A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons

A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons

Saturday, August 31, 2019

More Classic Christian Quotes

More Classic Christian Quotes


The Spirit's leading!


("Every Day!" Author unknown)

"As many as are led by the Spirit of God--they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14

Here is a mark of divine sonship: All who follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit--they are children of God. 

The Spirit leads His followers to the looking-glass of Divine truth. Here they discover their spiritual deformity and impurity. Here they see what they are--and what they need. 

The Spirit leads them to the throne of grace--and there He helps their infirmities, and makes intercession for them according to the will of God. 

The Spirit leads them to the cross! When they see Jesus dying for their sins, atoning for their transgressions--they lose the burden of guilt. 

The Spirit leads them in the path of loving obedience--and they experience the blessedness of keeping Christ's commands. 

The Spirit leads them in the track of the Good Shepherd--and enables them to hear His voice and to follow Him.

"As many as are led by the Spirit of God--they are the sons of God."

Many, alas! are following the leadings of a very different spirit--"the spirit that works in the children of disobedience!" He leads, by paths of unbelief and sin--to endless misery and ruin! Beloved reader, beware of following his leadings--and prayerfully yield yourself to the guidance of the Spirit of truth and love.

"Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long." Psalm 25:4-5 

   Spirit of Truth, my Leader be,
   And seal adoption mine;
   Impress Christ's image on my heart,
   The pledge of bliss divine!
_____________________



Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise--apply your heart to what I teach
(Samuel Clark, "The Saint's Bouquet")
"Here are some further sayings of the wise."  Proverbs 24:23
Sin is . . .
  the spawn of the old Serpent,
  the source of Hell, and
  the vomit of the Devil.

Sin is more hateful to God than the Devil; for God hates the Devil for sin's sake--and not sin for the Devil's sake.

Sin is like a serpent in our bosoms, which cannot live--but by sucking out our life blood.

The godly hate sin--because of sin's defilement.
The ungodly fear sin--because of sin's punishment.
The godly hate sin--because it has filth in it to pollute the soul.
The ungodly fear sin--because it has fire in it to burn the soul.

The deluge of waters which overflowed all the world, washed away many sinners--but not one sin!
The world shall one day be all on fire--yet all that fire, and those flames in Hell which follow--shall not purge one sin!

All the evils in the world serve to give names to sin.
Sin is called poison--and sinners, serpents.
Sin is called vomit--and sinners, dogs.
Sin is called mire--and sinners, sows.
Sin is called darkness, blindness, shame, nakedness, folly, madness, death and whatever is filthy, vile, infective, or painful.

A glutton may fill his belly--but he can never fill his lust.
A covetous man may have his house full of money--but he can never have his heart full of money.
An ambitious man may have titles enough to overload his memory--but never to fill his pride.

The Devil's last stratagem is, if he cannot beat us down to sin--to blow us up with pride.

Nothing will make God's children so pure, as to wash themselves every morning in tears of repentance.

Without sound repentance, sin is not accounted as the greatest evil--nor Christ as the greatest good.

"Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise--apply your heart to what I teach." Proverbs 22:17
______________________


It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage!

(John Berridge)

The foulest stain, and worst absurdity in our nature, is pride! And yet this vile hedgehog so rolls himself up in his bristly coat, that we can seldom get a sight of his claws. 

Pride cleaves to us, like a shirt soaked in tar cleaves to the skin. No sharp ploughing and harrowing will clear the ground of it. This foul weed will be sure to spring up with the next rain!

Pride follows me like my shadow!

This diabolical sin has brought more scourges on my back than everything else! It is of so insinuating a nature, that I know not how to rid myself of it. 
I hate it, and love it. 
I quarrel with it, and embrace it. 
I dread it, and yet allow it to lie in my bosom. 

It pleads a right, through the fall, to be a tenant for life. It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage! It will be as warm and snug in a monastery, as a brothel--and be as much delighted with a fine prayer, as a foul curse!

Lord, save me! If pride must dwell with me, let it not be a lordly master, but a loathed viper! 

Oh, that I could once say unto you, foul pride: "Farewell forever!"

There is no Christian grace--but pride will creep into its bosom, and mix with it as freely as oil with oil. 

Nor is Lady Pride ever so delighted as when she becomes intimate with humility, and by soft caresses and kind speeches, encourages the sweet damsel to think highly of herself, even when she looks and talks humbly. 

One moment she whispers and tells me that I am a fine fellow--and then I am elated. 
By and by, she calls me a fool--and then I am sullen. 

I can do no religious act--but pride is skulking at my elbow, and much affecting me both by her smiles and frowns. 

