Fascinating, Delusive and Dangerous!

I do not hesitate for a moment to pronounce the theater to be one of the broadest avenues which lead to destruction!

Fascinating, no doubt it is but, on that account, the more delusive and the more dangerous! Let a young man once acquire a taste for this kind of entertainment, and yield himself up to its gratification, and he is in imminent danger of becoming a lost character rushing upon his eternal ruin!

All the evils that can waste his property, corrupt his morals, blast his reputation, impair his health, embitter his life, and destroy his soul, lurk in the confines of the theater! Vice, in every form, lives, and moves, and has its being there!

Myriads have cursed the hour when they first exposed themselves to the contamination of the theater. From that fatal evening, they date their downfall!

Take warning then and have nothing to do with the theater. Avoid it as one of the avenues to the broad road that leads to destruction. The danger is greater than I can describe. The doors of the theater are as the jaws of the devouring lion!

[John Angell James]

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1 John 2:15-16 ...  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. ❤

The Only Suitable Dress For a Saved Sinner!

"True humility," said one, "is a lovely ornament; it is the only suitable dress for a saved sinner!" O let us seek then to be clothed in this robe, that we may be brought to lie low at the footstool of our Maker and Redeemer.

In the saints of old, this grace of humility appeared with marked prominence; and they are patterns for our imitation.

There was Abraham, the father of the faithful and the friend of God. How great was his humility! How profound his self-abasement! "I have ventured to speak to the Lord, even though I am nothing but dust and ashes!" (Genesis 18:27) He was filled with a consciousness of his absolute nothingness in the presence of the Great Eternal.

There was David also, who speaks of himself as "a worm and not a man!" Job cried out, "Behold, I am vile!" (Job 40:4)

In the apostle Paul, again, what a striking exemplification have we of this grace of humility. If self-delight were ever allowable in any individual, it would be in him; for such a laborious, self-denying, unselfish character, has doubtless not yet appeared; the man Christ Jesus alone, and always excepted.

But what were Paul's views and feelings in reference to himself? On one occasion we hear him saying that he was not worthy to be called an apostle. At another time he says, "I am less than the least of all God's people!" (Ephesians 3:8) And when penning one of his last epistles, he designates himself the very chief of sinners! He was brought to know himself some knowledge in which all wisdom centers. If we knew ourselves as he did, pride and self-delight would find no room within us!

But, above all, let us consider Him who said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." (Matthew 11:29) The heaven of heavens could not contain Him; all the fullness of the Eternal Godhead dwelt in Him; devils trembled at His rebuke and flew from His presence to the abodes of misery; yet how gentle, how humble He was! Reader, aspire after conformity to Christ in His humility.

Against the proud, God's displeasure has been manifested in all ages.

Think of Pharaoh. The language of that proud monarch was, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?" (Exodus 5:2) But the Divine Majesty could not bear to be thus insulted; hence the puny worm with all his legions were destroyed they sank as lead in the mighty waters! 

Think of Nebuchadnezzar. Hear his boasting exclamation, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built, by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30) But God resisted him, and he was turned from the society of men to eat grass with the beasts of the field! 

Think of Herod. With what delight did he receive the applause of the people, when they cried, "It is the voice of a god, and not the voice of man!" But the angel of the Lord smote him, and he was eaten with worms! (Acts 12:23)

While, however, God resists the proud; He has promised to give grace unto the humble. The humble are the objects of His special regard. "For thus says the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy: I dwell in the high and holy place" that is one of the palaces of the Great King, where the throne of His glory is erected, where the countless armies of cherubim and seraphim are stationed, and where perfected saints reside. But He has another place of habitation: "with him also, who is humble and contrite in spirit!" (Isaiah 57:15)

[John MacDuff]

1 Peter 5:5 ... Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

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Dear Heavy Heart

Heavy heart, this book is meant for you. He who sends forth this volume knows the heart of a mourner by a kindred experience and is most anxious to be a "son of consolation" to the sorrowing. This little volume is meant to scare the night-raven, of which Milton tells us that it sits "where brooding darkness spreads his jealous wings." By most men it is known as Religious Melancholy, but we call it by the older and more scriptural name of Mourning in Zion. By whatever name it is called it is none the more pleasant.

To meet the sadness of the heart, we have taken a prescription, not from Galen or Hippocrates, but from the great gospel prophet, Isaiah; and its one and only ingredient is Christ Jesus himself, who is anointed to comfort the distressed in heart, and fulfills his office by giving himself to them to meet all their needs. The sermons which make up this book are full of Christ Jesus, the consolation of Israel; and if, in any degree, they cheer the desponding it will be entirely due to himself, their object and their theme. He is to a mourning heart:

"Sweet as refreshing dews or summer showers; To the long parching thirst of drooping flowers."

