From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
No Stranger in Heaven
December 31
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (Psalm 73:24)
From day to day and from year to year my faith believes in the wisdom and love of God, and I know that I shall not believe in vain. No good word of His has ever failed, and I am sure that none shall ever fall to the ground.
I put myself into His hand for guidance. I know not the way that I should choose: the Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me. I need counsel and advice; for my duties are intricate, and my condition is involved… The counsel of the infallible God I seek in preference to my own judgment or the advice of friends…
Soon the end will come: a few more years and I must depart out of this world unto the Father. My Lord will be near my bed. He will meet me at heaven’s gate: He will welcome me to the gloryland. I shall not be a stranger in heaven: my own God and Father will receive me to its endless bliss.
Glory be to Him who
Will guide me here,
And receive me hereafter. Amen.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
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From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
He Came; He Is Coming
December 25
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)
Many are celebrating our Lord’s first coming this day; let us turn our thoughts to the promise of His second coming. This is as sure as the first advent and derives a great measure of its certainty from it. He who came as a lowly man to serve will assuredly come to take the reward of His service. He who came to suffer will not be slow in coming to reign.
This is our glorious hope, for we shall share His joy. Today we are in our concealment and humiliation, even as He was while here below; but when He cometh it will be our manifestation, even as it will be His revelation. Dead saints shall live at His appearing. The slandered and despised shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Then shall the saints appear as kings and priests, and the days of their mourning shall be ended. The long rest and inconceivable splendor of the millennial reign will be an abundant recompense for the ages of witnessing and warring.
Oh, that the Lord would come! He is coming! He is on the road and traveling quickly. The sound of His approach should be as music to our hearts! Ring out, ye bells of hope!
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
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From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
The “All” of Belief
December 9
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)
Our unbelief is the greatest hindrance in our way; in fact, there is no other real difficulty as to our spiritual progress and prosperity. The Lord can do everything; but when He makes a rule that according to our faith so shall it be unto us, our unbelief ties the hands of His omnipotence.
Yes, the confederacies of evil shall be scattered if we can but believe. Despised truth shall lift its head if we will but have confidence in the God of truth. We can bear our load of trouble or pass uninjured through the waves of distress if we can gird our loins with the girdle of peace, that girdle which is buckled on by the hands of trust.
What can we not believe? Is everything possible except believing in God? Yet He is always true; why do we not believe in Him? He is always faithful to His word; why can we not trust Him? When we are in a right state of heart, faith costs no effort: it is then as natural for us to rely upon God as for a child to trust his father.
The worst of it is that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This is folly. Come, my soul, shake off such sinfulness, and trust thy God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present. This done, all is done.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
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From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Pardon and Forgiveness
November 24
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. (Psalm 103:9)
He will chide sometimes, or He would not be a wise Father for such poor, erring children as we are. His chiding is very painful to those who are true, because they feel how sadly they deserve it and how wrong it is on their part to grieve Him. We know what this chiding means, and we bow before the Lord, mourning that we should cause Him to be angry with us.
But what a comfort we find in these lines! “Not always” will He chide. If we repent and turn to Him with hearts broken for sin and broken from sin, He will smile upon us at once. It is no pleasure to Him to turn a frowning face toward those whom He loves with all His heart: it is His joy that our joy should be full.
Come, let us seek His face. There is no reason for despair, nor even for despondency. Let us love a chiding God, and before long we shall sing, “Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me.” Be gone, ye dark forebodings, ye ravens of the soul! Come in, ye humble hopes and grateful memories, ye doves of the heart! He who pardoned us long ago as a judge will again forgive us as a father, and we shall rejoice in His sweet, unchanging love.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
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From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
The Name to Use
November 14
If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14)
What a wide promise! Anything! Whether large or small, all my needs are covered by that word anything. Come, my soul, be free at the mercy seat, and hear thy Lord saying to thee, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
What a wise promise! We are always to ask in the name of Jesus. While this encourages us, it also honors Him. This is a constant plea. Occasionally every other plea is darkened, especially such as we could draw from our own relation to God or our experience of His grace; but at such times the name of Jesus is as mighty at the throne as ever, and we may plead it with full assurance.
