Favorite Pastor Quotes 6

Favorite Pastor Quotes 6



I perceive that your heavenly Father has again put you into the furnace!

(Letters of John Newton)

My Dear Madam, 
I perceive that your heavenly Father has again put you into the furnace, and I trust that He will divinely impress upon your heart, that there is a needs be for it--and that the outcome of your present trial shall surely end in good to your soul.

His Word tells us that trials are absolutely necessary, and why they are so--as He would not afflict those whom He loves, but for their real profit. So He chooses those afflictions for us, and appoints them for us at such seasons, and attended with such circumstances--as He sees will be (all things considered) most for our spiritual advantage. The afflictions and trials of His people are always sent, either tocure--or to prevent something still worse.

Satan is compared to a fowler, and we sometimes are as little upon our guard as a thoughtless bird--the danger is close to us, but we are not aware of it. But, as a sudden noise affrights the bird, and makes it take wing and escape the snare--so the Lord often disappoints the devices of the enemy, by sending a seasonable trial to His dear children, which arouses them, and makes them flee to Him for safety.

I have often thought that if David had fallen and broke his leg when he was going up to the housetop--he would have missed the sight of Bathsheba, and that long train of evils which made him cry out of broken bones in a still more painful sense. 

Just so, we do not know how things might have been with us--if such or such a painful dispensation had not happened. A course of continual prosperity might have lulled us to sleep. We must admit this, when we find ourselves still apt to be drowsy--even though the Lord is pleased to put thorns into our pillow. 

Notwithstanding the feeling proofs we have of the vanity of the present state, our spirits are still too apt to cleave to the dust. What then might have been the case--had our path been always smooth?

He is a good master to serve--I have found Him to be so for thirty years. 

Cheer up, dear Madam, the Lord does all things well! Do not be afraid of storms--for you have an infallible Pilot who will guide you with His eye, uphold you with His arm, and is every minute bringing you nearer to the harbor of eternal rest and peace!

We have just began harvest in these parts. The grain has passed through a variety of weather. Frosts and winds, rains and heat, each of which, singly, would have destroyed it--have each in their places (through the blessing of the Lord's overruling providence) concurred to bring it to its present maturity. The farmers here, as well as elsewhere, have had different fears and complaints at different times; they have thought sometimes the weather too cold or too hot, too wet or too dry, by turns. But their fears were groundless and vain--the crop is ripe, the stalks are loaded, and bend under the weight of the grain. 

Is not this an emblem of the spiritual life? What changes of weather have we passed through, since the seeds of grace were first sown in our hearts! How often have we been ready to murmur at the appointments of the Heavenly Gardener! How hardly could we be persuaded that the afflictions, temptations, and trials which we have been exercised with--have, in their places, been no less subservient to our growth, than the more pleasing sunshine we have been sometimes favored with? 

Yet, I trust, we are still growing and getting forward. Neither frost or floods have been able to destroy us; and Oh, Madam, (may our hearts rejoice at the thought!) the harvest is approaching! When He sees that we are fully ripe--when all that He has designed to do for us, in us, and by us, is completed--then He will separate us from these clods of earth, and remove us into His dwelling place, where we shall be done with fears and trials forever!

We shall not then live this poor dying life--neither shall we have to complain of an evil heart of unbelief. We shall not complain of a cold and careless heart--because we shall be at the fountain-head of all our best wishes and desires! We shall be enjoying, through eternal ages, that ineffable bliss which is prepared for all who love God, and who have been called by divine grace, out of the service of sin, Satan, and the world--to love and serve Him who is the Rock of eternal ages. Yes, my dear Madam, we shall, with unspeakable delight--see Jesus as He is, and be completely like Him! Let us, then, not be weary in well doing; for, in due season, we shall reap, if we fail not.

I am, my dear Madam,
Your obliged and affectionate Servant,
John Newton
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It is no wonder that they were so dejected!

(James Buchanan, "The Office and Work of the Holy Spirit")

"I am now going away to Him who sent Me . . . Because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart." John 16:5-6

It is no wonder that they were so dejected in the prospect of losing the personal presence of Him who was . . .
  their kindest friend,
  their unwearied benefactor,
  their patient teacher--whose . . .
wisdom was their guide, 
power was their defense, 
sympathy was their consolation, 
approval their was reward, and 
salvation was their highest hope. 