No heart, however broken, needs any balm but Jesus to work its perfect cure. Sorrows, which like Noah's flood, drown all are soon assuaged by a word from his lips. Get him and keep him, O bruised and bleeding heart and you are healed. For broken hearts the broken-hearted Savior died, and for them he lives and pleads. Look to him, mourner and the black horror of despair shall end.

Your heartily,
Charles Spurgeon

Isaiah 61:3 ...  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. ❤

Do Not Listen to The Enemy!!

The Devil is a Liar.

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Psalm 1:1 ... Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Ephesians 4:27 ... Neither give place to the devil.

Romans 8:37 ...  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ❤

Christ's Transcendent Loveliness!

The prophet Isaiah, speaking of graceless men as disliking, not desiring, not loving Jesus; brings them in as saying, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him!" (Isaiah 53:2)

 

What! No loveliness in Him who is "the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of His person!" Yes, there is, but they had no eyes to see it! It is as if a blind man would say that the sun is dark, because he has no eyes to behold its light. How could they look upon Him with an eye of love; when they did not discern Him with an eye of faith?

But a holy soul, whose eyes are divinely opened, so sees the superlative goodness, beauty, and excellence in Jesus that all other things, which are good with an inferior goodness, seem to him as dross and rubbish! "But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Jesus. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things! I consider them rubbish," things cast to dogs, or dog's food, "that I may gain Christ!" (Philippians 3:7-8) The holy man, whose mind is savingly enlightened, can say: I see that goodness in the Savior, which far surpasses all the goodness of the creature!

Though the stars can be seen in the night; yet when the sun arises, they all disappear. Just so, in my night of ignorance, when my mind was blind, my heart hard, and my affections frozen; I was bewitched with the glare of riches, of honors, and of worldly pleasures. But then the Sun of righteousness with His radiant rays shined into my soul, and with His warming influences thawed my benumbed and frozen heart. And then the glory of all those earthly vanities which once dazzled my eyes, vanished and withered away! When I once got a view of Christ's transcendent loveliness; then in comparison to Him, I saw an emptiness and vanity, in all the creature's fullness; shame, in all the world's nobility; dishonor, in all the world's glory; poverty, in all the world's richest; darkness, in the world's most resplendent luster; folly, in the world's highest wisdom; deformity, in the world's loveliest beauty!

Yes, the soul whose love is fixed upon Jesus, adores His superlative goodness, beauty, and excellence!

[Thomas Doolittle]

Song of Soloman 5:16 ... His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

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A New Name!!

Elohim gave Gideon a new name. Instead of naming him according to how he appeared at that precise moment, which was “scared man hiding in the winepress”, the Creator of Heaven and Earth called Gideon by the name befitting His calling and destiny for his life, “mighty man of valor”.

Have you ever noticed the personality transformation of someone who’s been given a new name? It happens in the workplace all the time; a grocery store “manager” no longer resembles the carefree kid who was first hired as a “bagger”, nor does an impressive, successful “businessman” act like the reckless “class clown” he once was. And how about all of us who transition from “single” to “married” and, eventually, “mother” or “father”? These are just a few examples of how a life can be transformed once receiving and rising up to the higher standards of “a new name”.

As born-again children of the Most-High, Abba-YHWH, we’ve also been given “a new name”—a written, secret name our Father has given each and every one of us. It’s not a common name like John or Mary, but one which denotes Elohim’s specifically designed purpose for each of our lives. Furthermore, because it’s a secret name, it is a name that no one else knows or can even understand except the Father who gives it and His child who receives it.

Therefore, let us come boldly to Abba-YHWH’s Throne of Grace asking Him to reveal His new name for our lives that we may begin to mature in it, too, rising up to meet its standards just as Gideon did, in the Name and by the Blood of Yeshua Ha’ Mashiach, Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. Amen.

[Tracie Justice]

Judges 6:12 ... And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

Revelation 2:17 ... He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. ❤

Solomon's Song ...

When inward piety is low, then the externals of religion are frequently made much of. The Pharisees, who were furthest from God, were the most bitter advocates of ritualism and formalism. They would not even have a man healed on the Sabbath day or allow the hungry to rub a few ears of corn out of the husks.

It is not always so, but yet too often:  "The nearer the church, the further from God."

The more of religious display, the less of genuine grace.  The more visible religiosity, the less of heart holiness.   The more of religious machinery, the less of true godliness.