This foul pride besieges my heart, besets all my steps, and meets me at every turn. 

Pride has more heads than a Hydra! (A mythological serpentine water monster which had many heads. Every time someone would cut off one of them, two more heads would grow out!)

Pride has more shapes than Proteus! (A mythical Greek figure who could assume a different shape at will.)

It is such an odd mysterious evil--that I can even be proud of loathing my pride.

Henceforth if you ask my real name, it is Pride! 

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers


This is not mine to keep!(Charles Spurgeon)

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 

Christian! If you have anything that you prize very highly, hold it very loosely--for you may easily lose it. 

Hold everything earthly with a loose hand, but grasp eternal things with a deathlike grip.

Of everything on earth, it is wise for us to say, "This is not mine to keep!" It is essential to realize that this it is true, for everything here is temporary.

Mind what you are doing--you prosperous people, you who have nice homes, you who are hoarding up money. There is nothing permanent for you here on earth. Your home is in Heaven--your home is not here. If you find your treasure here--your heart will be here also. 

You must keep all earthly treasures out of your heart.
 

Let Christ be your treasure, and let Him have your heart!

"This world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God, will live forever!" 1 John 2:17 

__________________________


In a few years


(Thomas Chalmers)

"For we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow." Job 8:9 

"He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." Job 14:2 

"Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return!" Job 16:22 

"My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass." Psalm 102:11 

"Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." Psalm 144:4 

How transient is human life--yet no one lays it to heart. With the magnificence of eternity before us--let fleetingtime, with all its fluctuations, dwindle into its own littleness.

In a few years our heads will be laid in the cold grave, and the green turf will cover us. The children who come after us will tread upon our graves.

They will weep for us a few days.

They will talk of us a few months.

They will remember us a few years.

Then our memory shall disappear from the face of the earth, and not a tongue shall be found to recall it!

The character with which we sink into the grave at death--is the very character with which we shall reappear at the final judgment!

"O God, impress upon me the value of time--and give regulation to all my thoughts and to all my actions. O God, help me to live for Your glory. As the years roll over me, may I withdraw my affections from time, and feel that in moving through the world, I am moving toward eternity!"

"So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

    ~  ~  ~  ~

Editor's note: My wife's unsaved brother died suddenly of a heart attack this morning. He was 56 and in the best of health. How true is God's Word: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Christian Service # 2

Christian Service # 2

The true and normal Christian life consists of being in subjection to God. No longer is a quickened soul determined to have his own way at all costs, but instead, the dominating longing and purpose of his heart is to please and honor the Lord in all things. This is the result of a miraculous work of grace, for "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).

The best way to discover what is signified by being a servant of God, is to ponder the life of the Lord Jesus. Of Him, it is written, "Who, being in the form of God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:6-7). And what did that involve? This - we are told that, "Christ pleased not Himself" (Romans 15:3). As He declared, "For I came down from Heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:38). And again, "I do always those things that please Him." That was the character of conduct of the perfect Servant. 

And, my reader, Christ has left believers "an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21). The "yoke" Christ assumed was that of unreserved submission to God's will, and nothing less than that is what He requires from His followers. We are not Christians at all, unless we are servants of God, fully surrendered to His will, and walking in obedience to His Word.

Alas, satan is deceiving so many today by leading them to suppose that they are savingly trusting in the "finished work" of Christ, while their hearts remain unchanged and self-will rules their lives! "He who says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandments - is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). What could be plainer than that?

What a searching and solemn word also is in James 1:22, "Be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." There are many "hearers" of the Word, regular hearers, diligent hearers, in some respects, very interested hearers, yet, what they hear is not incorporated into the life. It does not regulate their ways. And God says that they who are not doers of the Word, are "deceiving their own selves."

Alas, how many such there are in Christendom today! Those who are not downright hypocrites, but deluded souls. They suppose that because they are so clear on salvation being by grace alone, they are saved, and that because they sit under the ministry of a man who has "made the Bible a new Book" to them, they are growing in grace.

How many imagine that the mere listening to a true servant of God, or reading his writings, is feeding on the Word. Not so! We only "feed" on the Word when we personally appropriate, masticate, and assimilate into our lives what we read or hear. "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows!" (Luke 12:47).

Christian service is a lie of obedience - our inward and outward life being regulated by the divine precepts.

The service of God is one of freedom, yes, it is the only one where real freedom is to be found. It is the one who willingly renders obedience to Him - who is "the Lord's freeman" (1 Cor. 7:22). God does NOT force His people into service, but constrains them by His love, and their language is, "I will walk at liberty; for I seek your precepts" (Psalm 119:45).