They were attached to Him as a personal Friend--by the strongest ties of gratitude, and admiration, and love. 

They had long associated with Him on terms of most endearing intimacy. 

They had often looked with delight on His compassionate countenance, 'full of grace and truth'. 

They had listened to his public preaching and His private conversation, when 'He spoke as never any man spoke'. 

They had witnessed His miracles of mercy, and His life of unwearied beneficence, 'when He went about continually doing good'. 

They had themselves received at His hands every benefit which divine love, combined with the most perfect human kindness, could bestow. 

And can we deem it astonishing, if the thought of parting with such a Friend, whose appearance, and voice, and person were entwined with their fondest affections--filled their hearts with especial sadness?
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The Death of Children

George Mylne

Oh! what a world we live in! How full of painful facts and harrowing incidents! How many souls are ushered into life; each one the offspring of a parent — each one tied to the native stock, by bonds of strictest intimacy! And thus a parent sees himself multiplied and reproduced in "olive branches round his table." Are they not bone of his very bone, flesh of his very flesh, bound up with him in all that is binding; their interests identical with his own; his energies expended on them, his thoughts devoted to them? For them he labors, for them he lives; their every pleasure twofold, both theirs and his; their every sorrow reflected in his own; his very life lived over again in theirs. In them, and with them, he plays with childhood's toys afresh. With them, in thought, he goes to school once more, and learns his early lessons over again. With them he joins once more in childish sports.

How closely dovetailed into one another, are a parent and his child, if only there be first the inclination, then time and opportunity, to cultivate parental ways — for, alas! this falls not to the lot of all, for where there is the will there may not always be the way. It is pleasant to see a father walking with his son, their very manner betokening a mutual intimacy, companionship in thought and feeling, like brothers in friendship — yet neither childlike reverence nor parental dignity lost sight of. And if so with son and father, is it not the same with a mother and her daughters, only, if possible, more intimate the union still?

But such is life, and such the law of its realities in fallen man, that joys prepare the way for sorrows, proportionate in degree. The closest unions are but preludes to the keenest separations; so that, in life's pictures, each gleam of light is counterbalanced with its shadow; and, sooner or later, sunny days are sure to usher in a night of darkness. And hence the fact of parents weeping for their children, and refusing to be comforted — their very persons, as it were, smarting as though a limb were amputated.

"The flowers of spring have come and gone;
Bright were the blossoms, brief their stay.
They shone, and they were shone upon;
They flourished — faded — passed away.

"So, hidden from our sorrowing eyes,
Our young, sweet spring-bloom buried lies;
One blast of earth swept o'er the flower —
It died, the blossom of an hour."

Reader, is this your sad condition? Have you lost a child? Whether son or daughter, infant or of riper years, it is much the same — in any case, a portion of yourself is gone. How sharp the visitation! How short its work! The grave has opened and has closed again; yet closed it not before it received its tenant — until in its yawning space you had committed "dust to dust, ashes to ashes, earth to earth." How shrank your soul within you, as you heard those moving words, that grating sound upon the casket! And as you hastened home, enrapt in your tenderness, the thoughts of other children left to you (if indeed you have them), healed not the smart, nor seemed to make amends for your lost treasure. Oh, what a fearful wrench it must have been, to tear that branch from out its parent stem, never to grow and flourish there again! Oceans of tears shed over that silent grave would not avail to bring your loved one back to you. Long might you kneel on that cold ground, and yet, nor verdant sod, nor marble tomb, nor modest headstone, could listen to your sobbing tale.

Think not, my friend, I blame you for your tears; neither does God reprove you. He knows that you must feel the wound inflicted on your sorrowing heart. He knows your frame, remembers you are dust (Psalm 103:14), and bids you seek Him in your tears, inviting you to tell your sorrows freely into His waiting ear. Believe me, this is the only remedy. Must the grave be visited unceasingly, and sorrow nursed until it becomes a morbid ailment a wound unsoftened with ointment, a standing sore; and all, because you sorrow to yourself, and not to Jesus?

