The Shortness and Uncertainty of Life

Life is fleeting. Imagine an hourglass with sand steadily falling from the top chamber to the bottom. You cannot see how much sand remains above. You only know that the grains are slipping away, second by second. Yet, distracted by temporary pursuits and oblivious to eternal realities--we often live as if the sands will never run out. This is a vivid picture of our lives. One day the last grain will fall, and our time will be over! Will you be ready?

The Bible teaches us to consider the brevity of life and the weight of eternity. Wisdom begins with understanding that our earthly existence is but a vapor compared to the endless expanse of eternity. In a little while it shall be said of us, "He is gone!" Let us live as men who must soon give our final account to God.

The question we must face is this: Where will we spend eternity? The Scriptures make it clear that there are only two destinations Heaven or Hell. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

It is the height of folly to live unconcerned about such a critical question. Eternity is not something to ignore or postpone considering. To neglect our final destiny is to gamble with our eternal soul. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."

The sands of time are running out for each of us, and none of us knows when our last moment will come! We are not guaranteed another breath, let alone another day or year to figure it out. Eternity awaits.

Let us live wisely, with eyes fixed on eternity, making every grain of sand count for the glory of God.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Psalm 90:12 ...  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Isaiah 40:7 ... The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

James 4:14 ...  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ❤

Seeing God's Greatness and His Own Vileness

What a staggering confession Job makes at the end of his long trial. This man, once described by God Himself as blameless and upright, now lies in the dust, broken not merely by suffering but by a clearer vision of the holy God. He had spoken much about the Almighty before, and he had held fast to his integrity. But now, having encountered the grandeur, power, and sovereignty of the Lord; Job is utterly undone.

"My ears had heard of You." Like many, Job had known about God. He had right theology. He had heard of God's justice and righteousness. He had offered sacrifices and lived in reverent fear of God. But this knowledge, though sincere, was still inadequate. Now, through the furnace of affliction and the Lord's searching questions, Job sees with the eyes of his soul. "Now my eyes have seen You!" Not physically, but spiritually his understanding has been illuminated. He sees not only God's greatness, but his own vileness. Not only God's glory, but his own guilt.

True sight of God always humbles a man. It silences his arguments, shatters his pride, and brings him to his knees.  This is what happened to Isaiah: "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips!" (Isaiah 6:5)

It happened to Peter: "Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8) And here it happens to Job: "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Those who truly know God will be humble and those who know themselves, cannot be proud.

When a soul truly sees God, it sees itself rightly. Self-righteousness dies. Complaints vanish. Boasting is silenced. What remains is worship and repentance a heart bowed low in the dust, not just because of sorrow, but because it now sees the holiness, wisdom, and majesty of God as never before. May we too move from hearing to seeing from a mere notional knowledge of God to firsthand experience of God's greatness. And may that vision lead us to the same place as Job: humbled, repentant, and silent before the Lord of glory.

[John Flavel]

Job 42:5-6 ... I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

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God's Handwriting!!

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.

[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ...  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Psalm 19:1 ...  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. ❤

To Be Out of Hell

Most of us should blush under a sense of ingratitude to our bountiful Maker, Sustainer and Savior!

Did you ever thank God for your creation, your reason, your continued life? I have known what it is to thank God with all my heart for being able to move my limbs and turn in bed.

Perhaps you have always enjoyed good health; do you thank Him for that? To be out of the hospital, to be out of the lunatic asylum, to be out of prison, to be out of Hell; do we ever thank God for these things? As for the unspeakable gift of Jesus and His dying love for such sinners as we are; who among us has ever worthily thanked Him on this account?

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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2 Corinthians 9:15 ....  Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Hebrews 12:28 ...  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Psalm 103:1-4 ...  Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; ❤

The Next Stone

You may not see the whole path ahead, but God is faithful to place the next stone exactly where your foot needs it. 

word-of-encouragement.com

Psalm 17:5 ... Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

Proverbs 4:26 ... Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established.

Isaiah 30:21 ... And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. ❤

From Burning to Burning!!

The Spirit of God, in Scripture, by metaphors of all sorts of things which are dreadful unto sense sets forth the condition of the damned, and the torments which He has reserved for them in the life to come. Hell's punishments so infinitely exceed all other punishments, that there is no pain so extreme as that of the damned.

As there are no joys which can compare to the joys of heaven so there are no pains which can compare to the pains of Hell. All the cruelties in the world cannot possibly make up any horror comparable to the horrors of Hell. The brick-kilns of Egypt, the fiery furnace of Babylon are but as a fleeting spark, when compared to this tormenting Tophet which has been prepared of old to punish the bodies and souls of rebellious sinners with. Hanging, racking, burning, scourging, stoning, sawing asunder, flaying of the skin, etc., are not to be compared with the tortures of Hell.

If all the pains, sorrows, miseries, and calamities which have been inflicted upon all men, since Adam fell in Paradise, should meet together and center in one man they would not so much as amount to one of the least of the pains of Hell.

Who can sum up the diversity of torments which are in Hell!

1. In Hell there is darkness; Hell is a dark region!

2. In Hell there are sorrows!

3. In Hell there are bonds and chains!

4. In Hell there are pains and pangs!

5. In Hell there is the worm which never dies!

6. In Hell there is the lake of fire!

7. In Hell there is the furnace of fire!

8. In Hell there are the devil and his demons! And oh, how dreadful must it be to be shut up forever with those roaring lions!

