Abominations of Modern Society

If you would lead a pure life, have nothing to do with bad books and impure newspapers. With such immoral literature as is coming forth from our swift-revolving printing-presses, there is no excuse for dragging oneself through sewers of unchastity. 

Never read a bad book! By the time you get through the first chapter, you will see the drift of it. If you find the hoof-prints of the devil in the pictures, or in the style, or in the plot away with it! You may tear your coat or break a vase and repair them again. But it takes less than an hour to do your soul a damage which no time can entirely repair! 

Look carefully over your child's library; see what book he reads after he has gone to bed, with the light turned down. Young man, as you value Heaven, never buy a book from one of those men who meet you in the square, and, after looking both ways to see if the police are watching, shows you a book, "very cheap!" Have him arrested, as you would kill a rattlesnake! Grab him, and shout, "Police! police!" 

But there is more danger, I think, from many of the family newspapers. Some of them contain stories of vice and shame, full of evil suggestions and go as far as they can without exposing themselves to the clutch of the law. On some tables in Christian homes, there lie "family newspapers" which are the very vomit of the pit of Hell! The way to ruin is cheap! It costs three dollars to go to Philadelphia; six dollars to Boston; thirty-three dollars to Savannah. But, by the purchase of a bad paper for ten cents you may get a ticket straight to Hell, by express, with few stopping-places!  And the final stop is like the tumbling of the train over a bridge sudden, dreadful, deathly, never to rise! 

O, the power of an iniquitous pen! If a needle punctures the body at a certain point, life is destroyed. But the pen is a sharper instrument, for with its puncture you may kill your soul! Do not think that that book which you find fascinating and entertaining, is therefore healthful. Some of the worst poisons are pleasant to the taste. The pen which for the time fascinates you may have been dipped in the slime of impure hearts! 

 [T. De Witt Talmage]

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Habakkuk 1:13 ... Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

1 Thessalonians 5:22 ... Abstain from all appearance of evil.

James 4:7 ... Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ❤

Home is With God

The Christian knows no change with regard to God.  He himself may be rich today and poor tomorrow, he may be sickly today and well tomorrow, he may be in happiness today, tomorrow he may be distressed;  but there is never any change with regard to his relationship to God.

If He loved me yesterday then He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest, is my blessed Lord.

Let prospects be ruined, let hopes be blasted, let joy be withered, let mildews destroy everything.  I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is "my strong habitation where unto I can continually resort." I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Habakkuk 3:17-19 …  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Psalm 90:1-2 … Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.❤

Clarity

Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger held disturbing views on eugenics and population control. Her legacy birthed America's biggest abortion chain, which commits over 320,000 abortions every year.

Clarity is good.   Especially when killing innocent babies in the womb is supported by most Liberal Democrats.

Habakkuk 2:2 ... And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.❤

Father Knows Best

Let the Lord do as He wills to us! He will never be unkind to us! He has always been our friend, He will never be our foe!

He will never put us into the furnace unless He means to purge the dross out of us. Nor will there be one degree more heat in that furnace than is absolutely necessary there will always be mercy to balance the misery and strength supplied to support the burden to be borne.

Oh, children of God, your Father knows best! Leave everything in His hands and be at peace for all is well.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Job 2:10 ...But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job 1:21 ... And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

1 Samuel 3:18 ... And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 ... Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.❤

See This Great Sight

There have been many wonderful sights upon the earth, many sad and sorrowful sights, many grand and awe-inspiring sights but never before or after in all the world's history, such a sight as was seen by the group that gathered around the cross. What a strange and motley group it was! How many kinds of sinners were represented there!