Poor mourner, no! This is not the path to consolation, nor yet to rightly exercised distress. Do you ask, "What would you have me do?" See Love in it my friend! Is it not written, "God Is Love?" (1 John 4:8, 16). It was God who did it! It was God who took your child. Shall we say that God is love, in all but this? Have we found an end to His perfections — a limit to His love? Are there, then, exceptions to His perfect rule? No, God is love. Has He required of you what He Himself was not prepared to do? Has He not set you the example? Did God withhold His Son, His Only Son, for you and your salvation? Then say, could you withhold your child, when thus it pleased Him to ask you for what He only lent you for a season?

If you have grace, my friend, the grace of God in Jesus Christ, you only have to reason with yourself, to say "Amen" to God's appointment. Your heart will bleed — it must, it will. Shall a blow be dealt, and the frame not stagger at it? Yet faith will rise above it, and while you weep, the rainbow tints of resignation will cast prismatic glories on your tears. Visit not the tomb for mournful musings. If you can do it in joyful expectation of the coming day — the day of days — the resurrection morn, when earth shall render up the righteous dead to meet their Lord, then you may go with profit to the tomb — not otherwise. Take heed, then, what you do.

But if this way be foreign to your mind, and you can only weep as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13) — if you cannot go to Jesus in your tears, nor take Him with you to the tomb — you need to be enlightened by the Spirit, not only for healthful mourning, but for eternal life.

Favorite Pastor Quotes 5

Favorite Pastor Quotes 5

The terms upon which God in the gospel offers Christ!

(Matthew Mead)

The terms upon which God in the gospel offers Christ, are:

1. That we shall receive a broken Christ with a broken heart.
A broken Christ with a broken heart--is a witness of our humility.

A broken Christ respects His suffering for sin.
A broken heart respects our sense of our sin.


2. That we shall receive a whole Christ with the whole heart.
A whole Christ with a whole heart--is a witness of our sincerity.

A whole Christ includes all of His offices--as King, Priest, Prophet, and Mediator. Without any one of these offices, the work of salvation could not have been completed.

A whole heart includes all our faculties.
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Following "Wherever"

Charles Naylor
 

One day as Jesus was passing along the highway, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go!" (Luke 9:57). This man no doubt was greatly impressed by the wonderful works and noble character of Christ. He thought that companionship with such a man would be full of blessing and richness. Just to see and hear Jesus, would be worth any man's time and effort — to hear the gracious words that came from His lips would enrich mind and heart — to see the mighty works done would inspire. To him it seemed to be one of the most desirable of all things.

Christ's answer to him, however, showed that following Him might well mean something more than this man had ever considered. Jesus way did not always lead through pleasant places. His path was not always to be rose-strewn — not always would the multitude look on Him with favor. Whether this man followed Jesus we are not told, but following evidently meant more to him now than it had meant before.

There are many today who, like that man of old, say, "Lord, I will follow you," with no clear idea of what it means. It was not hard to follow him when the multitude shouted, "Hosanna!" and threw palm-branches before him.

In the same way, it is easy for us to follow him today when his cause is popular, when people are proclaiming the truth of what we teach and approving of our service. It is no task to follow Jesus when it brings praise and admiration. It is no task to follow in the calm after his "Peace, be still," on Gennesaret. Who would not follow gladly to the mount of transfiguration to behold his glory? But to follow him "wherever" means more than this.

It is our privilege to share in his glory, his triumph, and his exaltation; but if we have a part in these, as true followers we must also follow him in his humiliation. Are we willing to follow him . . .
when the multitude laughs and mocks at him,
when his cause is unpopular,
when instead of praise, we have reproaches,
when instead of smiles, we have sneers?

Then comes the test whether we will follow him all the way.

On one occasion, after he had preached — the multitude forsook him and only the Twelve were steadfast. In these days many are offended at the Word. Are we willing to accept it all? Are we willing to listen to it all? Are we willing to obey it all? God wants "wherever" men and women, who will . . .
hear the whole Word, 
believe the whole Word,
and obey the whole Word.

If we shrink from obedience to any part — we lack just that much of being "wherever" disciples. Christ lived a dedicated life — he was dedicated to his Father's will and accomplished his work — he gave himself solely to this. He allowed nothing to come between him and the fulfillment of God's purpose. With him, nothing counted except that he should finish his work.