What an instructive prayer! I may not ask for anything to which I cannot put Christ’s hand and seal. I dare not use my Lord’s name to a selfish or willful petition. I may only use my Lord’s name to prayers which He would Himself pray if He were in my case. It is a high privilege to be authorized to ask in the name of Jesus as if Jesus Himself asked; but our love to Him will never allow us to set that name where He would not have set it.
Am I asking for that which Jesus approves? Dare I put His seal to my prayer? Then I have that which I seek of the Father.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
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From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Never Ashamed
October 14
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)
Gracious promise! It is a great joy to me to confess my Lord. Whatever my faults may be, I am not ashamed of Jesus, nor do I fear to declare the doctrines of His cross. O Lord, I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart.
Sweet is the prospect which the text sets before me! Friends forsake and enemies exult, but the Lord does not disown His servant. Doubtless my Lord will own me even here and give me new tokens of His favorable regard. But there comes a day when I must stand before the great Father. What bliss to think that Jesus will confess me then! He will say, “This man truly trusted Me and was willing to be reproached for My name’s sake; and therefore I acknowledge him as Mine.” The other day a great man was made a knight, and the Queen handed him a jeweled garter; but what of that? It will be an honor beyond all honors for the Lord Jesus to confess us in the presence of the divine Majesty in the heavens. Never let me be ashamed to own my Lord. Never let me indulge a cowardly silence or allow a fainthearted compromise. Shall I blush to own Him who promises to own me?
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Tags: ashamed, Christ, claim, Comforter, confess, cowardice, Cross, doctrines, Elohim, faithfulness, Father, faults, God, God's Son, Gospel, Heaven, Heavenly Father, hide, Holy Spirit, Jehovah, Jesus, Lord, majesty, men, overcome, persecution, Promise, protector, Savior, show, temptation, Throne, worldliness, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Never Alone
October 8
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken. (Isaiah 62:4)
“Forsaken” is a dreary word. It sounds like a knell. It is the record of sharpest sorrows and the prophecy of direst ills. An abyss of misery yawns in that word forsaken. Forsaken by one who pledges his honor! Forsaken by a friend so long tried and trusted! Forsaken by a dear relative! Forsaken by father and mother! Forsaken by all! This is woe indeed, and yet it may be patiently born if the Lord will take us up.
But what must it be to feel forsaken of God? Think of that bitterest of cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Have we ever in any degree tasted the wormwood and the gall of “forsaken” in that sense? If so, let us beseech our Lord to save us from any repetition of so unspeakable a sorrow. Oh, that such darkness may never return! Men in malice said of a saint, “God hath forsaken him; persecute and take him.” But it was always false. The Lord’s loving favor shall compel our cruel foes to eat their own words or, at least, to hold their tongues.
The reverse of all this is that superlative word Hephzibah “the Lord delighteth in thee.” This turns weeping into dancing. Let those who dreamed that they were forsaken hear the Lord say, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Tags: abidance, abyss, aelohim, aide, assuranve, Believe, Christ, Comforter, dire, Faith, faithfulness, Father, forgiveness, forsaken, friend, God, grace, Heavenly Father, help, Hepzibah, Holy Spirit, honor, hope, ills, iniquity, Jehovah, Jesus, King of Kings, knell, Lord, Lord of Lords, mercy, misery, Mother, pledge, prayer, Promise, prophecy, protector, Provider, Savior, sharp, sin, Son of God, sorrows, teacher, trust, World, YahwehYeshua, yawns
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
What of My House?