Nothing is more honorable than to be a dutiful servant of God, for it entails the smile of approbation from Him who is the King of kings.

Nothing is more pleasant than to be subject to God's commands, for it secures His favor and fellowship.

What a rich reward is assured those who take His yoke upon them! The Lord Jesus declared, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be" (John 12:26). And again, "Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:24). And yet again, "There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him" (Rev. 22:3) - now, serving Him in the office, the shop, or the kitchen then, serving Him in the courts of the Father's house above.

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

Identification of the Godly # 2

Identification of the Godly # 2

"Salvation" is here to be taken in its widest sense, and not limited to the pardon of sins, or cancellation of guilt. In its fullness, "salvation" includes all the mercies of the everlasting covenant. It is viewed here not from the judicial but the experiential side, and therefore, as an object of longing - unto a soul which is sensible of its deep needs and sees in God's salvation, a complete supply for them.

"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" was said by David not as one who had not yet tasted that He is gracious, but who yearned for a fuller acquaintance with Him. David now sat upon the throne of Israel, yet that contented him not. Have you found every earthly possession and pleasure to be vanity? Have your eyes been opened to see your wretchedness, your heart been made to feel its deep needs? Is there a hungering and thirsting in your soul after righteousness? Then do you not exclaim, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord."?

That longing has several degrees. At first, it may be like a smoking flax, where one can hardly discern a spark of fire, because it is choked by the prevalence of unbelief. But if it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, ti will become more lively and vivid, and break forth into ardent prayers. Yes, it will eventually obtain such strength as to make its possessor say, "As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God" (Psalm 42:1), and He has promised "the desire of the righteous shall be granted" (Proverbs 10:24).

Such longing marks the character of all quickened souls. It is an evidence of a work of grace, for it springs from love to its Author. But the thoughtful and disseminating reader may ask, "Do not some of the unregenerate have a longing for God's salvation - that they may be delivered from the wrath to come?" At times they think so, and perhaps say so, but their actions prove the contrary. Even so, how am I to distinguish my "longings" from theirs? By its very nature. Is your longing actuated only by a sense of dread of the everlasting burnings, or mainly by a desire to be delivered from the power and pollution of sin? Is your desire constant and persistent, something more than a passing fancy? Is it serious and earnest, and not just a superficial and fickle notion? Is it an influential one which leads to action, to diligent seeking - and not merely an idle whim? Is it a predominant one, so that all other interests are subordinated to its realization, and not one which is overcome by the opposition of the flesh and allurements of the world? If so, there is good reason to believe God is its Author.

But let the inquiry be pressed still more closely. David not only declared, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord," but he added, "and your law is my delight." If your longing be for holiness, then it is necessarily accompanied by an approbation of God's scepter, for subjection thereto is the way unto its realization. A spiritual desire for God's salvation issues in a delight of His precepts, and such delight is the very pulse of the spiritual life. Delight in God's commandments is not found in the unregenerate, for "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and is "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). But the language of one who is born of God is "I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved" (Psalm 119:47). The two things cannot be separated: "Lord, I have hoped for your salvation, and done your commandments" (Psalm 119:166) - not perfectly so, but with a sincere and real endeavor to conform unto them. The hearts of all God's children are in the same mold: they love what He loves - and hate what He hates. Though when they "would do good, evil is present" with them; nevertheless, each one can truthfully aver, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:21-22).

"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" - not "I have not fully attained unto it." Such a longing arises from a sense of insufficiency in ourselves. At the close of his eventful life, Jacob declared, "I have waited for your salvation, O Lord. A like submissive expectation befits us. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" (Lam. 3:26). "We ourselves also, who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves do groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption" (Romans 8:23). So long as we are in this earthly scene, our longings are unsatisfied; necessarily so, for we yearn for and press unto perfection. If you can truthfully say, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2), then you need not have the slightest hesitation in declaring, "As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers


A self-loather

(Thomas Brooks

"They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices." Ezekiel 6:9 

True repentance is a daily turning of the soul further and further from sin--and a daily turning of the soul nearer and nearer to God and holiness.

True repentance includes . . .
  a true sense of sin,
  a deep sorrow for sin,
  a hearty loathing of sin, and
  a holy shame and blushing for sin.

A true repenter strives for . . .
  a clean head, and a clean heart; 
  a clean lip, and a clean life.

To repent is for a man to loathe himself, as well as his sin. 