There is a purpose, a moving purpose, in every life. There is one thing above all other things that is the chief purpose of our life. In many cases that purpose is to please self — to follow out a course of our own choosing.

The dominant purpose in the heart of every true follower is the same as it was in the life of Christ — to do the will and work of the Father. He who shrinks from either, may hesitate to call himself a true follower.

Christ sacrificed all — even his life. A "wherever" follower has the same spirit of sacrifice — he will not withhold himself nor that which is his. The early church rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer" for Christ.

Let us today look into our own hearts and see if we are animated by the same spirit. That spirit is a very different spirit from that which is seen in those who are offended by a word or a look, and who are ready to resent the slightest act that encroaches upon their rights.

How empty are the claims of many who profess to be real followers of Jesus! They follow where it pleases them — but as soon as something happens not to their liking, they are ready to draw back!

Christ had nowhere to lay his head. We have no record that he ever owned anything but the clothes he wore. A "wherever" follower is not ashamed of the poor. And if he himself is poor — then he is not ashamed of his poverty. But Christ was not always poor. We read that "he became poor." He sacrificed — that others might be enriched. The same spirit of sacrifice will make us willing to sacrifice what we have, for the enrichment of others.

If there were more "wherevers" among us, we would not hear of a lack of funds to carry on the Lord's work. Think of a stingy "wherever"! Can you imagine such a combination? Yet many professed followers fail in their duty to give to the cause of Christ.

Let us bring the question home to ourselves. Let us examine our own hearts and lives. Are we willing to follow Christ all the way — even when we are rejected by our friends and relatives, through sneers and revilings? We might drink of the wine of Cana — but will we wear the thorns? We might be willing to walk on the waters with Jesus — but how about Gethsemane? We may be willing to eat of the loaves and fishes — but are we willing to go with him to Golgotha? We would gladly sit with him on his throne — but will we bear the cross with him to Calvary? We can easily follow him where the way is easy and when our emotions are exalted and our hearts full of praise — but will we follow him . . .
when the skies grow dark,
when we are troubled,
when bitter trials come,
when it takes courage to face what is before us?

Let us decide to be true when the way is strewn with stones or hedged with thorns, when the clouds hang low — as well as when all is bright and encouraging. Let us cast away all shrinking, and say from our hearts and by our lives, "I will follow wherever you go!"

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How much influence has the love of Christ had over us? 

(Jared Waterbury, "Meditations and Prayers")

"The love of Christ constrains us!" 2 Corinthians 5:14

The love of Christ! What a motive to one who has felt its constraining influence! Can we say that we have not only experienced the love of Christ to us--but have felt in return, the outgoings of love to our blessed Savior? 

How much influence has the love of Christ had over us? 
Has it led us to practice self-denial for Jesus' sake? 
Has it fed the flame of our devotions?
Has it been the secret spring of our charities? 
Do we daily go up to Calvary, and study our obligations at the foot of the cross? 

See, on that cross, the adorable Savior! Behold Him, who is the equal of the Father, stretched in bleeding agony--expiring under an inconceivable weight of sorrow--to redeem us wretched, guilty men! All this He does . . .
  to rescue us from sin and from Hell,
  to make us heirs of God,
  to purchase for us an unfading and incorruptible inheritance!

And what have we ever done for Him? Let us weep, that we have made such returns of ingratitude and sin. 
Let us renew our vows at the foot of the cross. 
O let us go forth to our work with increased diligence. 
Be it ours, to say with Paul, "For whether we live--we live unto the Lord; and whether we die--we die unto the Lord. Whether we live therefore, or die--we are the Lord's!" Romans 14:8 

PRAYER.
O, our adorable Savior, when we reflect on Your matchless love, which led You first to pity us, then to come into this polluted world to redeem us; when we think of all that You have done and suffered for us sinful worms--we are lost in wonder, and we cannot find language to express our infinite obligations! But O, what poor returns have we made for all Your love and compassion! Well might we bury our faces in the dust; nor, but for your mercy, could we venture to look up to You. 'Twas not enough that the sins of ourunregenerate state were laid upon you; we have added to that oppressive load, by sinning against love and mercy--Your dying love and boundless mercy! 