There were the hardened Roman soldiers who gambled for His clothes. There were the mockers, the revilers, the chief priests and scribes who hated Him, the rulers who derided Him, the people who wagged their heads saying, "If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" (Matthew 27:40)

There were also the weeping women, the trembling disciples, and best of all, the penitent thief who trusted in Him for salvation in that dread hour, and gave Him a sweet foretaste of the "joy that was set before Him," for which "He endured the cross, despising the shame."  (Hebrews 12:2)

Other spectators also, unseen by human eyes, were doubtless there, Satan and all his horrid hosts, the Victor's baffled foes, watching Him with malignant hate; the holy angels, too, looking on with silent awe; and God Himself, Who was about to "bruise Him and put Him to grief" and "make His soul an offering for sin." (Isaiah 53:10) Whose voice even then shook the deep, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd and against the Man who is My Fellow!" (Zechariah 13:7)

As Moses took his shoes from off his feet, when he drew near to see the burning bush, let us also with reverence and adoring love, now turn aside and see this great sight!

That was a sight of WONDER. What do we see? The Lord of glory put to open shame! The Creator of Heaven and earth nailed to a cruel cross of wood! The King of kings and Lord of lords treated as the vilest malefactor! The holy Son of God crucified! He who was the very Fountain of life, whose life was the light of men dying!

That was a sight of SORROW. We live in a world of sorrow, a valley of tears. "Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble." "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7)  "The whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now." (Romans 8:22)

But, of all men, Jesus was "a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief." (Isaiah 53:3) He saw His Father's law broken, His Father's name dishonored, His Father's love despised. "Rivers of water run down My eyes because they keep not Your law." (Psalm 119:136)  How His soul must have turned with loathing, from the defilement in the midst of which He walked while His heart was bursting with pity for the sinners whom He had come to save! Now was the culmination of His woe. His holy nature shrank from the slightest touch of sin yet now "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24) and what that meant, God alone can tell.

That was a sight of SIN! What is sin? Its very essence is revolt against the Most High God. And here we see the crowning manifestation of this revolt. God's law had been broken, His commandments disobeyed, His name dishonored by a rebellious world but never was the enmity of the human heart so intensely shown as when they crucified His beloved Son!

Oh, the malignant hate with which sinners cried "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him, crucify Him!" (John 19:15)  The awful wickedness with which they closed around His cross, "breathing out cruelty!" The madness that cried, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!" (John 18:14) They mocked, they wagged their heads, they railed, they scoffed and in their puny impotence, defied the God of Heaven!

That was a sight of WRATH. If the crucifixion of the Son of God was the most awful manifestation of the sin of man so was the cross also the most terrible revelation of divine wrath the righteous wrath of a holy God! Not all the woe of the lost not the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, of which God in His compassion warns us in His Word not all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth of those upon whose heads God's righteous judgments fall can reveal to us, as does the cross of Christ, the attitude of God toward sin!

In the cross of Christ, we see the burning holiness of God, Who is "of purer eyes than to behold iniquity and cannot look upon evil." (Habakkuk 1:13)

Here we see the inviolable righteousness of God, who "can by no means clear the guilty." (Exodus 34:7)

And here we see the terrible fierceness of His anger, the sword of His justice, the tempest of His wrath! "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11) but here the whole of His wrath against sin was gathered up and burst forth with relentless fury!

But, hearken! Against whom did God's anger burn? Against whom did God's sword awake? Upon whose head did God's storm of wrath burst? Not upon the heads of the guilty sinners but upon the sinless One, the Holy One, the spotless Lamb of God!

That was a sight of LOVE! That pen can write, what tongue can tell, what heart can comprehend the infinite love of God? Behind the awful wrath and righteous judgment was the eternal love. Back in the counsels of eternity "God so loved the world." (John 3:16) Why, we cannot understand; only we have heard of "the great love with which He loved us" and we know of the great redemption which He planned for us. Yes, it was out of the infinite depths of that deep, mysterious love for the souls whom He had made, that the cross of Christ grew!

[Hugh Dunlop]

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Luke 23:48 ... And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.❤

Praise God!

The stars still sing their Maker's praise; no sin has stopped their voice, no discord has made a jarring note among the harmonies of the spheres.

