NEVER ASHAMED

NEVER ASHAMED Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32 What a gracious promise this is! It is a great joy for me to confess my Lord. Though I have many faults, I am not ashamed of Jesus, nor do I shrink from declaring the truth of His cross. O Lord, I have not hidden Your righteousness in my heart. How sweet is the hope set before me in this verse! Friends may abandon me, and enemies may mock me, but the Lord will never reject me. I am confident that the Lord will acknowledge me here on earth and give me new signs of His favor. And one day, I will stand before the great Father in heaven. How wonderful it will be to hear Jesus confess me then! He will say, “This one truly trusted Me and was willing to bear reproach for My name’s sake; I claim him as Mine.” The other day, a man was knighted and received a jeweled garter from the Queen, but how insignificant that honor is compared to the glory of being acknowledged by the Lord Jesus in the presence of Almighty God! May I never be ashamed to own my Lord. May I never be silent out of fear or give in to compromise. How could I ever fail to confess Him who promises to confess me? I know that you have little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my Name. See, I will make those who have lied about you, fall down before your feet: and they will know that I have loved you. Revelation 3:9,10 By Charles H. Spurgeon

 

ARE YOU BLESSED?

ARE YOU BLESSED? Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. Psalm 40:4 The world tells us that the blessed, or happy, person is the one who succeeds in business, grows wealthy, or rises to power. People chase after these worldly goals. On the other hand, there’s no competition for the path of sainthood, and few envy the heroes of faith. Yet, from heaven’s perspective, the highest positions are held by those who trust God wholeheartedly. If we study the Beatitudes, we learn who is truly blessed. When we trace the word “blessed” through the Bible, we find what it means to dwell within the circle of God’s favor. The one who trusts in the Lord is blessed because their feet are on solid ground, they have joy that can’t be shaken, and no disaster—financial, political, or personal—can disturb that trust which has proven (over and over again) that God is faithful! Isn’t it worth seeking this secure blessedness? No other trust is truly safe, not in this life; and what about the day of judgment that follows? Only those whose trust is in God are truly blessed. The question is, where is your trust? Are you among the blessed? By J.R. Miller

 

I DON’T KNOW

I DON’T KNOW Did you know there's a prayer called the "I don't know" prayer? It's very spiritual. You just go off somewhere quiet and hidden and you walk right up to the heart of God and you say, "I don't know." I don't know where to go from here. I don't know what is happening. I don't know how to process this. I don't know what to do with these emotions. I don't know how to handle this situation. It covers a lot of I don't knows. And then with whatever dusty little sand grain of faith you have, you say, "But You know." And you leave it there. God most certainly hears that prayer.

 

THE DIVINE PARADOXES

THE DIVINE PARADOXES The heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 The sin of our fallen nature is a profound mystery. We read about the mystery of sin as well as the mystery of salvation in Jesus; and both have depths, lengths, and breadths beyond human understanding. One way to explain this is to identify the divine paradoxes that each Christian faces as we mature in the Lord:  The wiser we become, the more we realize our foolishness; Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise by the standards of the world, he should become a fool in their eyes, so that he may find true wisdom. 1 Corinthians 3:18 The stronger we grow in Christ, the weaker we feel; But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 The more we possess spiritually, the less we seem to have; Poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 2 Corinthians 6:10 The more of a sinner we are, the more fully we are forgiven; Two men were debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more? Luke 7:41-42 And when we are most like little children, we are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4 By J.C. Philpot

 

BEARING THE STING

BEARING THE STING He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Isaiah 53:7 How much grace it requires to bear a misunderstanding rightly, and to receive an unkind judgment in holy sweetness! Nothing tests the Christian character more than to have some evil thing said about him. This is the file that soon proves whether we are electro-plate or solid gold. If we could only know the blessings that lie hidden in our trials we would say like David, when Shimei cursed him; Let him curse; It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today. 2 Samuel 16:12 Some people get easily turned aside from the grandeur of their life-work by pursuing their own grievances and enemies, until their life gets turned into one little petty whirl of warfare. It is like a nest of hornets. You may disperse the hornets, but you will probably get terribly stung, and get nothing for your pains, for even their honey is not worth a search. May God give us more of the Spirit of Christ: When he was insulted, he did not reply with insults. When he suffered, he did not threaten revenge. Instead, he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23 Think about the one who endured such opposition from sinners so that you won’t be discouraged and you won’t give up. Hebrews 12:3 By A. B. Simpson