September 12
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)
This gospel for a man with a sword at his throat is the gospel for me. This would suit me if I were dying, and it is all that I need while I am living. I look away from self, and sin, and all idea of personal merit, and I trust the Lord Jesus as the Savior whom God has given. I believe in Him, I rest on Him, I accept Him to be my all in all. Lord, I am saved, and I shall be saved to all eternity, for I believe in Jesus. Blessed be Thy name for this. May I daily prove by my life that I am saved from selfishness, and worldliness, and every form of evil.
But those last words about my “house”: Lord, I would not run away with half a promise when Thou dost give a whole one. I beseech Thee, save all my family. Save the nearest and dearest. Convert the children and the grandchildren, if I have any. Be gracious to my servants and all who dwell under my roof or work for me. Thou makest this promise to me personally if I believe in the Lord Jesus; I beseech Thee to do as Thou hast said.
I would go over in my prayer every day the names of all my brothers and sisters, parents, children, friends, relatives, servants, and give Thee no rest till that word is fulfilled, “and thy house.”
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Tags: aunts, Believe, brothers, Christ, cousins, daughters, dying, Elohim, family, Father, generations, God, Gospel, grandchildren, grandparents, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, hope, house, husband, idea, Jehovah, Jesus, Lord, Mother, need, nephews, nieces, Promise, salvation, save, Saved, Savior, self, selfishness, sin, sisters, sons, sword, throat, uncles, wife, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Follow to Know
September 2
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. (Hosea 6:3)
Not all at once, but by degrees shall we attain to holy knowledge, and our business is to persevere and learn by little and little. We need not despair, though our progress may be slow, for we shall yet know. The Lord, who has become our Teacher, will not give us up, however slow of understanding we may be; for it is not for His honor that any degree of human folly should baffle His skill. The Lord delights to make the simple wise.
Our duty is to keep to our main topic and follow on to know, not this peculiar doctrine nor that, but Jehovah Himself. To know Father, Son, and Spirit, the Triune God, this is life eternal. let us keep to this, for in this way we shall gain complete instruction. By following on to know the Lord, we learn healing after being torn, binding up after smiting, and life after death. Experience has its perfect work when the heart follows the trackway of the almighty Lord.
My soul, keep thou close to Jesus, follow on to know God in Jesus, and so shalt thou come to the knowledge of Christ, which is the most excellent of all the sciences. The Holy Ghost will lead thee into all truth. Is not this His gracious promise? Rely upon Him to fulfill it.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Tags: business, Christ, Comforter, degrees, despair, Elohim, Father, follow, God, Heavenly Father, help, holy, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, hope, Jehovah, Jesus, know, knowledge, Lord, Messiah, persevere, progress, Promise, Savior, Son, teacher, The Truine God, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Home Blessings Extended
June 15
The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. (Psalm 128:5)
This is a promise to the God-fearing man who walks in the ways of holiness with earnest heed. He shall have domestic blessedness; his wife and children shall be a source of great home happiness. But then as a member of the church he desires to see the cause prosper, for he is as much concerned for the Lord’s house as for his own. When the Lord builds our house, it is but fitting that we should desire to see the Lord’s house builded. Our goods are not truly good unless we promote by them the good of the Lord’s chosen church.
Yes, you shall get a blessing when you go up to the assemblies of Zion; you shall be instructed, enlivened, and comforted, where prayer and praise ascend and testimony is borne to the great Sacrifice. “The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion.”
Nor shall you alone be profited; the church itself shall prosper; believers shall be multiplied, and their holy work shall be crowned with success. Certain gracious men have this promise fulfilled to them as long as they live. Alas! when they die the cause often flags. Let us be among those who bring good things to Jerusalem all their days. Lord, of Thy mercy make us such! Amen.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Tags: blessedness, blessings, children, Christ, church, compassionate, domestic, Elohim, family, Father, Giving, God, godly, good, happiness, Heavenly Father, holiness, Holy Spirit, home, husband, Jehovah, Jerusalem, Jesus, joy, Lord, man, men, Promise, Serving, wife, Yahweh, Zion
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