Christian Course

...some directions how to conduct yourself in your Christian course..." from the pen of Jonathan Edwards
Northampton, New England
June 3, 1741

1. I would advise you to keep up as great a strife and earnestness in religion as if you knew yourself to be in a state of nature and were seeking conversion. We advise persons under conviction to be earnest and violent for the kingdom of heaven; but when they have attained to conversion, they ought not to be the less watchful, laborious, and earnest in the whole work of religion, but the more so; for they are under infinitely greater obligations. For want of this, many persons, in a few months after their conversion, have begun to lose their sweet and lively sense of spiritual things, and to grow cold and dark, and have "pierced themselves through with many sorrows (I Timothy 6:10)." Whereas, if they had done as the apostle did (Philippians 3:12-14), their path would have been "as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4:18)."

George Mueller

Savory Morsels of George Mueller (1805-1898)


"The last portion of scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Now, if we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, we are partakers of grace, and to all such he will give glory also. I said to myself, with regard to the latter part, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”—I am in myself a poor worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ; and I do not live in sin, I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again; sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have often said before, from taking God at his word, believing what he says."

"The difference between the gift and the grace of faith seems to me this. According to the gift of faith I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, the not doing of which, or the not believing of which would not be sin; according to the grace of faith I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, respecting which I have the word of God as the ground to rest upon, and, therefore, the not doing it, or the not believing it would be sin. For instance, the gift of faith would be needed, to believe that a sick person should be restored again though there is no human probability: for there is no promise to that effect; the grace of faith is needed to believe that the Lord will give me the necessaries of life, if I first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness: for there is a promise to that effect. Matthew 6:33"

"Now in brotherly love and affection I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful in order that happiness in the Lord may continue, that the Scriptures be regularly read. These are God's appointed means for the nourishment of the inner man. . . .Consider it, and ponder over it. . . . Especially we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not pick out here and there a chapter. If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more."

Click here to read the biographical article on George Mueller's life in its entirety. I highly recommend it.

Faith, not sight

It often gets dangerous to travel on the slick roads when it snows or rains. Even if we travel with caution, there are times when we'll lose control of our car.

Life, at times, can appear to be slippery without any firmness below us.

The Psalmist David said,

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

We are commanded to put our trust in God and not in ourselves [or any other material or non-material possession]. He is so powerful and mighty that nothing can overcome Him.

Put your trust in Him.

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad
A severe thunderstorm passed through our region late last night causing the destruction of an area interstate attraction. The "touchdown jesus" (as it is called...notice the small "j") was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. The church maintains that it has never been their intention for the 62-foot statue to be an idol of worship but rather as a reminder as travelers drive along I75 that Jesus loves them and wants a relationship with them. It is my opinion that lightening has never struck a more worthy ornament of blasphemy.

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that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought: but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory: which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: but as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And which entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him. But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God. But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words. (1 Corinthians 2:5-13)

Being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); (2 Corinthians 5:6-7)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28)

But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matthew 25:31-34)

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41)

You Reap What You Sow

As we travel through life, it seems that a break or rest area is always a long way off. Some people do not enjoy their journey for they only look forward to their destination. It always pays to go the extra mile or putt forth the extra effort and enjoy life.

People who never do anymore than they get paid for never get paid for any more than they do.

In our age of instant gratification, this principle might seem unfashionable - but it works. In business and in all other areas of life, if you give more than is asked of you, you will reap great rewards.

Have a good day!
Love
Dad


"All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move." Benjamin Franklin

"All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work." Calvin Coolidge

Our Roles

"I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth." --Ecclesiastes 10:7

Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places, while the truly great pine in obscurity. This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day gladden the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact, that none of us should murmur if it should fall to our own lot. When our Lord was upon earth, although He is the Prince of the kings of the earth, yet He walked the footpath of weariness and service as the Servant of servants: what wonder is it if His followers, who are princes of the blood, should also be looked down upon as inferior and contemptible persons? The world is upside down, and therefore, the first are last and the last first. See how the servile sons of Satan lord it in the earth! What a high horse they ride! How they lift up their horn on high! Haman is in the court, while Mordecai sits in the gate; David wanders on the mountains, while Saul reigns in state; Elijah is complaining in the cave while Jezebel is boasting in the palace; yet who would wish to take the places of the proud rebels? and who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints? When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink. Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time.

