Thorny Blessings

 “…especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:7-10‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“Anything is a blessing that makes us pray.”

~Charles Spurgeon

Good in All Tenses

"Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you."

Isaiah 46:3‭-‬4 CSB

"Our faith is built on a rock that can never be moved. Nothing in the past has shaken the foundation of our faith. Nothing in the present can move it. Nothing in the future will undermine it. Whatever may occur in the ages to come, there will always be good reason for believing in Jehovah and his faithful Word.

"The great truths he has revealed will never be disproved.

The great promises he has made will never be retracted.

The great purposes he has devised will never be abandoned.

"So long as we live, we will always have a refuge, a hope, a confidence, that can never be removed....

"The Lord is good to us in all tenses and in all ways.... Our experimental dealings with God make us know that he is our gracious helper from the first to the last" (Charles Spurgeon).

Eternal, unchanging Father,

The I AM from forever past to forever future; 

Prince of Peace, 

The Alpha and Omega, 

The same yesterday and today and forever;

Holy Spirit, 

Who hovered over the face of the deep in the beginning, 

You who dwell in me now to sanctify and encourage me, 

You who with the Bride say, "Come":

You marked me as Yours, O Triune God, 

From before the foundation of the world, 

Before I even existed.

Before I knew You,

You knew me;

Chose me; 

Loved me. 

In the fulness of time You brought me to Yourself, 

Gave me new birth, new eyes, new heart. 

You have been with me

And provided for all my needs, 

Protected me from dangers seen and unseen.

Yet when I gaze down the road of unknown years

Remaining in my life, 

Sometimes I worry

What will become of me 

When I am older and greyer and weaker than I am

Already

Now.

Thank You for this promise, Lord.

You have written those remaining days; 

You know their number and their content; 

You write good stories for Your children.

You are good to us, to me,

In all tenses

And in all ways.

I believe; 

Help my unbelief.

Your grace has brought me safe this far. 

Your grace will lead me home, 

For Jesus' sake. 

Amen. 

Immeasurable Treasure and True Freedom

"The course of my life is in your power;

Rescue me from the power of my enemies

And from my persecutors.

Make your face shine on your servant;

Save me by your faithful love."

Psalm 31:15-16, CSB

"Many are the the fiery darts of the evil one, but our shield is one. Though the javelins of the foe were dipped in the venom of hell, yet our one shield of faith would hold us harmless, casting them off from us. Thus David had the grand resource of faith in the hour of danger. He uttered a glorious claim, the greatest claim man has ever made: 'I say, "You are my God."'

He that can say, 'This kingdom is mine,' makes a royal claim.

He that can say, 'This mountain of silver is mine,' makes a wealthy claim.

But he that can say to the Lord, 'You are my God,' has said more than all monarchs and millionaires can speak. What more can we have?

We do not have the world, but we have the Maker of the world, and that is far more. There is no measuring the greatness of that treasure….

"[David] was not shut up by the hands of the enemy, but his feet stood in a large room, for he was in a space large enough for the ocean, seeing the Lord had placed him in the hollow of his hand. To be entirely at the disposal of God is life and liberty for us."

~Charles H. Spurgeon on Psalm 31

Ebenezer

Rocks from a weekend in an Oklahoma cabin

An Ebenezer stone from a weekend in Oklahoma

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us” ( 1 Samuel 7:12, ESV).

"We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves. In the same way look down the long aisles of your years at the green branches of mercy overhead and the strong pillars of loving-kindness and faithfulness that support your joys.

"Are there no birds singing in those branches? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received 'till now.'

"But the word also points forward. For when a man reaches a certain point and writes 'till now,' he is not yet at the end; he still has a distance to go. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then he faces sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over then? No! Then there is wakening in Jesus’ likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the company of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. Be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise your banner, for—

He who hath helped thee hitherto

Will help thee all thy journey through.

"When read in light of heaven, how glorious and marvelous a prospect will the “till now” provide for your grateful eye!"

    ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, December 29

 Last weekend I raised two Ebenezers, honoring God's grace in 2 decades of (official) autoimmune disease and 5 decades of life on this wild, beautiful, terrible planet. Till now the Lord HAS helped us!

None But Jesus

“Oh, this day, let your people feel that there is now no condemnation for them.

Let them feel

             the completeness of the washing Christ has given, 

             the fulness of the righteousness he has imputed, 

             the eternal vitality of the life he has endowed,

             the indissoluble character of the union

             by which we are knit to Christ

             with ties that never can be broken.

May we today rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

May we write upon our hearts these blessed words:

 "filled [with] all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3 v 19).

May we know that we have all that we can hold.

And may we pray to be enlarged,

    that we may take in even more of Christ

       than we have yet received.

For he is all ours, altogether ours, 

    and ours world without end.”