Beloved, let us not only have Christ in the head, but Christ in the heart. Know all we can about Him, for everything we learn about Jesus, ought to be another argument for affection to Him. How I loved Him when I only knew myself as a sinner, and Jesus as a Savior. But oh, I love Him more as I see my greater sinfulness, and his greater mercy and grace!

Oh, to get more knowledge, and then to have our hearts enlarged that we may love Him more and more! You can love other things too much; but not your Lord. Embrace Him. Cry in the language of Solomon's Song, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth!" The unsaved do not understand this Song: they say it is a mere love-ditty. They never will understand it until the Lord Jesus is precious to their hearts; and when He is once there as their joy and their all, then they will need just such golden speech as Solomon's Song.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Song of Solomon 1:2 ...  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

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Reaching For a Miracle

I think the story of the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years stands out as a powerful example of how God as the ONLY ultimate LIFE SOURCE can supply the BEST in medical coverage.

Where man’s ways often fail and have multiple negative side effects. Jesus offers LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10) with no medical bills and no negative side effects. Think about that.

I often marvel at the level of faith that people have for doctors and the entire medical system. Yet many don’t realize the third leading cause of death is medical malpractice. Mistakes that doctors make along the way. Not to mention the wake of millions of permanently injured people via Big Pharma vaccines, chemotherapy, surgeries and radiation.

I think of the secret battles going on right now of millions of people suffering going from doctor to doctor spending all their life savings on trying to deal with some tormenting health condition. Think of the living nightmare of the woman with the issue of blood. The level of social rejection. The embarrassment and horror of suffering with this potentially painful, messy, unending condition and having no hope.

I wonder if she contemplated taking her own life. The utter misery of it all. I think of millions today who can’t afford health insurance and have no back up emergency fund. They live check to check. Barely surviving.

Then Jesus arrives. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Not just for those in the New Testament but for those who live on earth in 2026. Which includes you and me.

Do you need a miracle?? Read this story with fresh faith and reach for Jesus with new hope. God wants to heal you today!

[Troi Nelson Cockayne]

Luke 8:43-48 ... And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.  And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. ❤

"Covetousness"

Covetousness is explicit idolatry. Covetousness is the darling sin of our nation. This leprosy has infected all sorts and ranks of men. Covetousness being idolatry and the root of all evil, is highly provoking to God. Whatever a man loves most and best that is his god.

The covetous man looks upon the riches of the world as: his Heaven, his happiness,

his great ALL. His heart is most upon the world, his thoughts are most upon the world, his affections are most upon the world, his discourse is most about the world.

He who has his mind taken up with the world, and chiefly delighted with the world's music he has also his tongue tuned to the same key and takes his joy and comfort in speaking of the world and worldly things. If the world is in the heart, it will break out at the lips. A worldly-minded man speaks of nothing but worldly things. "They are of the world; therefore, they speak of the world," John 4:5. The love of this world oils the tongue for worldly discourses, and makes men forget God, neglect Christ, despise holiness, forfeit Heaven.

Ah! the time, the thoughts, the strength, the efforts which are spent upon the world, and the things of the world while sinners' souls lie a-bleeding, and eternity is hastening upon them! I have read of a greedy banker, who was always best when he was most in talking of money. Being near his death, he was much pressed to make his WILL. Finally, he dictates:

"First, I bequeath my own soul to the devil, for being so greedy for the muck of this world!

Secondly, I bequeath my wife's soul to the devil, for persuading me to this worldly course of life.

Thirdly, I bequeath my pastor's soul to the devil, because he did not show me the danger I lived in, nor reprove me for it!"

[Thomas Brooks]

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1 Timothy 6:9 ... But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Colossians 3:5 ...  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: ❤

250 Years!!

May God continue to bless the United States of America.

 Psalm 32:12 ...  Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

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Kingdom of Christ

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday this week, we reflect on God’s providence and blessing on this nation over the past two and half centuries. And while America has been a blessed country, it is like any other nation that will rise and fall. It is up to the Lord and His sovereignty if the United States will last another 250 years. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations and leads them away. (Job 12:23)

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries. (Acts 17:26)

But the good news that we have is that the kingdom of Christ will last forever. We do not have be so concerned about our nation, our government, or even our politicians. They will all let us down at some point or another. And if this great country falls away one day, the Kingdom of Christ will remain.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14)

And one day, all of the kingdoms of world (including America) will eventually be gone forever. I pray that as we celebrate the big 250 this week, that we do not lose focus of our eternal hope!

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Revelation 11:15 ... And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. ❤