God Always Hears (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
God Always Hears
January 31
My God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)

Friends may be unfaithful, but the Lord will not turn away from the gracious soul; on the contrary, He will hear all its desires. The prophet says, “Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. A man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” This is a wretched state of affairs; but even in such a case the Best Friend remains true, and we may tell Him all our grief.
Our wisdom is to look unto the Lord and not to quarrel with men or women. If our loving appeals are disregarded by our relatives, let us wait upon the God of our salvation, for He will hear us – He will hear us all the more because of the unkindness and oppression of others, and we shall soon have reason to cry, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy!”
Because God is the living God, He can hear; because He is a loving God, He will hear; because He is our covenant God, He has bound Himself to hear us. If we can each one speak of Him as “My God,” we may with absolute certainty say, “My God will hear me.” Come, then, O bleeding heart, and let thy sorrows tell themselves out to the Lord thy God! I will bow the knee in secret and inwardly whisper, “My God will hear me.”

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

A Heavenly Escort (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
A Heavenly Escort
January 30
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest. (Genesis 28:15)

Do we need journeying mercies? Here are choice ones – God’s presence and preservation, In all places we need both of these, and in all places we shall have them if we go at the call of duty, and not merely according to our own fancy. Why should we look upon removal to another country as a sorrowful necessity when it is laid upon us by the divine will? In all lands the believer is equally a pilgrim and a stranger; and yet in every region the Lord is His dwelling place, even as He has been to His saints in all generations. We may miss the protection of an earthly monarch, but when God says, “I will keep thee,” we are in no real danger. This is a blessed passport for a traveler and a heavenly escort for an emigrant.
Jacob had never left his father’s room before; he had been a mother’s boy and not an adventurer tike his brother. Yet he went abroad, and God went with him. He had little luggage and no attendants; yet no prince ever journeyed with a nobler bodyguard. Even while he slept in the open field, angels watched over him, and the Lord God spoke to him. If the Lord bids us go, let us say with our Lord Jesus, “Arise, let us go hence.”

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Obedience Brings Blessing (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Obedience Brings Blessing
January 29
Observe and hear all these words, which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 12:28)

Though salvation is not by the works of the law, yet the blessings which are promised to obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God. The curses our Lord took away when He was made a curse for us, but no clause of blessing has been abrogated.
We are to note and listen to the revealed will of the Lord, giving our attention not to portions of it but to “all these words.” There must be no picking and choosing but an impartial respect to all that God has commanded. This is the road of blessedness for the Father and for His children. The Lord’s blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth generation. If they walk uprightly before Him, He will make all men know that they are a seed which the Lord has blessed. No blessing can come to us or ours through dishonesty or double dealing. The ways of worldly conformity and unholiness cannot bring good to us or ours. It will go well with us when we go well before God. If integrity does not make us prosper, knavery will not. That which gives pleasure to God will bring pleasure to us.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Tears Shall Cease (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Tears Shall Cease
January 28
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 21:4)

Yes, we shall come to this if we are believers. Sorrow shalt cease, and tears shall be wiped away. This is the world of weeping, but it passes away. There shall be a new heaven and a new earth, so says the first verse of this chapter; and therefore there will be nothing to weep over concerning the Fall and its consequent miseries. Read the second verse and note how it speaks of the bride and her marriage. The Lamb’s wedding is a time for boundless pleasure, and tears would be out of place. The third verse says that God Himself will dwell among men; and surely at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore, and tears can no longer flow.
What will our state be when there will be no more sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain? This will be more glorious than we can as yet imagine. O eyes that are red with weeping, cease your scalding flow, for in a little while ye shall know no more tears! None can wipe tears away like the God of love, but He is coming to do it. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Come, Lord, and tarry not; for now both men and women must weep!