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

From Ocean of Grace by Tim Chester

Empty Vessels

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”
‭‭John‬ ‭2:1-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

At this point early in Jesus’ ministry, His mother and brothers (v. 12) were still with Him. When the unnamed hosts ran out of the wine they needed to fulfill their hospitality duties, Mary approaches Jesus and presents the need. She doesn’t tell Him what to do about it or even ask Him to respond in a certain way. She simply says, “They have no wine.”

That place of emptiness and inability to do what God has called me to do is, honestly, where I wake up most days. My first prayer, before I even get out of bed, is “Lord, I can’t do this. Will You please help me? Show up and show off. Give me Your strength and wisdom to do what You want me to do, and protect me from anything that would injure or aggravate my back and joints.” I understand how it feels to be out of resources, to be an empty vessel with nothing to pour out.

After Mary presents the need, the next step is expectant obedience. She tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says, which in this case is to fill the empty jars with water, 120-180 gallons of water. This is very far outside of my life experience, but it hardly seems like a quick chore. In March we had no running water for a couple of days because of a plumbing repair, and it wasn’t a quick and easy task just to fill our pitchers, buckets, and pots with water in anticipation of that need. How many times during the trips back and forth to the well, river, or cistern did the servants ask themselves what the point was or grumble inwardly or outwardly about this task that appears to make no sense? But they are well enough trained and obedient to see the task thoroughly through, filling the jars “to the brim.”

Then Jesus commands them to draw some out and take it to the party planner, who in puzzlement tells the bridegroom that this water-become-wine is better than all the wine served to that point in the feast.

In the time it takes to fill six large stone water jars with water and take some to the master of the feast, Jesus has created approximately 150 gallons of superb wine. (How many people were at this feast, anyway??) In today’s standard wine bottle volume, based on the ESV conversion of ancient measurement to gallons, that would be 1,524 bottles of wine. If the particular jars held 30 gallons, it would be even more. He responds to need and emptiness not with criticism or rejection, but with superabundant provision.

Charles Spurgeon makes this comment on John 2:11:

“It is a blessed need that makes room for Jesus to come in with miracles of love. It is good to run short that we may be driven to the Lord by our necessity, for he will more than supply it. If we have no need, Christ will not come to us. But if we are in dire necessity, his hands will stretch our to us. If our needs stand before us like huge empty water pots, or if our souls are as full of grief as those same pots were filled with water up to the brim, Jesus can, by his sweet will, turn all the water into wine—the sighing into singing. We should be glad to be weak so the power of God may rest on us” (Spurgeon).

Lord, we bring our emptiness to You. We bring the fullness of our griefs to You. Thank You for our necessity, inadequacy, and weakness that prepare us for Your power to shine forth for Your glory. Fill and transform us. Draw others to trust You because of Your glorious goodness and might in our lives. We ask these things in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Spurgeon on the Christian Life {Book Review}

N.B. This blogger received a complimentary PDF of this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review. Except where noted, all references are page numbers from that edition of the book.

Introduction to Charles Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English Baptist pastor in the Reformed theological camp. Both his Baptist and Reformed convictions grew out of his study of the Scriptures and not allegiance to a human teacher or theological system. Although some reading this may not recognize his name, his renown and the reach of his writings were arguably as broad in his time as the late Billy Graham’s in mine.  Unlike Graham, Spurgeon served as a pastor throughout his ministry. He never ceased to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he did so in the context of his pastorate. By today’s standards, we would say he pastored a megachurch, typically preaching to more than ten thousand souls on a Sunday and also marrying,  burying, and providing other pastoral care during the week.

Spurgeon was likely the most prolific writer of theological and devotional material in Christian history. His sermons alone comprise as many words as the 27 volumes of the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica[i], and he did not write sermons only. “On just one rainy day during a holiday in France, for example, he managed to write out a month’s worth of daily meditations” (Michael Reeves, Spurgeon on the Christian Life, 160).

In the book under review, Michael Reeves notes, “On top of his preaching and pastoral ministry, he established and oversaw a host of ministries, including the Pastors’ College, the Stockwell Orphanage, seventeen almshouses for poor and elderly women, the Colportage Association, and a day school for children. He was involved in the planting of 187 churches (94 in London or nearby, 43 in the southeast, 19 in the north of England)” (159).

Moreover, he (or Christ through him) bore all this fruit in the midst of great physical and emotional suffering:

Aged twenty-two, as pastor of a large church and with twin babies at home to look after, he was preaching to thousands in the Surrey Gardens Music Hall when pranksters yelled “fire,” starting a panic to exit the building which killed seven and left twenty-eight severely injured. His mind was never the same again. His wife, Susannah, wrote, “My beloved’s anguish was so deep and violent, that reason seemed to totter in her throne, and we sometimes feared that he would never preach again.”