Is this easy for man, who is so great a self-lover, and so great a self-exalter, and so great a self-admirer--to become a self-loather? To repent is to cross sinful self, and to walk contrary to sinful self.

True repentance lies in a daily dying unto sin, and in a daily living unto Him who lives forever.

"Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices." Ezekiel 36:31

_______________________


Marthas and Marys

(
J. C. Ryle


 Mary & Martha, Luke 10:38-42)

Observe how different the characters and personalities of true Christians may be. The two sisters of whom we read in this passage were both faithful disciples. Both had believed. Both had been converted. Both had honored Christ, when few gave Him honor. Both loved Jesus--and Jesus loved both of them. Yet they were evidently women of very different character! 

Martha was active, stirring and impulsive; feeling strongly, and speaking out all she felt. 
Mary was quiet, still and contemplative; feeling deeply, but saying less than she felt. 

Martha, when Jesus came to her house, rejoiced to see Him, and busied herself with preparing suitable refreshment. 
Mary
, also, rejoiced to see Him, but her first thought was to sit at His feet and hear His word. 

Grace reigned in both hearts--but each showed the effects of grace in different ways.

We shall find it very useful to ourselves to remember this lesson. 
We must not expect all believers in Christ to be exactly like one another. 
We must not set down others as having no grace, because their experience does not entirely tally with our own.

The sheep in the Lord's flock have each their own peculiarities. 

The flowers in the Lord's garden are not all precisely alike. 

All true servants of God agree in the principal things of religion. 
All are led by one Spirit. 
All feel their sins, and all trust in Christ. 
All repent, all believe, and all are holy. 
But in minor matters, they often differ widely. 

Let no one despise another on this account. 

There will be Marthas and there will be Marys in the Church, until the Lord comes again.

________________________


We see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood(Charles Spurgeon)

"The precious blood of Christ!" 1 Peter 1:19

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood.

It is precious because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it . . .
  the sins of Christ's people are atoned for;
  they are redeemed from under the law;
  they are reconciled to God, made one with Him.

Christ's blood is also precious in its cleansing power. It "cleanses from all sin." "Though your sins be as scarlet--they shall be as white as snow!" Through Jesus' blood, there is not a spot left upon any believer--no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of abundant iniquity, and permitting us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God.

The blood of Christ is likewise precious in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God's seeing the blood--which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when our eye of faith is dim, for God's eye is still the same.

The blood of Christ is precious also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin, does in its after-action, quicken the new nature and leads it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. There is no motive for holiness so great--as that which streams from the veins of Jesus!And precious, unspeakably precious, is this blood--because it has an overcoming power. It is written, "They overcame through the blood of the Lamb." How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus--fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat.

The precious blood of Jesus!
  Sin dies at its presence.
  Death ceases to be death.
  Heaven's gates are opened.

The precious blood of Jesus! We shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!

Christian Service # 1

Christian Service # 1

Our present subject follows logically upon the theme of our last paper, for we are saved to serve, as was adumbrated of old in connection with God's earthly peoples, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, "Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus says the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me" (Ex. 8:1).

Pharaoh was a type of satan. The bondage of Egypt was a type of our "serving divers lusts" (Tim. 3:3). Israel's exodus from Egypt and their entering into covenant with Jehovah at Sinai illustrates the experience of conversion, when a rebel against God throws down the weapons of his warfare and gives himself up to be ruled by God's will.

Salvation, then, is a change of masters. There are but two masters, and each person serves one of them - sin and God. Every man serves one of them, but no man can serve both. Every man serves either sin or righteousness, God or the devil, giving his time and strength to one or the other. "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Holy Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires" (Romans 8:5). There is NO middle ground, or neutral state. Both of these services are entered by consent, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16).

It is true there are degrees in this, some yielding up themselves more completely and entirely than others. Nevertheless, the service which the regenerate render to righteousness is quite voluntary. The service of sin must be abandoned, before the service of God can be entered, "But now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to God - the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life" (Romans 6:22). That order is unchangeable. 

By nature we are not in subjection to God, for man is "born like a wild donkey's colt" (Job 11:12). As they contemplate their unregenerate days, the Lord's people sorrowfully confess, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned one to his own way!" (Isa. 53:6). Yes, that is the quintessence of sin - the determination to please ourselves.

Thus it was at the beginning. Our first parents chafed at the divine restraint, and took matters into their own hands. But by grace, all this is altered. The language of a quickened soul is, "Lord, what will You have me to do" (Acts 9:6).

True conversion is a being brought into subjection to God.

First, the conscience is convicted of insubordination to God, and we are made to tremble for having so long and so grievously defied Him. His claims are now recognized and felt, and there is a broken-hearted repentance for having disregarded those claims.