Let us not fall into the error of letting our passions and carnal appetites ride in triumph, while our nobler powers walk in the dust. Grace must reign as a prince, and make the members of the body instruments of righteousness. The Holy Spirit loves order, and He therefore sets our powers and faculties in due rank and place, giving the highest room to those spiritual faculties which link us with the great King; let us not disturb the divine arrangement, but ask for grace that we may keep under our body and bring it into subjection. We were not new created to allow our passions to rule over us, but that we, as kings, may reign in Christ Jesus over the triple kingdom of spirit, soul, and body, to the glory of God the Father.

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening for May 19.

Our Comfort

When your soul is heavy, when your life is filled with chaos, when darkness blackens your sky, when everything in your life seems to be turning upside down, and confusion seizes your very soul, lift up your eyes unto the hills and hope in God our Savior, who closes his Book with “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” who has prevailed to fulfil all the good will and purpose of God for your soul. — Behold the Lamb upon his throne and rejoice. Be easy, O my soul: — The Lamb of God who loved me and gave himself for me sits upon the throne of heaven! — “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth!” Let us be glad and rejoice!

Don Fortner, May 16, Grace Baptist Church Bulletin

The Only Way

Speed seldom is as important as direction. An individual could be traveling at a very high speed but going in the wrong direction and never get to the right destination. Whereas another person traveling at a substantially slower speed, but in the right direction, would eventually reach the correct destination.

Make sure that you're going the right way!

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad


Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.
(John 14:6)

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,".... Our Lord takes the opportunity of this discourse about the place he was going to, and the way unto it, more fully to instruct his disciples concerning himself, saying, "I am the way"; Christ is not merely the way, as he goes before his people as an example; or merely as a prophet, pointing out unto them by his doctrine the way of salvation; but he is the way of salvation itself by his obedience and sacrifice; nor is there any other; he is the way of his Father's appointing, and which is entirely agreeable to the perfections of God, and suitable to the case and condition of sinners; he is the way to all the blessings of the covenant of grace; and he is the right way into a Gospel church state here; no one comes rightly into a church of Christ but by faith in him; and he is the way to heaven: he is entered into it himself by his own blood, and has opened the way to it through himself for his people:

-from John Gill's commentary

The Children's Crumbs

And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out.
(Mark 7:24-30)

See here,
I. How humbly Christ was pleased to conceal himself. Never man was so cried up as he was in Galilee, and therefore, to teach us, though not to decline any opportunity of doing good, yet not to be fond of popular applause, he arose from thence, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, where he was little known; and there he entered, not into a synagogue, or place of concourse, but into a private house, and he would have no man to know it; because it was foretold concerning him, He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall his voice be heard in the streets. Not but that he was willing to preach and heal here as well as in other places, but for this he would be sought unto. Note, As there is a time to appear, so there is a time to retire. Or, he would not be known, because he was upon the borders of Tyre and Sidon, among Gentiles, to whom he would not be so forward to show himself as to the tribes of Israel, whose glory he was to be.

II. How graciously he was pleased to manifest himself, notwithstanding. Though he would not carry a harvest of miraculous cures into those parts, yet, it should seem, he came on purpose to drop a handful, to let fall this one which we have here an account of. He could not be hid; for, though a candle may be put under a bushel, the sun cannot. Christ was too well known to be long incognito - hid, any where; the oil of gladness which he was anointed with, like ointment of the right hand, would betray itself, and fill the house with its odours. Those that had only heard his fame, could not converse with him, but they would soon say, “This must be Jesus.”

Now observe,
1. The application made to him by a poor woman in distress and trouble. She was a Gentile, a Greek, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, an alien to the covenant of promise; she was by extraction a Syrophenician, and not in any degree proselyted to the Jewish religion; she had a daughter, a young daughter, that was possessed with the devil. How many and grievous are the calamities that young children are subject to! Her address was, (1.) Very humble, pressing, and importunate; She heard of him, and came, and fell at his feet. Note, Those that would obtain mercy from Christ, must throw themselves at his feet; must refer themselves to him, humble themselves before him, and give up themselves to be ruled by him. Christ never put any from him, that fell at his feet, which a poor trembling soul may do, that has not boldness and confidence to throw itself into his arms. (2.) It was very particular; she tells him what she wanted. Christ gave poor supplicants leave to be thus free with him; she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter, Mar_7:26. Note, The greatest blessing we can ask of Christ for our children is, that he would break the power of Satan, that is, the power of sin, in their souls; and particularly, that he would cast forth the unclean spirit, that they may be temples of the Holy Ghost, and he may dwell in them.