Yet does Your love, O Savior, overtop all these mountains of iniquity! 
It says "Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven!" 
May this love reach and melt our obdurate hearts. 
May it constrain us to "live, not to ourselves, but to You, who has died for us and risen again." 

And while the children of this world are laboring to aggrandize self--let us, forgetful of self, be absorbed in the work of glorifying our adorable Redeemer. "For us, to live may it be Christ." When we can no longer glorify You on earth--then, O Savior, let us have a place in that bright world where love--that grace which outlives faith and hope--shall endure forever!

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

The best course to prevent falling into the pit!

(Thomas Brooks)

"Avoid every kind of evil!" 1 Thessalonians 5:22 

It is our wisest and our safest course to stand at the farthest distance from sin; not to go near the house of the harlot, but to fly from all appearance of evil. "Keep to a path far from her--do not go near the door of her house!" Proverbs 5:8

The best course to prevent falling into the pit--is to keep at the greatest distance from the pit. He who will be so bold as to attempt to dance upon the brink of the pit--may find by woeful experience, that it is a righteous thing with God that he should fall into the pit! 

Sin is a plague, yes, the greatest and most infectious plague in the world; and yet, ah! how few are there that tremble at it, that keep at a distance from it! 

   ~  ~  ~  ~

If any occupation or amusement or association is found to hinder our communion with God or our enjoyment of spiritual things--then it must be abandoned. Whatever I cannot do for God's glory--must be avoided! (Arthur Pink)
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The Word that was NOT Said

by J. R. Miller

Many of the sins of most good people—are sins of 'not doing'. We need always to put into our prayer of penitence the confession, "We have left undone—those things which we ought to have done." This is true of our sins of speech. In one of the Psalms is a resolve that we all need to make, "I will take heed to my ways—that I sin not with my tongue." Some of us have a great deal of trouble with our tongues. We say many harsh words, perhaps bitter words which cut and sting! We may plead, as our defense of what we say—that the things we say of others are true. But we have no right to blurt out words that give pain to another, merely because they may happen to be true!

"The ill-timed truth we should have kept
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung!"

There is a great deal of sweet forgiveness in every true heart which has been filled with the love of Christ. The Master's emphatic lesson, that we should forgive, not seven times—but seventy-seven times, has been learned by many patient and gentle believers, for it must be confessed that in too many homes—there is almost measureless need for forgiveness. But is it not most unjust in anyone—to make such demands on love, to make life so hard—for one who has entrusted the heart to his keeping? Should he blame anyone but himself—if some day he finds that he has wearied and worn out the love which has been so patient, so long-suffering, with him?

Forgive you—O, of course, dear,
A dozen times a week!
We women were created—
Forgiveness but to speak.

"You'd die before you'd hurt me!"
This I know tis true.
But it is not, O dearest,
The things you mean to do—

It's what you do, unthinking,
That makes the quick tear start;
The tear may be forgotten,
But the hurt stays in my heart!

And though I may forgive you
A dozen times a day,
Yet each forgiveness wears, dear—
A little love away!

And one day you'll be grieving,
And chiding me, no doubt,
Because so much forgiving—
Has worn my great love out!

But it is possible never to treat our friends unkindly in word or act—and yet to sin grievously against them. We sin against others continually, in restraining kindly speech, in withholding words which we ought to have spoken—cheerful, encouraging, helpful words.

We often think, after the opportunity has passed, of some strong, true word we might have spoken at a certain moment—but which we did not speak. Perhaps "we had not thought" to say it. With many of us the mind works slowly—and we do not think of the fine answer we could have given—or the wise word we might have uttered—until it is too late! Our best thoughts—are ofttimes after-thoughts, too late to be uttered, and avail us nothing. Or the good word may have been kept in the heart unspoken, through timidity or shyness. Bashfulness is sometimes a hinderer of usefulness. We want to speak—but we cannot conquer our natural shyness—and so the kindly or cheering words we were eager to utter—lie unexpressed in our hearts, and our friend does not know that we wished to hearten or encourage or comfort him—in his time of trouble or suffering.