The earth itself still praises its Maker, the exhalations, as they arise with morn, are still a pure offering, acceptable to their Maker.

The lowing of the cattle, the singing of the birds, the leaping of the fishes, and the delights of animal creation, are still acceptable as votive offerings to the Most High.

The mountains still bring righteousness; on their hoary summits; God's holy feet might tread, for they are yet pure and spotless.

Still do the green valleys, laughing with their verdure send up their shouts to the Most High.

The praise of God is sung by every wind it is howled forth in dread majesty by the voice of the tempest, the winds resound it, and the waves, with their thousand hands, clap, keeping chorus in the great march of God.

The whole earth is still a great orchestra for God's praise, and his creatures still take up various parts in the eternal song, which, ever swelling and ever increasing, shall by-and-by mount to its climax in the consummation of all things.

 

[from Charles H. Spurgeon; David's Dying Prayer]

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Isaiah 55:12 ... For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.



Habakkuk 3:3 ... God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.



Psalm 69:34 ... Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.


Psalm 145:10 ... All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.


Psalm 150:6 ... Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. ❤

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Psalm 27:14 ... Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Habakkuk 2:3 ... For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Isaiah 40:31 ... But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. ❤

God's Perfect Timing

It may not be tomorrow
and yet it may
It will happen on God's set day.

The burden will be lifted
The lost one will be won
The trial will be over
The long task will be done.

We cannot know the hour
but we will trust Him as we wait,
for He knows just what must come to pass
He will not be a moment late!

So praise Him in the trial
give thanks for the task
rejoice and be obedient
He knows what you have asked.

It may not be tomorrow
and yet it may
It will happen on God's set day.


[©Lifetime Ministries]

Proverbs 27:1 ... Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Isaiah 10:27 ... And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

Habakkuk 2:3 ... For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. ♥

The Bible and The Coal Basket

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?”

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.” The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was “impossible to carry water in a basket,” and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it's useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.

“Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.”

That is the work of God in our lives. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son. Take time to read a portion of God's word each day.

[Author Unknown]

Habakkuk 2:3 … For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

2 Corinthians 3:18 … But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Matthew 4:4 … But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. ♥

Joy!

❤ And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. Psalm 35:9

❤ Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:18

❤ And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:46-47

God Speaking

God is speaking. Are you listening? ℛℒ

1 Kings 19:12 … And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Psalm 78:1 … Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

Habakkuk 2:2 … And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

John 10:27 … My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Mark 4:23 … If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:16 … But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. ♥

The Lord is My Strength

Let the weak say, I am strong. Joel 3:10 ~

The Bible says in Acts 19:20 (KJV) ”So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” Let the word of God grow inside of you; water it every day in prayer. Spend time with God with his word. Let the word of God become in you an overcoming force. Let it prevail and win over everything.

[Matthew McDonald]

Exodus 15:2 … The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

2 Samuel 22:33 … God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

Psalm 18:1 … I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

Psalm 19:14 … Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Isaiah 40:31 … But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Nehemiah 8:10 … for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Jeremiah 16:19 … O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction,

Psalm 28:8 … The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

Habakkuk 3:19 … The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

Ephesians 3:16 … That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Colossians 1:11 … Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

Philippians 4:13 … I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ♥

His Way is Perfect

The fact that we cannot see what God is doing does not mean that He is doing nothing. The Lord has His own timetable. It is we who must learn to adjust to it, not vice versa. When God's time comes nothing will stand in His way. We can therefore wait for Him with this happy confidence: "As for God, His way is perfect" (2 Samuel 22:31).

[Sinclair B. Ferguson]

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 3:2

Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; Isaiah 49:8

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8 ♥

Armed With Strength

God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.

[C.S. Lewis]

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Isaiah 40:29

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. Psalm 18:32

The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. Psalm 28:8

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33

The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:19

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13 ♥

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:18 KJV

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:46-47 ♥