9. In Hell there is weeping and gnashing of teeth!

10. In Hell there is unquenchable fire everlasting burnings!

"The sinners in Zion are terrified, trembling grips the godless! Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" (Isaiah 33:14)

O sirs, the torments of Hell will be exceedingly great and dreadful such as will make the stoutest sinners to quake and tremble! Wicked men, who are now such jolly fellows, shall one day go from burning to burning! They shall go from burning in sin to burning in Hell. They shall go from burning in flames of lusts to burning in flames of torment!

O sirs! in this devouring fire, in these everlasting burnings, there will be no music or merry company to pass time away, nor any dice or cards to pass care away; nor any bottles of wine wherein to drown the sinner's grief! As in Heaven there shall be all bodily perfection, so there shall be in Hell all bodily miseries. Whatever may make a man perfectly miserable shall be in Hell. Out of this fiery bed, there is no deliverance!

Oh, how terrible will the torments of Hell be to the damned! The torments of Hell will be universal torments. All torments meet together in that place of torment. Hell is the center of all punishments, of all sorrows, of all pains, of all wrath, of all vengeance, etc.

All the pains, torments, curse, and wrath which were due to the elect fell on Jesus, until divine justice was fully satisfied. 

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

Oh, extol that Savior, who has saved you from that eternal wrath!

[Thomas Brooks]

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Spurgeon on Gratefulness

A grateful heart is one of the chief characteristics of a true believer.

Ungratefulness is one of the most shameful sins, and yet it is one of the most common.

The Lord loves a thankful heart; it is the music that delights His ear.

We often write our blessings in sand and engrave our complaints in marble.

Gratitude sweetens every blessing and makes it more precious.

The deeper our sense of sin, the louder our song of gratitude for redeeming grace.

Let us be as grateful for the smallest blessings as for the greatest.

The cross is the fountain of endless gratitude.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Followers!!

Beloved, may the Spirit of God help you to rise to heavenly mindedness. Do not be miserable money-grubbers, or sordid earthworms. Do not be pleasure hunters and novelty seekers. Do not set your affections upon these childish toys, which will be so soon broken up. Be no more children, but followers of the Lord Jesus. 

Find your joy in Jesus, your wealth in Jesus, your honor in Jesus, your everything in Jesus! Be in the world, but not of it. Sit loose, I entreat you, to this poor fleeting world. Get a tighter grip of the glorious world to come--so shall the love of Jesus fill your heart. Throw your anchor upward, into the soothing sea of divine love, and not downward into a troubled ocean. Anchor yourselves to the eternal throne; and never be divided even in thought, from the indescribable love of Jesus your Savior. 

It is your wondrous privilege, brethren, to lean your heads and hearts on the bosom of Jesus, until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Colossians 3:1-4 ... If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

1 Peter 2:11 ... Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

Nehemiah 8:10 ... Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. ❤

Closed Doors

 Not every closed door is rejection.

Some are protection.

You begged for it.

Prayed for it.

Prepared for it.

And it still didn’t open.

You thought it meant you weren’t ready.

Or weren’t worthy.

Or weren’t enough.

But sometimes the door didn’t close because you were unqualified.

It closed because you were misaligned.

God will block what would break you.

Delay what would derail you.

Remove what would reduce you.

You call it setback.

He calls it shielding.

If it didn’t open,

It wasn’t yours.

Trust the One who sees the hallway

When you can only see the handle.

Rejection is painful.

But redirection is powerful.

[message from the Internet]

Exodus 14:14 ... The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. ❤

The Babylonian Books of The Present Day!

The history of that human ignorance which calls itself "philosophy", is absolutely identical with the history of fools! If ones were to write the history of folly, he would have to give several chapters to philosophy, and those chapters would be more revealing than any others.

Beware of the Babylonian books of the present day! The truth of God is the only treasure for which we seek, and the Scripture is the only field in which we dig for it! If you keep close to the inspired book, you can suffer no harm; you are at the fountainhead of all moral and spiritual good. This is fit food for the people of God; this is the bread which nourishes the highest life.

The prayerful study of the Word is not only a means of instruction, but an act of devotion wherein the transforming power of grace is often exercised changing us into the image of Christ, of whom the Word is a mirror.

Within the Scripture, there is a balm for every wound, a salve for every sore. Oh, the wondrous power in the Scripture to create a heart of hope, within the ribs of despair! Amidst sharp and strong temptations, and fierce and bitter trials the Word of the Lord has preserved us. Amidst discouragements which damped our hopes, and disappointments which wounded our hearts our Bibles have brought us a secret, unconquerable consolation.

There is no true doctrine which has not been fruitful in good works. Payson wisely said, "If there is one fact, one doctrine, or promise in the Bible, which has produced no practical effect upon your temper or conduct be assured that you do not truly believe it."

The "doctrines of grace" produce a fine morality, a stern integrity, a delicate purity,

 a devout holiness, consecration in life, calm resignation in the hour of suffering,

joyful confidence in the article of death. This must be a true gospel, which can produce such lives as these!

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

2 Timothy 2:15 ...  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

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That One!!

Stop dimming your worship to match the room.

If they won’t lift their hands, you still can.

If they won’t kneel, you still can.

If they won’t shout, you still can.

Your praise isn’t crowd-dependent.

It’s covenant based.

You don’t need permission to adore Jesus.

You don’t need the atmosphere to be right.

You don’t need everyone else to go first.

You are not called to read the temperature.

You are called to set it.

Worship is not about fitting in.

It’s about pouring out.

Loud.

Quiet.

On your face.

With tears in your eyes.

It’s between you and Him.

And sometimes the breakthrough in the room

is waiting on one person

brave enough

to go first.

Be that one.

[Natalie Breckenridge]

John 4:24 ... God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Psalm 29:2 ... Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 150:1 ... Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 

Psalm 134:2 ... Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. ❤