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Precious Repentance (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Precious Repentance
January 27
And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye hate committed. (Ezekiel 20:43)

When we are accepted of the Lord and are standing in the place of favor, and peace, and safety, then we are led to repent of all our failures and miscarriages toward our gracious God. So precious is repentance that we may call it a diamond of the first water, and this is sweetly promised to the people of God as one most sanctifying result of salvation. He who accepts repentance also gives repentance; and He gives it not out of “the bitter box” but from among those “wafers made with honey” on which He feeds His people. A sense of blood-bought pardon and of undeserved mercy is the best means of dissolving a heart of stone. Are we feeling hard? Let us think of covenant love, and then we shall leave sin, lament sin, and loathe sin; yea, we shall loathe ourselves for sinning against such infinite love. Let us come to God with this promise of penitence and ask Him to help us to remember, and repent, and regret, and return. Oh, that we could enjoy the meltings of holy sorrow! What a relief would a flood of tears be! Lord, smite the rock, or speak to the rock, and cause the waters to flow!

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Bible Verse

Deu 28:1-14
Chapter 28

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7 The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
� KJV

 

God Routs Fear (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
God Routs Fear
January 26
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. (Numbers 23:23)

How this should cut up root and branch all silly, superstitious fears! Even if there were any truth in witchcraft and omens, they could not affect the people of the Lord. Those whom God blessed, devils cannot curse.
Ungodly men, like Balaam, may cunningly plot the overthrow of the Lord’s Israel; but with all their secrecy and policy they are doomed to fail. Their powder is damp; the edge of their sword is blunted. They gather together; but as the Lord is not with them, they gather together in vain. We may sit still and let them weave their nets, for we shall not be taken in them. Though they call in the aid of Beelzebub and employ all his serpentine craft, it will avail them nothing: the spells will not work, the divination will deceive them. What a blessing this is! How it quiets the heart! God’s Jacobs wrestle with God, but none shall wrestle with them and prevail. God’s Israels have to prevail against them. We need not fear the fiend himself, nor any of those secret enemies whose words are full of deceit and whose plans are deep and unfathomable. They cannot hurt those who trust in the living God. We defy the devil and all his legions.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

He Acts on Honest Confession (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
He Acts on Honest Confession
January 25
He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. (Job 33:27-28)

This is a word of truth, gathered from the experience of a man of God, and it is tantamount to a promise. What the Lord has done, and is doing, He will continue to do while the world standeth. The Lord will receive into His bosom all who come to Him with a sincere confession of their sin; in fact, He is always on the lookout to discover any that are in trouble because of their faults.
Can we not endorse the language here used? Have we not sinned, sinned personally so as to say, “I have sinned”? Sinned willfully, having perverted that which is right? Sinned so as to discover that there is no profit in it but an eternal loss? Let us, then, go to God with this honest acknowledgment. He asks no more. We can do no less.
Let us plead His promise in the name of Jesus. He will deliver us from the pit of hell which yawns for us; He will grant us life and light. Why should we despair? Why should we even doubt? The Lord does not mock humble souls. He means what He says. The guilty can be forgiven. Those who deserve execution can receive free pardon. Lord, we confess, and we pray Thee to forgive!

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Care of Our Feet (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Care of Our Feet
January 24
He will keep the feet of his saints. (1 Samuel 2:9)

The way is slippery and our feet are feeble, but the Lord will keep our feet. If we give ourselves up by obedient faith to be His holy ones, He will Himself be our guardian. Not only will He charge His angels to keep us, but He Himself will preserve our goings.
He will keep our feet from falling so that we do not defile our garments, wound our souls, and cause the enemy to blaspheme.
He will keep our feet from wandering so that we do not go into paths of error, or ways of folly, or courses of the world’s custom.
He will keep our feet from swelling through weariness, or blistering because of the roughness and length of the way.
He will keep our feet from wounding: our shoes shall be iron and brass so that even though we tread on the edge of the sword, or on deadly serpents, we shall not bleed or be poisoned.
He will also pluck our feet out of the net. We shall not be entangled by the deceit of our malicious and crafty foes.
With such a promise as this, let us run without weariness and walk without fear. He who keeps our feet will do it effectually.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

My latest book reviews for RadiantLit.com

 

 

Because of new policies at Radiant Lit.com I can no longer post my reviews for them in part or whole here, but I can post the links to those reviews on their site.  So I’m taking that time now to give you links to mine and Jk’s latest reviews so you can check these wonderful books out.  I will be doing this every few months instead of each time one comes out because of some impending surgery that I will be going through withing the next few months.  Right now most of my time is being spent in preparing myself and my family for that surgery and the possible outcomes of it.  I know my readers will love many of these books, especially since they hold to clean, wholesome, Christian literary works.