Second, there is a bending of our wills, a subduing of the fleshly principle within, and a being made desirous for God to rule us (Psalm 110:3). Self-lover, self-will, and self-righteousness receive their death wounds!

Third, there is wrought in the heart a readiness to submit to God's way of salvation (Rom. 10:3), so that we come as empty-handed beggars to receive out of the fullness of His grace.

Fourth, there is a receiving of Christ Jesus as Lord (Col. 2:6). "O Lord, our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor" (Isa. 26:13). In the past, "lord" self-pleasing, "lord" self-love, and "lord" self-gratification - ruled us. But now, these are repudiated. We have become "servants of God," and a servant is one who owns the authority of a superior, who is yielded to the will of his master and lives and labors to promote his interests.

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)



Saturday, August 10, 2019

Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers


"If you do not believe in regeneration, if you do not see its utter absolute necessity, then I do not see that you have any right to regard yourself as a Christian. If you do not see that you are so lost that nothing but receiving new life from God can reconcile you and take you to heaven, then you are lacking at a vital point, a point that is integral and belongs to the very integrity of faith."
-Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Great Doctrines of the Bible – Saving Faith)
_______________

Wounded Parents Wounded Children


So often when we deal with difficult people, it's easy to form judgments about them based on their behavior or attitudes. But have you ever stopped to wonder what has made that person so disagreeable or foolish? When the Bible says God "repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children" (v. 18), it is speaking about generational cycles of sin. Unless someone in the family line makes a deliberate choice to change, sinful and dysfunctional behavior will be passed from parent to child for many generations.
This is really just a confirmation of the principle of sowing and reaping. We pass down standards for conduct and character traits that we received from our parents. If we are unwilling to change our sinful habits and attitudes, they will very likely find their way into our children's lives.
What is true for sin is also true for wounding. When a child is emotionally bruised in the home, his behavior and character may be negatively affected. With this in mind, think about a difficult person that you know. What hurts do you think shaped his or her life? A heart of compassion originates from a willingness to empathize with those who have been wounded. This doesn't excuse someone's sin, but it does aid in opening our hearts toward the individual.
What about you? Have childhood wounds contributed to who you are today? How have they affected your life? If you haven't dealt with them, you'll probably pass similar hurts down to your children. But with God's help, you can break this cycle and begin a new one that will benefit future generations.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
____________________________

Truth Established

"The lip of Truth shall be established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment"   (Proverbs 12:19).

Truth wears well. Time tests it, but it right well endures the trial. R; then, I have spoken the truth and have for the present to suffer for it, I must be content to wait. If also I believe the truth of God and endeavor to declare it, I may meet with much opposition, but I need not fear, for ultimately the truth must prevail.

What a poor thing is the temporary triumph of falsehood! "A lying lip is but for a moment!" It is a mere gourd which comes up in a night and perishes in a night; and the greater its development the more manifest its decay. On the other hand, how worthy of an immortal being is the avowal and defense of that truth which can never change; the everlasting gospel, which is established in the immutable truth of an unchanging God! An old proverb saith, "He that speaks truth shames the devil." Assuredly he that speaks the truth of God will put to shame all the devils in hell and confound all the seed of the serpent which now hiss out their falsehoods.

O my heart, take care that thou be in all things on the side of truth, both in small things and great; but specially, on the side of Him by whom grace and truth have come among men!

~Charles Spurgeon~
_________________________

How is Jesus the “Glory of God”?

by R.C. Sproul

The book of James has an unusual sentence construction that links the word glory with the name of Jesus: “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (James 2:1). In this verse the words Lord of glory have alternate renditions. Some translations read, “Our glorious Lord.” Still another possible translation reads, “Jesus Christ, who is the glory.”
B. B. Warfield, in his book The Lord of Glory, says, that Jesus was the glory of God, the shekinah. According to the Old Testament, the shekinah was the visible manifestation of the invisible God. The shekinah was a radiant cloud or brilliant light within a cloud that signaled the immediate presence of God. For Jesus to be identified with the shekinah was to be equated with the presence of God Himself. In Jesus we see the full manifestation of the majesty of God.
That the New Testament writers ascribed glory to Jesus was a clear indication of their confession of His full deity. Glory, in the sense it is used with reference to Jesus, is a divine attribute. It is the glory of God that He refuses to share with any man.
The angels sang “Glory to God” at Christ’s birth. The heavenly elders give glory to God around His throne. Why don’t you follow their example and give God glory today in every circumstance of your life?