Morning Reading

Blue Letter Bible

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

January 2nd

 

"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.”

Alone in the mountains with God

Adam and I spent some time tucked away in the Colorado Rockies seeking the Lord.  We were hidden away from the rest of the world and our surroundings were awe inspiring.  We were doing our DTS with Youth With A Mission.  Each part of the day was spent in quiet time with God.  It's not so much that you have to be quiet as it is a quieting of your heart before the Lord.  Some people would pop their headphones on, listen to worship and go for a jog.   Some would read and others would find a secluded place on campus, grab their guitar and sing praises. 

                               

                                      This is what we woke up to every morning.  Beautiful.

 In the midst of what has become one of my most cherished quiet times, the Lord grabbed my heart and began to speak to me out of Song of Songs about His deep love for me.  I want to share the conversation He had with me that night because I know that what he spoke into my heart is true of his feelings for each one of us.

My love,

When I asked to see your face you whispered,

so softly, like you always do;

look around,
to your brothers, sisters, neighbors,
 and there you will see me for I have created them in my image

you have been looking into my eyes all along.

My darling, you just didn't know it.

My love,

when I asked you to break my heart for the things your heart 

breaks for, you whispered , so softly

it's my children, I miss them

they have all run away.  Some are hurting, some are lonely,

some are trapped.  I would take them all back in a heart beat,

they just don't know it.  

My darling, will you tell them I love them and can't wait 

for them to come home?

My love,

When I asked to understand the depth of your love for me, 

you whispered, "like a lily among thorns is my darling 

among the maidens." "All beautiful you are my darling, 

there is no flaw in you."

My love, 

When I asked you to help me believe all this,

down to the very depths of my being,

you whispered so softly, as you always do,

my darling, I would die for you.  I would go down to the very

pit of hell and back for you.

My love,

but you already have.

My darling, 

I know.

Blue Letter Bible. Encouraging word.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

October 3rd Evening Reading

 

"He himself hath suffered being tempted." — Hebrews 2:18

 

     It is a common‐place thought, and yet
it tastes like nectar to the weary heart—Jesus was tempted as I am. You
have heard that truth many times: have you grasped it? He was tempted
to the very same sins into which we fall. Do not dissociate Jesus from
our common manhood. It is a dark room which you are going through, but
Jesus went through it before. It is a sharp fight which you are waging,
but Jesus has stood foot to foot with the same enemy. Let us be of good
cheer, Christ has borne the load before us, and the blood‐stained
footsteps of the King of glory may be seen along the road which we
traverse at this hour. There is something sweeter yet—Jesus was tempted,
but Jesus never sinned. Then, my soul, it is not needful for thee to
sin, for Jesus was a man, and if one man endured these temptations and
sinned not, then in His power His members may also cease from sin. Some
beginners in the divine life think that they cannot be tempted without
sinning, but they mistake; there is no sin in being tempted, but there is sin in yielding to temptation.
Herein is comfort for the sorely tempted ones. There is still more to
encourage them if they reflect that the Lord Jesus, though tempted,
gloriously triumphed, and as He overcame, so surely shall His followers
also, for Jesus is the representative man for His people; the Head has
triumphed, and the members share in the victory. Fears are needless, for
Christ is with us, armed for our defence. Our place of safety is the
bosom of the Saviour. Perhaps we are tempted just now, in order to drive
us nearer to Him. Blessed be any wind that blows us into the port of
our Saviour’s love! Happy wounds, which make us seek the beloved
Physician. Ye tempted ones, come to your tempted Saviour, for He can be
touched with a feeling of your infirmities, and will succour every tried
and tempted one.

From Blue Letter Bible

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

September 12th

Morning Reading

"God is jealous." — Nahum 1:2

Your Lord is very jealous of your love,
O believer. Did He choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose
another. Did He buy you with His own blood? He cannot endure that you
should think that you are your own, or that you belong to this world. He
loved you with such a love that He would not stop in heaven without
you; He would sooner die than you should perish, and He cannot endure
that anything should stand between your heart’s love and Himself. He is very jealous of your trust.
He will not permit you to trust in an arm of flesh. He cannot bear that
you should hew out broken cisterns, when the overflowing fountain is
always free to you. When we lean upon Him, He is glad, but when we
transfer our dependence to another, when we rely upon our own wisdom, or
the wisdom of a friend—worst of all, when we trust in any works of our
own, He is displeased, and will chasten us that He may bring us to
Himself. He is also very jealous of our company. There should
be no one with whom we converse so much as with Jesus. To abide in Him
only, this is true love; but to commune with the world, to find
sufficient solace in our carnal comforts, to prefer even the society of
our fellow Christians to secret intercourse with Him, this is grievous
to our jealous Lord. He would fain have us abide in Him, and enjoy
constant fellowship with Himself; and many of the trials which He sends
us are for the purpose of weaning our hearts from the creature, and
fixing them more closely upon Himself. Let this jealousy which would
keep us near to Christ be also a comfort to us, for if He loves us so much as to care thus about our
love we may be sure that He will suffer nothing to harm us, and will
protect us from all our enemies. Oh that we may have grace this day to
keep our hearts in sacred chastity for our Beloved alone, with sacred
jealousy shutting our eyes to all the fascinations of the world!

Such a great way to start the morning. Daily devotion from Blue Letter Bible.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

August 19th

Morning Reading

     "He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord." — Micah 5:4

         Christ’s reign in His Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; He commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.

        His reign is practical in its character.  It is said, “He shall stand and feed.”

The great Head of the Church is actively engaged in providing for His people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in government. No, He stands and feeds. The expression “feed,” in the original, is like an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.

        His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, “He shall stand and feed”; not “He shall feed now and then, and leave His position”; not, “He shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave His Church to barrenness.” His eyes never slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to beat with love, and His shoulders are never weary of carrying His people’s burdens.

His reign is effectually powerful in its action; “He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah.” Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that He who stands today representing the interests of His people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before Him as the people of His pasture.