: God does nothing arbitrary. If He takes away your health, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so. This is true of everything you value, and if you have real faith in Him, you will not insist on knowing this reason. -- CHS. If a glimpse of our Savior here on earth can be so refreshing and delightful--then what will Heaven be? --CHS. "We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our past experience is, that he who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. C.H. Spurgeon

Zeal and Prudence

 There is often too much self in our zeal, and too much of the fear of man in our prudence.

John Newton

Assurance from the Trinity

 Assurance of salvation is founded on:

1. The blood & righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel;

2. The inward evidence of those graces of the Spirit unto which promises are made;

3. The testimony of the Spirit of adoption, witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God.

— 2LCF 18.2

In other words, we can be sure of our salvation because of Christ’s work 𝘧𝘰𝘳 us, the Spirit’s work 𝘪𝘯 us, and the Spirit’s testimony 𝘵𝘰 us of the Father’s love.

Mike Riccardi

Romans 5:19

 “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were constituted sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be constituted righteous.”

— Romans 5:19

Adam’s disobedience to God's law in the Garden provides an actual, lived-out record of human disobedience which was counted to be ours through our union with him. His law-breaking is the legal basis on which God justly constitutes all men guilty.

In the same way, Christ’s life of obedience to God's law provides the actual, lived-out record of righteousness which is counted to be ours through our union with Him. His law-keeping is the legal basis on which God justly constitutes guilty sinners righteous.

Christ died for our sins, and He lived for our righteousness. Leave out one or the other, and you preach a half-gospel.

Daily Reading

 

Only Christ can mix and administer

 Repentance is a soul-medicine that only Christ can mix and administer. If sorrow for sin be of our own or another's brewing, or if it is trusted in in place of His blood and merits, it is a toxic counterfeit, and not true repentance.

"Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance.." (Acts 5:13)

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." (Zech. 12:10)

by "Jonathan Edward" not the original, but someone born 19 years ago or so.

For the People of God

 The bronze serpent was not intended for the Canaanites or the Egyptians, who lived and died in unbelief. Rather, it was exclusively for God's people, who looked and lived. So it is with the death of Christ. He died for His people, for all who would put their trust in Him. (Dr. Steven Lawson's "Foundations of Grace" page 93).

MULTIPLE

 "As God at first gives faith through the Word, so He also exercises, increases, confirms and perfects it through the Word." - Martin Luther

"Faith is sustained by looking at Christ, crucified and risen, not by turning from Christ to analyze your faith… Paradoxically, if we would experience the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. We must focus on the greatness of our Savior." - John Piper Faith is not built by preaching introspectively (constantly challenging people to question whether they have faith); faith is not built by preaching moralistically (which has exactly the opposite effect of focusing attention on the self rather than on...... Christ, in whom our faith is placed); Faith is built by careful, thorough exposition of the person, character, and work of Christ.- T. David Gordon; I cannot go anywhere without Christ; I cannot perform the least duty without him here to help me; without Christ in anything, I produce nothing but stenching smoke; I cannot take my next breath without Christ by my side or his permitting me to, and neither would I want to go anywhere or do anything without him. The loveliness of Christ shines through into the darkest of dungeons or prisons, and turns them into palaces. I would be mad to wish a second to be without Christ. (Covenanted Reformation) "Nevertheless, let me tell you, that trust, confidence, reliance, and dependence, for salvation, are all acts and very solemn ones too, of divine worship: and upon whatsoever you depend, whether in whole or in part, for your acceptance with God,and for your justification in His sight, whatsoever, you rely upon, and trust in, for the attainment of grace or glory; if it be any thing short of God in Christ, you are an idolater to all intents and purposes." - Augustus Toplady

Multiple Puritans on Prayer

 “When you begin to pray always get into this position, leaning on His bosom. Don’t pray to some one far off. Don’t pray even to some one in the same room.” - Andrew Bonar

“As in the case of prayer, when God prepares the heart to pray, He prepares His ear to hear (Ps. 10:17). So in the case of spiritual hunger, when God prepares the heart to hunger, He will prepare His hand to fill." ~Thomas Watson

"He has ordained beforehand that the day when He prepares our hearts to pray shall be the day when His ear shall hear the desire of the humble, and shall become the season of our deliverance.” ~Isaac Watts

"God graciously determines that warm, affectionate prayers are forerunners of a decreed mercy! These ardent affections are kindled by divine grace when the mercies promised are about to fall on us. Prayer is the chain that draws souls up to God and the mercies of God to us!” ~Samuel Lee

"We do not pray out of hope to alter God's eternal purposes; but we pray to obtain that which God has ordained to be received by our prayers. We ask, that we may be fit to receive what God has from all eternity determined to give by prayer, and not otherwise." ~Ezekiel Hopkins

BURN BY PRAYER

 The truths that I know best I have learned on my knees. I never know a thing well, till it is burned into my heart by prayer.

John Bunyan

I can't help myself

 I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me. -CS Lewis

CONTENTMENT FROM FULLNESS IN CHRIST

 That is, contentment is not mainly negative, but there is a strong positive focus. It is not achieved by a mere denial of desires, which leaves one empty. Rather, it entails a deliberate focus on the immeasurable treasures that we already possess in Christ. It is not produced by an exercise of willpower, but it is a natural outcome of knowledge.

COMMUNE

"We do well to remember that no amount of activity in the King's service will make up for the neglect of the King Himself." -Duncan Campbell. 

 We miss a thousand blessings because we’re too busy to commune with God. We are here, there, and everywhere, except where we ought to be. -Charles Spurgeon

GROANS ARE THE DEEP BASS

I tell you the groans of the damned in hell are the deep bass of the universal anthem of praise that shall ascend to the throne of my God for ever and ever. -Charles Spurgeon