Here are the links…

For my reviews…

The Anniversary Waltz…by: Darrel Nelson… http://radiantlit.com/2013/01/review-the-anniversary-waltz/#

Jesus Heals the Sick…by: Crystal Bowman… http://radiantlit.com/2012/12/ya-review-jesus-heals-the-sick-2/

Jesus Feeds the Hungry…by: Crystal Bowman… http://radiantlit.com/2012/12/ya-review-jesus-feeds-the-hungry-2/

Borders of the Heart…by:  Chris Fabry…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/11/review-borders-of-the-heart/

Sinner’s Creed…by Scott Stapp and David Ritz…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/10/review-sinners-creed-a-memoir/

After All…by:  Deborah Raney…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/10/review-after-all-3/

A Time to Heal…by:  Seye Oke… http://radiantlit.com/2012/08/review-a-time-to-heal/

Objects of My Affections… by:  Jill Smolinski…   http://radiantlit.com/2012/07/review-objects-of-my-affection-2/

Heroes of My Daughter…by: Brad Meltzer…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/06/review-heroes-for-my-daughter/

Poems From Heaven…  by”  Uzoaga Kelechukwu… http://radiantlit.com/2012/06/review-poems-from-heaven/

Lady Anne’s Quest… by: Susan Page Davis…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/06/review-lady-annes-quest/

The Prodigal Girl… by: Grace Livingston Hill…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/06/review-the-prodigal-girl/

After the Fire… by: Clare Revell…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/05/review-after-the-fire/

Thank You, God…From Kids Around the World… by: Allia Zobel Nolan…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/05/review-thank-you-godfrom-kids-around-the-world/

The Beloved Stranger… by: Grace Livingston Hill…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/05/review-the-beloved-stranger/

Beauty For Ashes… by:  Dorothy Love…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/04/review-beauty-for-ashes/

Sage and Sweetgrass… by:  Loree Perry…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/04/review-sage-and-sweetgrass/

Unlikely Praise… by: Carla Rossi… http://radiantlit.com/2012/03/review-unlikely-praise/

Matthew’s Story…The Jesus Chronicles… by: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins… http://radiantlit.com/2012/03/review-matthews-storythe-jesus-chronicles/

 

 

For Jk’s reviews…

Jesus Heals the Sick…by: Crystal Bowman… http://radiantlit.com/2012/11/ya-review-jesus-heals-the-sick/

The Admiral…by: Gregg and Deborah Shaw Lewis…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/11/ya-review-the-admiral/

Jesus Feeds the Hungry… by: Crystal Bowman… http://radiantlit.com/2012/11/ya-review-jesus-feeds-the-hungry/

Confessions of a Wannabe Cheerleader…Revenge of the Titans…By: Zoe Evans… http://radiantlit.com/2012/10/ya-review-confessions-of-a-wannabe-cheerleader-revenge-of-the-titans/

Whatever…A 90 Day Devotional for Livin’ the True,Noble, and Totally Excellent Life!… by:  Allia Zobel Nolan… http://radiantlit.com/2012/10/review-whatever-a-90-day-devotional-for-livin-the-true-noble-and-totally-excellent-life/

The Friendly Beasts…Book with CD…By Rebecca St. James… http://radiantlit.com/2012/10/review-the-friendly-beasts-2/

Cheer, Confessions of a Wannabe Cheerleader…Bevan vs. Evan (And Other School
Rivalries)… by:  Zoe Evans…  http://radiantlit.com/2012/10/review-cheer-confessions-of-a-wannabe-cheerleader-bevan-vs-evan/

 

Radiant Lit.Com is a great site for Christian Book reviews.  They just launched a YA Fiction review section, that parents can use to choose books for their children, tweens and teens.  This is a section Jk and I both review for, and I have been blessed to read and review for adults too.  Above are all the reviews we have posted to date, with a few more already in and waiting for posting.  There are many reviewers working for this site, getting the best possible book selections available for those who love to read.  I hope you will check out some of the other reviews as well.  Here is a link to the main site where you will find all the review, interviews with authors and commentary on some of the trends out in the literary world… http://radiantlit.com/