Or it may be lack of moral courage—which restrains speech, when we had the chance to say noble words for Christ. There is a great deal more evil wrought through moral cowardice—than most of us would care to admit. We are afraid of a sneer. We are not brave enough to stand alone.

We wrong our friends, too, most of us, at times, by not speaking courageously in their defense—when their character or conduct is unjustly assailed. Many of us have bitter thoughts of our own behavior, when we remember how we failed one we love in an hour when he needed us to stand up for him in his absence. The word we did not say—burns before our eyes in appalling characters, and shames us.

There is another large class of words unspoken which count seriously against us in life's records. These are words of kindly interest and affection, which it is in our heart to say—but which find no utterance in speech. Especially in home interactions, do such silences work hurt. Perhaps we are careful never to say a word that would cause pain—if we reach this self-restraint, we think that we have attained a high ideal of Christian living. But this is only negative. Not doing people harm—is not the same as doing them good. We sorely wrong our loved ones—by keeping back, by holding in our hearts, unspoken thoughts of love—which we ought to have uttered in their ears!

There is altogether too much reserve in many friendships. We are too watchful of words of commendation. It is a great thing to a child to get a word of praise for something that has been well done, some task given, some lesson set, some duty required, or even for a blundering effort that was the best the child could make. It is like a refreshing cordial to a weary one, toiling and struggling faithfully, though perhaps without the reward of apparent success—to have a word of appreciation and of good cheer spoken heartily and sincerely. It brightens all of one's day of task-work, and puts new courage into one's heart—if in the morning, thoughtful love speaks its gracious word of tenderness. Through all the hours—the light shines, and the song sings!

Yet too many of us seem not to think of this. We love the dear ones of our home—but somehow the love is congealed in our heart and we fail to get it thawed out, and so those whom we ought to help with their burdens, cares, trials and sorrows—go unhelped by us through long dreary days and months!

"Loving words will cost but little
Journeying up the hill of life;
But they make the weak and weary
Stronger, braver for the strife.

Do you count them only trifles—What to earth are sun and rain Never was a kind word wasted;
Never one was said in vain!"

It will do each of us good—to think seriously of our own particular habit in this regard. Do we sin against our loved ones—by keeping back the words of appreciation or commendation, and the expressions of affection, which continually press up to the very door of our lips for utterance, and yet are withheld? Are there hearts close to us, that are starving for their daily bread of love which we have to give, which it is our duty to give—but which we do not dispense?

Someone says, "Children do not dream of the fire under the snow, in the reticent nature of their parents." But is it not a grievous sin against children—for parents to allow the snow to cover up the fires in this way? Would it not be infinitely better—if the love found a language, if the parental pride, the enthusiasm, when beautiful things come out in the children's lives, the gladness when they do well—if these feelings and emotions were expressed? Nothing else so woos out the best in us—as love does.

But it is not in homes only—that we sin against others by not speaking the word we ought to speak. In all our fellowship with people—there is too much of the same thoughtless and unloving reticence. We cannot lift men's heavy burdens off their shoulders—but we could make them braver and stronger to bear these burdens—if we would but speak the ringing word of cheer that we might speak! Do we always do it?

A popular writer, referring to years of hard and disheartening toil in her own early life, tells of the help she got from a friend whenever she met him. He would say, "How goes it, Louisa? Keep your heart up. God bless you!" She says she always went back to her lonely room and her struggles, after meeting this friend, comforted and heartened by his cheering words. It would not cost any of us much—to form the habit of saying a bright, hopeful word to everyone we meet; and we cannot know what helpfulness there would be for others, in this habit.

There is never any lack of appreciative words—when one is dead. Everybody then comes with some reminiscence of his kindness, some grateful expression concerning him. But that is not the right time for love's gentle thoughts to thaw out. It is too late!

"Ah! woe for the word that is never said
—Until the ear is deaf to hear,
And woe for the lack to the fainting head
—Of the ringing shout of cheer!
Ah! woe for the laggard feet that tread
—In the mournful wake of the bier!

A pitiful thing the gift today—
That is dross and nothing worth,
Though if it had come but yesterday
It had brimmed with sweet the earth;
A fading rose in a death-cold hand,
That perished in need and dearth!

