Forget And Forgive

Be not in haste. Let anger cool down. 

Say nothing and do nothing to avenge yourself. 

You will be sure to act unwisely if you take up the cudgels and fight your own battles...

And, certainly, you will not show the spirit of the LORD Jesus.

It is nobler to forgive and let the offense pass. 

To let an injury rankle in your bosom and to meditate revenge is to keep old wounds open and to make new ones. 

Better forget and forgive.

Peradventure, you say that you must do something or be a great loser...

Then do what this morning's promise advises: "Wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee."

This advice will not cost you money but is worth far more...

Be calm and quiet. 

Wait upon the LORD...

Tell Him your grievance; spread Rabshakeh's letter before the LORD, and this of itself will be an ease to your burdened mind. 

Besides, there is the promise "He shall save thee."

God will find a way of deliverance for you. 

How He will do it neither you nor I can guess, but do it He will...

If the LORD saves you, this will be a deal better than getting into petty quarrels and covering yourself with filth by wrestling with the unclean.

Be no more angry. Leave your suit with the Judge of all.

~Charles Spurgeon~

CERTAINTY

The people of God are Robbed of their Fighting Power when the enemy has got them to Doubt and Question their standing in Christ.

God must build His city in Certainty, and we must Stand in the full assurance of faith.

To be Established in the faith with Full Assurance enables us to strike a blow at Principalities and Powers...

But the devil and his hosts have Much Power where there is uncertainty, doubt, question.

When the believer knows the power of the personal "I know" because of full assurance in the Word of God, then that very knowledge is a Weapon of defense against the enemy...

Hence the devil desires to prevent assurance by inserting doubt whenever he gets a chance.

Stand on God's Facts and not on the Quicksands of your Own Feelings. 

Some are doubting simply because of feelings!

Salvation is not a matter of feeling, it is God's fact "It is written" - God hath said.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Blessed Is He That Is Not Offended In Me

Mat 11:6  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

The Word of God does take account of the possibility of our being offended with Him. 

It does not say anywhere that that possibility should never arise and will never arise. 

The Lord has no where said that we shall never have any occasion for being offended with Him. 

He HAS indicated that there will be PLENTY of opportunity for so stumbling at Him, falling over Him, coming down because of Him – if you like: crashing because of Him. 

There will be plenty of occasion or opportunity for doing so. 

He has never said that it will never be so. 

It is as well for us to recognize that.

The Lord sent no word of rebuke to poor John the Baptist in the prison when he was perilously near to being offended with the Lord because of his situation. 

The Lord was not hard on John because of his question. He might, had He been another, have said, “But John, did you not point Me out as the Lamb of God?"...

Did you not proclaim Me as the One, the Messiah?...

Haven’t you preached about Me to multitudes?...

Have you not made the strongest declarations and affirmations as to what you believed about Me?...

And here you’re asking a fundamental question about Me...

John, what’s gone wrong with you?...

No, nothing like that. 

The Lord knows our frame, that we are dust. 

And the Lord, I’m saying, takes account of this ever present possibility, in our weakness, of being offended with Him. 

But He does attach to this matter a particular blessedness if we don’t crash over the Stumbling Block of His ways with us...  

AND blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me.

~T. Austin Sparks~

He Never Fails

Joshua 1:5  There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

This word to Joshua is often quoted; it is the basis of that New Testament word "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Beloved, a life of warfare is before us, but the LORD of Hosts is with us. 

Are we called to lead a great but fickle people? 

This promise guarantees us all the wisdom and prudence that we shall need. 

Have we to contend with cunning and powerful enemies? 

Here is strength and valor, prowess and victory. 

Have we a vast heritage to win? 

By this sign we shall achieve our purpose; the LORD Himself is with us.

It would be woe to us indeed if Jehovah could fail us...

But, as this can never be, the winds of disquietude are laid to sleep in the caverns of divine faithfulness. 

On no one occasion will the LORD desert us. 

Happen what may, He will be at our side. 

Friends drop from us, their help is but an April shower...

But God is faithful, Jesus is the same forever, and the Holy Spirit abideth in us.

Come, my heart, be calm and hopeful today. 

Clouds may gather, but the LORD can blow them away. 

Since God will not fail me, my faith shall not fail...

And as He will not forsake me, neither will I forsake Him. 

Oh, for a restful faith! 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Preserved To Work's End

Act 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. 

Are you a witness for the LORD, and are you just now in danger?

Then remember that you are immortal till your work is done. 

If the LORD has more witness for you to bear, you will live to bear it.

Who is he that can break the vessel which the LORD intends again to use?

If there is no more work for you to do for your Master, it cannot distress you that He is about to take you home...

And put you where you will be beyond the reach of adversaries. 

Your witness-bearing for Jesus is your chief concern, and you cannot be stopped in it till it is finished...

Therefore, be at peace. 

Cruel slander, wicked misrepresentation...

Desertion of friends, betrayal by the most trusted one...

And whatever else may come cannot hinder the LORD's purpose concerning you. 

The LORD stands by you in the night of your sorrow, and He says, "Thou must yet bear witness for me."

Be calm; be filled with joy in the LORD.

If you do not need this promise just now, you may very soon. 

Treasure it up. 

Remember also to pray for missionaries and all persecuted ones, that the LORD would preserve them even to the completion of their lifework. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

God's Hornets

Exo 23:28  And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. 

What the hornets were we need not consider. 

They were God's own army which He sent before His people to sting their enemies and render Israel's conquest easy. 

Our God by His own chosen means will fight for His people and gall their foes before they come into the actual battle. 

Often He confounds the adversaries of truth by methods in which reformers themselves have no hand 

The air is full of mysterious influences which harass Israel's foes. 

We read in the Apocalypse that "the earth helped the woman."

Let us never fear. 

The stars in their courses fight against the enemies of our souls. 

Oftentimes when we march to the conflict we find no host to contend with. 

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

God's hornets can do more than our weapons. 

We could never dream of the victory being won by such means as Jehovah will use. 

We must obey our marching orders and go forth to the conquest of the nations for Jesus...

And we shall find that the LORD has gone before us and prepared the way...

So that in the end we will joyfully confess, "His own right hand and his holy arm, have gotten him the victory." 

~Charles Spurgeon~

The King's Highway

Isa 35:8  And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

The way of holiness is so straight and plain that the simplest minds cannot go astray if they constantly follow it. 

The worldly wise have many twists and turns, and yet they make terrible blunders and generally miss their end.

Worldly policy is a poor, shortsighted thing...

And when men choose it as their road, it leads them over dark mountains. 

Gracious minds know no better than to do as the LORD bids them...

But this keeps them in the King's highway and under royal protection.

Let the reader never for a moment attempt to help himself out of a difficulty by a falsehood or by a questionable act...

But let him keep in the middle of the high road of truth and integrity, and he will be following the best possible course.

In our lives we must never practice circular sailing nor dream of shuffling. 

Be just and fear not, Follow Jesus and heed no evil consequences.

If the worst of ills could be avoided by wrongdoing, we should, in the very attempt, have fallen into an evil worse than any other ill could be.

God's way must be the very best way...

Follow it though men think you a fool, and you will be truly wise.

LORD, lead Thy servants in a plain path because of their enemies.

~Charles Spurgeon~