2. The discouragement he gave to this address (Mar_7:27); He said unto her, “Let the children first be filled; let the Jews have all the miracles wrought for them, that they have occasion for, who are in a particular manner God's chosen people; and let not that which was intended for them, be thrown to those who are not of God's family, and who have not that knowledge of him, and interest in him, which they have, and who are as dogs in comparison of them, vile and profane, and who are as dogs to them, snarling at them, spiteful toward them, and ready to worry them.” Note, Where Christ knows the faith of poor supplicants to be strong, he sometimes delights to try it, and put it to the stretch. But his saying, Let the children first be filled, intimates that there was mercy in reserve for the Gentiles, and not far off; for the Jews began already to be surfeited with the gospel of Christ, and some of them had desired him to depart out of their coasts. The children begin to play with their meat, and their leavings, their loathings, would be a feast for the Gentiles. The apostles went by this rule, Let the children first be filled, let the Jews have the first offer; and if their full souls loathe this honeycomb, Lo, we turn to the Gentiles!

3. The turn she gave to this word of Christ, which made against her, and her improvement of it, to make for her, Mar_7:28. She said, “Yes, Lord, I own it is true that the children's bread ought not to be cast to the dogs; but they were never denied the crumbs of that bread, nay it belongs to them, and they are allowed a place under the table, that they may be ready to receive them. I ask not for a loaf, no, nor for a morsel, only for a crumb; do not refuse me that.” This she speaks, not as undervaluing the mercy, or making light of it in itself, but magnifying the abundance or miraculous cures with which she heard the Jews were feasted, in comparison with which a single cure was but as a crumb. Gentiles do not come in crowds, as the Jews do; I come alone. Perhaps she had heard of Christ's feeding five thousand lately at once, after which, even when they had gathered up the fragments, there could not but be some crumbs left for the dogs.

4. The grant Christ thereupon made of her request. Is she thus humble, thus earnest? For this saying, Go thy way, thou shalt have what thou camest for, the devil is gone out of thy daughter, Mar_7:29. This encourages us to pray and not to faint, to continue instant in prayer, not doubting but to prevail at last; the vision at the end shall speak, and not lie. Christ's saying that is was done, did it effectually, as at other times his saying, Let it be done; for (Mar_7:30) she came to her house, depending upon the word of Christ, that her daughter was healed, and so she found it, the devil was gone out. Note, Christ can conquer Satan at a distance; and it was not only when the demoniacs saw him, that they yielded to his power (as Mar_3:11), but when they saw him not, for the Spirit of the Lord is not bound, nor bounded. She found her daughter not in any toss or agitation, but very quietly laid on the bed, and reposing herself; waiting for her mother's return, to rejoice with her, that she was so finely well.

From Matthew Henry's commentary.

Doing Something Worthwhile

We are often led to believe that we are limited to certain destinations in life. Not so!

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.

Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore, my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him." (Psalm 28:7)

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad

The Word of God

Our faith rests entirely upon the Word of God. If it could ever be proved that the Bible is no the inspired, inerrant Word of God, then the gospel of Christ would be proved false. But the infidel, though he may scoff, cannot ever produce such proof. The fact that the Bible stands today shatters every argument of those skeptics who deny that the Bible is the Word of God.

This blessed book is the greatest standing miracle in the world today. Just think of this: there was never an order given to any man to plan the writing of this volume. Nor was there any concerted effort on the part of men to write it. Under the sovereign direction of the Holy Spirit, the Bible gradually developed over a period of 1600 years. Little by little, part by part, century by century, it came out in parts and fragments. It was written on two continents, in countries hundreds of miles apart. It was written in three languages - Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. And it was written by scores of men, from every possible background variation. Yet it stands as one unified volume.

This is a book with one message. It contains one system of doctrine, one plan of salvation, one principle of conduct and once rule of faith. The one message of the Bible is that of redemption by the shed blood of Christ. Substitution is stamped upon every page. Everything in the Bible points to Christ and his substitutionary work.

There are historical statements in the Bible that could not have been known except by revelation: the account of creation, the decrees of God, the covenant of grace. And there are doctrines taught in the Bible which no human mind ever devised: the character of the triune God, the incarnation of Christ, substitutionary atonement. Add to this the perfect accuracy of the prophecies of the Bible adn their evident fulfillment. I say there can be but one rational explanation for the existence of this divine book: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Without question, this is the Word of God!

(From Don Fortner's Grace for Today for April 12.