Favorite Pastor Quotes 3

Favorite Pastor Quotes 3

If this is happiness--then give me misery!

(Thomas Sherman, "Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ")

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, and lived in luxury every day." Luke 16:19

How apt are many at the sight of a rich worldling--to envy him for what he has.
But, for my part, I rather pity him for what he lacks!
He has money--but he lacks wisdom to use it wisely;
he has a soul--but it lacks grace;
he has the creature--but he lacks the Creator;
he has a mansion--but he lacks Heaven.

In his life, he floats upon a torrent of vanity--which rolls along into an ocean of vexation!

And after death, it will be said of him, "Take this unprofitable servant, bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness! Consign his soul to the eternal lake of fire and brimstone!"

Where now is the object of your envy?

It is not his gold which can then rescue him,
nor his mansion which can then satisfy him,
nor his friends who can then comfort him.

Therefore, if he is worth the envying--then who can be worth the pitying?

If this is happiness--then give me misery!

Lord, rather make me poor, with a holy heart--than rich, with an evil heart of unbelief!

"Have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue--because I am in agony in this fire!" Luke 16:24

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment--but the righteous to eternal life!" Matthew 25:46

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Romans 7:15-25

(15) For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. (16) If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. (17) But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (19) For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. (20) Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (21) I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. (22) For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. (23) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (25) I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
New King James Version   

Though converted for about twenty years when he wrote Romans, Paul comments in verse 17 that sin sufficiently strong enough to pull him in the wrong direction still remained in him. In verse 18, he leaves no doubt that sin was still in him. In verse 19, he admits to occasional sin, and in verse 20, he again states that sin still existed in him, and in verse 21, that evil was present with him. In verse 23, he says that a war raged within him between the law of sin and the law of his mind, and he mentions these two again in verse 25.

The evil that lived in him was the remnant of what he had absorbed of Satan's world before his conversion on the road to Damascus. The law of his mind was his new heart from God that he desired so strongly to rule his life. The war was between the remnant of Satan's world and his new heart. Galatians 5:16-17 confirms this last thought:

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

Each influence on his mind was communicating to him. This is why we cannot physically escape Babylon. It has left its mark on our perspectives, attitudes, and characters; we carry it with us regardless of our location. Nevertheless, our escape from Babylon can be accomplished because, if it could not, God would not have commanded us to do it.

We achieve it by choosing to allow the law of our mind to triumph against the law of sin and death, even though to do so may require many painful sacrifices during the battle. Where does one find the strength necessary to make the sacrifices required? What might we need to supply us motivation?

First, we need to consider a vital promise. Paul proclaims in Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ." This assurance could just as easily been read as, "He shall supply all our need gloriously!" It is full of exuberant expectation.

What do we need? We need faith in the fact that God is, that He is indeed with us personally and individually, and that His Word is true and absolute. In addition, we need vision and hope regarding the value of what is to be gained or lost through making the right choices. We need much more, but certainly not least, we need God's love for Him and fellow man.

 ~John W. Ritenbaugh~

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Unanswered?

"Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily" (Luke 18:6, 7).

God's seasons are not at your beck. If the first stroke of the flint doth not bring forth the fire, you must strike again. God will hear prayer, but He may not answer it at the time which we in our minds have appointed; He will reveal Himself to our seeking hearts, but not just when and where we have settled in our own expectations. Hence the need of perseverance and importunity in supplication.

In the days of flint and steel and brimstone matches we had to strike and strike again, dozens of times, before we could get a spark to live in the tinder; and we were thankful enough if we succeeded at last.

Shall we not be as persevering and hopeful as to heavenly things? We have more certainty of success in this business than we had with our flint and steel, for we have God's promises at our back.

Never let us despair. God's time for mercy will come; yea, it has come, if our time for believing has arrived. Ask in faith nothing wavering; but never cease from petitioning because the King delays to reply. Strike the steel again. Make the sparks fly and have your tinder ready; you will get a light before long. --C. H. Spurgeon

I do not believe that there is such a thing in the history of God's kingdom as a right prayer offered in a right spirit that is forever left unanswered. --Theodore L. Cuyler

~L. B. Cowman~