Then, from the age of thirty-three, physical pain became a large and constant feature of life for him. He suffered from a burning kidney inflammation called Bright’s Disease, as well as gout, rheumatism, and neuritis. The pain was such that it soon kept him from preaching for one third of the time (163).

His beloved wife also suffered from chronic illness for much of their marriage.

Is this not a man worth knowing in his words, since we cannot now in person?

Character of This Book

Spurgeon on the Christian Life by theology professor Dr. Michael Reeves is one of the latest volumes in Crossway’s Theologians on the Christian Life series. The introduction to this book explains the gap in recent Christian publishing which the series seeks to fill. In the editors’ words,

Yet, for all our abundance of resources, we also lack something. We tend to lack the perspectives from the past, perspectives from a different time and place than our own. To put the matter differently, we have so many riches in our current horizon that we tend not to look to the horizons of the past.

That is unfortunate, especially when it comes to learning about and practicing discipleship. It’s like owning a mansion and choosing to live in only one room. This series invites you to explore the other rooms (11).

This book is not biography, but you will know Spurgeon better by the last page. Nor is it critical analysis, although the author does explain his disagreement with Spurgeon on some points. Instead, it provides an overview of the major themes in Spurgeon’s writings and ministry with an emphasis on Spurgeon’s own words.  As such, it makes an excellent, approachable introduction to Spurgeon, and the endnotes would be a great launch pad for further exploration. For myself, as I had already gotten to know a few of Spurgeon’s books, it broadened my exposure to his other writings and better fleshed out ideas I’d picked up from the things already read. Spurgeon’s Christ-exalting pastoral heart makes this book a blessing to read even if one chooses not to read more.

Selected Quotes

Although Spurgeon did not pursue a university or divinity school degree, his private reading and study and God’s  particular gifting made him a master of communication. I highlighted too many quotes to share here, but I offer a few for your consideration.

• The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatary. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead (45-46).
• Christ said, “Feed My sheep . . . Feed My lambs.” Some preachers, however, put the food so high that neither lambs nor sheep can reach it. They seem to have read the text, “Feed My giraffes.” (77).
• Aspire to be understood rather than to be admired. Seek not to produce a wondering but an instructed audience (81).
• Prayer with the heart is the heart of prayer: the cry of our soul is the soul of our cry (147).
• You know, dear brothers and sisters, how a little act of kindness will cheer us when we are very low in spirit. If we are despised and rejected of men, if we are deserted and defamed by those who ought to have dealt differently with us, even a tender look from a child will help to remove our depression. In times of loneliness, it is something even to have a dog with you, to lick your hand, and show you such kindness as is possible from him (166-167).
• You will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters; but if you wear the livery of Christ, you will find him so meek and lowly of heart that you will find rest unto your souls. He is the most magnanimous of captains. There never was his like among the choicest of princes. He is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle. When the wind blows cold he always takes the bleak side of the hill. The heaviest end of the cross lies ever on his shoulders. If he bids us carry a burden, he carries it also. If there is anything that is gracious, generous, kind, and tender, yea lavish and superabundant in love, you always find it in him. These forty years and more have I served him, blessed be his name! and I have had nothing but love from him. I would be glad to continue yet another forty years in the same dear service here below if so it pleased him. His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on it at once! God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus even this day! Amen (74-75, Spurgeon’s last words from his pulpit, June 7, 1891).

Recommendation

I enjoyed reading this book and found it added much to my appreciation of Spurgeon. My 7 pages of small-print highlights will provide food for further reflection, and I do want to continue learning more of Spurgeon’s life and writings. More importantly, the time spent with Spurgeon in this book made me want to love and exalt the Jesus we share that much more. My favorite chapters were in the last section of the book, the chapters on prayer, on suffering, and on final glory.

Reformed and/or Baptist readers should find much encouragement, insight, and kinship of spirit here.  A representative sampling of Spurgeon’s writings could not exclude his belief in predestination, the human inability to want to choose Christ apart from grace, and penal substitutionary atonement, so all those are included here. Readers who do not hold those views may not enjoy the book as much but will come away with a better understanding of why people like Spurgeon do hold and treasure what have been called "the doctrines of grace."

Contrary to the tolerant cultural trend in our day, Spurgeon was quite outspoken about false teaching and forms of Christianity which he believed to be contrary to Scripture. While this does not constitute a large portion of this book, some readers will disagree with his convictions and the zeal with which he expresses them. Then again, perhaps that is why we find it hard to read old books and why we need them and books like this one which guide us through the old writings.

To purchase:

Crossway: https://www.crossway.org/books/spurgeon-on-the-christian-life-tpb/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spurgeon-on-the-christian-life-michael-reeves/1126398702?ean=9781433543876

Christian Book Distributors: https://www.christianbook.com/spurgeon-the-christian-life-alive-christ/michael-reeves/9781433543876/pd/543870?product_redirect=1&Ntt=543870&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP

Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/2H37qRt

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[i] http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-29/charles-h-spurgeon-did-you-know.html

Heralds of Weighty Mercies

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”

2 Corinthians 1:5

Orange-crowned warbler

"There is a blessed proportion. The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales—in this side he puts his people’s trials, and in that he puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to his crew.... Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart—he finds it full—he begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have, because he will be more fitted to receive it.... There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies."

~Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Morning of February 12

Reminders from Spurgeon on the Threshold of the Year

"We rejoice that we will never have to change our confidence, for our God will never be carried into captivity or torn from his throne. Our faith is built on a rock that can never be moved.
Nothing in the past has shaken the foundation of our faith.
Nothing in the present can move it.
Nothing in the future will undermine it.
Whatever may occur in the ages to come, there will always be good reason for believing in Jehovah and his faithful Word.
The great truths he has revealed will never be disproved.
The great promises he has made will never be retracted.
The great purposes he has devised will never be abandoned.
So long as we live, we will always have a refuge, a hope, a confidence, that can never be removed...."

"The Lord is good to us in all tenses and in all ways."


And again:
"God's acts of faithful love in the past help us in three ways in the present:
first, they aid us in prayer to know what God has done for His people in the past;
second, they support our faith because we know God can accomplish anything He wishes;
and third, they provide happiness for His people in the present when we rest in what He has already done for us."

May we raise our Ebenezer over the trials and triumphs of 2017:
"Thus far the Lord has helped us!"
May His unchanging faithfulness give us courage to step boldly into 2018,
trusting that He will help us again.
He is good in all tenses and in all ways.

Courage, dear hearts!

The Sweetness, the Security, the Strength of "Thou Art with Me"

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me....
Psalm 23:4a, ESV

Juneau, Alaska, September 2015

"Do you know the sweetness, the security, the strength of 'Thou art with me'? When anticipating the solemn hour of death, when the soul is ready to halt and ask, How shall it then be? can you turn in soul-affection to your God and say, 'There is nothing in death to harm me, while thy love is left to me'? Can you say 'O death, where is thy sting'? It is said, when a bee has left its sting in any one, it has no more power to hurt. Death has left its sting in the humanity of Christ, and has no more power to harm his child. Christ's victory over the grave is his people's. 'At that moment I am with you,' whispers Christ; 'the same arm you have proved strong and faithful all the way up through the wilderness, which has never failed, though you have been often forced to lean on it all your weakness.' 'On this arm,' answers the believer, 'I feel at home; with soul confidence, I repose on my Beloved; for he has supported through so many difficulties, from the contemplation of which I shuddered. He has carried over so many depths, that I know his arm to be the arm of love.' How can that be dark, in which God's child is to have the accomplishment of the longing desire of his life? How can it be dark to come in contact with the light of life? It is 'his rod,' 'his staff,'  therefore they 'comfort.' Prove him-prove him now, believer! it is your privilege to do so. It will be precious to him to support your weakness; prove that when weak, then are you strong; that you may be secure, his strength shall be perfected in your perfect weakness. Omnipotent love must fail before one of his sheep can perish for, says Christ, 'none shall pluck my sheep out of my hand.' 'I and my Father are one:' therefore we may boldly say, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.'"

(Viscountess Powerscourt, quoted in Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalm 23)

Blogger tells me it's been almost a month since my last post. It has been a maelstrom of a month, full of laughter with young nephews, tears, most especially over the loss of my eldest sister-in-law to cancer, travel, and change in many areas. I still hope and intend to honor Cindy with a blog post of her own, but for now please accept these comments on her favorite passage of Scripture.

With love and gratitude,

tinuviel

The Spade of Trouble and the Reservoir of Comfort

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,

so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ."

—2 Corinthians 1:5.

"THERE is a blessed proportion.

The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales—

in this side He puts His people's trials,

and in that He puts their consolations.

When the scale of trial is nearly empty,

you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition;

and when the scale of trials is full,

you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy.

When the black clouds gather most,

the light is the more brightly revealed to us.

When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on,

the Heavenly Captain is always closest to His crew.

It is a blessed thing, that when we are most cast down,

then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit.

One reason is, because trials make more room for consolation.

Great hearts can only be made by great troubles.

The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper,

and makes more room for consolation.

God comes into our heart

—He finds it full—

He begins to break our comforts and to make it empty;

then there is more room for grace.

The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have,

because he will be more fitted to receive it.

Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this—

then we have the closest dealings with God.

When the barn is full, man can live without God:

when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without so much prayer.

But once take our gourds away, and we want our God;

once cleanse the idols out of the house, then we are compelled to honour Jehovah.

"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord."

There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains;

no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul,

through deep trials and afflictions.

Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier;

for nearness to God is happiness.

Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles,

for they are the heralds of weighty mercies."

~C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Morning of 12 February (formatting mine)