While working two jobs, I don't have much time for reading like I want too, but when I do get a chance, I usually try to shut my phone off and take about 12 hours to read. Last night and this morning I got my chance and it was beautiful. So right now, I am spending almost all of my time reading anything by C.H. Spurgeon or Scripture.
I am doing the Robert Murray McCheyne Reading plan, which is my 5th time through and a list of Spurgeon books:
Beside Still Waters, Spurgeon's prayers, Wicket Gate, No Tears in Heaven, and Delighting in the Sunlit Upland's of Grace.
Here are some golden nuggets I got from my reading, hope you might find something to grab onto and chew on it:
Beside Still Waters - Spurgeon wrote this - "The Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." (Gen. 15:1). These words were spoken shortly after Abram had given his nephew Lot the choice of territories. Lot chose what appeared to be the best, Jordan's well-watered plain. Abraham, however, looked to the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Thus, he lost nothing.
Every time I come across this story in my reading time I would be so frustrated with Lot for not showing respect to Abram and for being selfish choosing the best and not letting Abram have it. But Spurgeon definitely showed me a new angle on this story. Lot was choosing physically while Abram was choosing spiritually. What a powerful lesson for me to wrestle with. How about I start getting to the point in life when I focus more on spiritual decision and less on physical decisions? And I love what God is basically communicating to Abram: you focus on me and me alone and I'll take care of you. Jesus would say very many years later, "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all the other things will be added unto you." Can you imagine the Lord coming to you and saying, "do not be afraid, __________________ (your name). I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. What physical thing could take the place of that spiritual truth? That was how I started off my evening, and it was only going to get better.
Spurgeon's Prayers: Spurgeon wrote in regards to Psalm 139: "but now, O Lord, we desire to find Thee. Our longing is to feel Thy Presence and it is the heaven of heavens that Thou art there. The sick bed is soft when Thou art there. The furnace of affliction grows cool when Thou art there and the house of prayer, when Thou art present, is none other than the house of God and it is the very gate of heaven."
I just simply wrote, Jesus makes all the difference. If the Lord is calling me to something, He is also promising to be with me and to provide for me. So if it is to endure affliction, it is for my good and more importantly, for me to know that He is present. It is like I am digging my faith roots deeper into His faithful soil. If it is prayer, then He is showing me that He longs for my presence to be centered on Him and He longs to be with me. He just wants me to know that He delights to be on this journey with me and I respond with being joyful to be on this journey with Him. And then listen to this prayer, is this not a great prayer for our nation right now:
"And now that we have Thine ear, we would pray for this poor world in which we live. We are often horrified by it. O, Lord, we could wish that we did not know anything about it for our own comfort. We have said, "Oh! for a lodge in some vast wilderness." We hear of oppression and robbery and murder, and men seem let loose against each other. Lord, have mercy upon this great and wicked city. What is to be done with these millions? What can we do? At least help every child of Thine to do his utmost. May none of us contribute to the evil directly or indirectly, but may we contribute to the good that is is in."
May we simply not add more fire to the brokenness here on earth, but may we shine with joy and love in this dark place.
No Tear In Heaven: Spurgeon writes: "I shall be well contented to have made the joy-bells ring in one heart at least, to have set one eye flashing with joy, and to have made one spirit light with gladness."
That is a good prayer to pray for how we can contribute to this broken world.
Also Spurgeon writes, "Not so the Christian in heaven. For him there are no nights; and if there be times of solitude and rest, he is ever filled with ecstatic joy. His river floweth ever full of bliss, without one pebble of sorrow over which it ripples, he has no aching conscience, no 'aching void the world can never fill.' He is supremely blessed, satisfied with favour, and full with the goodness of the Lord."
There is an end to this madness friends and what awaits us is simply unbelievable. He made the promise and He will fulfill that promise, so may we keep at it until our time is come. I can't wait to sit by the river full of bliss. I will have my feet in delighted in His Presence never ever remembering or give a care to the struggles of this life on earth. It will be forgotten and all will be well in my heart and soul. I CAN'T WAIT.
Delighting In The Sunlit Uplands of Grace: If you want to read a great sermon, which is what I read Friday morning, here it is: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/joy-a-duty/#flipbook/
No thoughts, just quotes:
Spurgeon writes: "what a gracious God we serve, who makes delight to be a duty, and who commands us to rejoice...we are to joy, and then we are to re-joy. We are to chew the cud of delight; we are to roll the dainty morsel under our tongue till we get the very essence out of it. 'Rejoice, Joy is a delightful thing." WOW
"God never commanded us to do a thing which would really harm us;" (and may I add) His commands are always for us to taste and see that He is good and He is God.
"Joy! Joy! Why, it speaks for itself! It is like a candle lighted in a dark chamber; you need not sound a trumpet, and say, ' now light has come.' The candle proclaims itself by its own brilliance; and when joy comes into a man, it shines out of his eyes, it sparkles in his countenance. There is something about every limb of the man that betokens that his body, like a well-tuned harp, has had its strings put in order. Joy - it refreshes the marrow of the bones; it quickens the flowing of the blood in the veins; it is a healthy thing in all respects. It is a speaking thing, a demonstrative thing; and I am sure that joy in the Lord ought to have a tongue." He then spoke of an elderly man in his church who fit this description and said, "what a lump of sunshine that man was" and I thought to myself, that is exactly what I would love for people to say of me. Wouldn't it be great if people said of you, "what a lump of sunshine he/she was." It is all about choosing Jesus as your joy and nothing else. And friends, when we choose Jesus as our joy, "it makes us like God."
And Jesus should be our joy because look at what He did: "Jesus, incarnate in your flesh, dead for your sins, risen for your justification, gone into glory claiming victory for you, sitting at the right hand of God interceding for you, reigning over all worlds on your behalf, and soon to come to take you up into His Glory that you may be with Him forever. Rejoice in the Lord Jesus. This is a sea of delight; blessed are they that dive into its utmost depths." Come on!!!
Last thought although I had many more. Spurgeon writes, "you see it is joy, joy, joy, joy. Paul seems to go from stave to stave of the ladder of light, as if he were climbing up from Nero's dungeon into heaven itself by way of continual joy."
So today, I rededicated myself of being a person of joy not for your sake but because it is what the Lord longs of me. My joy is not in anything of this world, because any of it is going to fade away. No, my joy is in Jesus because He is constant. He is good. He is joy. He deserves it. Life is hard and it is easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed, but that is why we must look to Jesus and remind ourselves of what is to come. No one can take that away from us. May it be said of me, "what a lump of sunshine he was."
Blessings.
Thanks. Blessings to you as well
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