Pardon and Forgiveness (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

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

 

Heavenly Wealth (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Heavenly Wealth
November 2
No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

Many pleasing things the Lord may withhold but “no good thing.” He is the best judge of what is good for us. Some things are assuredly good, and these we may have for the asking through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holiness is a good thing, and this He will work in us freely. Victory over evil tendencies, strong tempers, and evil habits He will gladly grant, and we ought not to remain without it.
Full assurance He will bestow, and near communion with Himself, and access into all truth, and boldness with prevalence at the mercy seat. If we have not these, it is from want of faith to receive and not from any unwillingness of God to give. A calm, a heavenly frame, great patience, and fervent love–all these will He give to holy diligence.
But note well that we must “walk uprightly.” There must be no cross purposes and crooked dealings; no hypocrisy nor deceit. If we walk foully God cannot give us favors, for that would be a premium upon sin. The way of uprightness is the way of heavenly wealth-wealth so large as to include every good thing.
What a promise to plead in prayer! Let us get to our knees.

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

 

Bible Verse

Psa 97
Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice;

let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.

2 Clouds and darkness are round about him:

righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

3 A fire goeth before him,

and burneth up his enemies round about.

4 His lightnings enlightened the world:

the earth saw, and trembled.

5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,

at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6 The heavens declare his righteousness,

and all the people see his glory.

7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images,

that boast themselves of idols:

worship him, all ye gods.

8 Zion heard, and was glad;

and the daughters of Judah rejoiced

because of thy judgments, O Lord.

9 For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth:

thou art exalted far above all gods.

10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil:

he preserveth the souls of his saints;

he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is sown for the righteous,

and gladness for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous;

and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
� KJV

 

Heavenly Wealth (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Heavenly Wealth
November 2
No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

Many pleasing things the Lord may withhold but “no good thing.” He is the best judge of what is good for us. Some things are assuredly good, and these we may have for the asking through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holiness is a good thing, and this He will work in us freely. Victory over evil tendencies, strong tempers, and evil habits He will gladly grant, and we ought not to remain without it.
Full assurance He will bestow, and near communion with Himself, and access into all truth, and boldness with prevalence at the mercy seat. If we have not these, it is from want of faith to receive and not from any unwillingness of God to give. A calm, a heavenly frame, great patience, and fervent love–all these will He give to holy diligence.
But note well that we must “walk uprightly.” There must be no cross purposes and crooked dealings; no hypocrisy nor deceit. If we walk foully God cannot give us favors, for that would be a premium upon sin. The way of uprightness is the way of heavenly wealth-wealth so large as to include every good thing.
What a promise to plead in prayer! Let us get to our knees.

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

 

Reward for the Righteous (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Reward for the Righteous
August 19
So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. (Psalm 58:11)

God’s judgments in this life are not always clearly to be seen, for in many cases one event happeneth alike to all. This is the state of probation, not of punishment or reward. Yet at times God works terrible things in righteousness, and even the careless are compelled to own His hand.
Even in this life righteousness has that kind of reward which it prefers above all others, namely, the smile of God, which creates a quiet conscience. Sometimes other recompenses follow, for God will be in no man’s debt. But, at the same time, the chief reward of the righteous lies in the hereafter.
Meanwhile, on a large scale, we mark the presence of the great Ruler among the nations. He breaks in pieces oppressive thrones and punishes guilty peoples. No one can study the history of the rise and fall of empires without perceiving that there is a power which makes for righteousness and, in the end, brings iniquity before its bar and condemns it with unsparing justice. Sin shall not go unpunished, and goodness shall not remain unrewarded. The Judge of all the earth must do right. Therefore, let us fear before Him and no more dread the power of the wicked.

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

 

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

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Fear Only God
May 10
So that we may boldy say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:6)

Because God will never leave nor forsake us, we may well be content with such things as we have. Since the Lord is ours, we cannot be left without a friend, a treasure, and a dwelling place. This assurance may make us feel quite independent of men. Under such high patronage we do not feel tempted to cringe before our fellowmen and ask of them permission to call our lives our own; but what we say we boldly say and defy contradiction.
He who fears God has nothing else to fear. We should stand in such awe of the living Lord that all the threats that can be used by the proudest persecutor should have no more effect upon us than the whistling of the wind. Man in these days cannot do so much against us as he could when the apostle wrote the verse at the head of this page. Racks and stakes are out of fashion. Giant Pope cannot burn the pilgrims now. If the followers of false teachers try cruel mockery and scorn, we do not wonder at it, for the men of this world cannot love the heavenly seed. What then? We must bear the world’s scorn. It breaks no bones. God helping us, let us be bold; and when the world rages, let it rage, but let us not fear it.

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

 

Heavenly Wealth (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Heavenly Wealth
November 2
No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

Many pleasing things the Lord may withhold but “no good thing.” He is the best judge of what is good for us. Some things are assuredly good, and these we may have for the asking through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holiness is a good thing, and this He will work in us freely. Victory over evil tendencies, strong tempers, and evil habits He will gladly grant, and we ought not to remain without it.
Full assurance He will bestow, and near communion with Himself, and access into all truth, and boldness with prevalence at the mercy seat. If we have not these, it is from want of faith to receive and not from any unwillingness of God to give. A calm, a heavenly frame, great patience, and fervent love–all these will He give to holy diligence.
But note well that we must “walk uprightly.” There must be no cross purposes and crooked dealings; no hypocrisy nor deceit. If we walk foully God cannot give us favors, for that would be a premium upon sin. The way of uprightness is the way of heavenly wealth-wealth so large as to include every good thing.
What a promise to plead in prayer! Let us get to our knees.

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

 

Bible Verse…I Peter 4:7-19

1Peter 4:7-19
7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
� KJV

I posted these verses from my time with God the other day after reading many articles about current events going on in the United States and Israel.  It is evident the the world is in a tail spin, headed quickly into the days when the Tribulation will happen.  As a believer there are many things I believe as truth besides knowing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that he rose again then ascended into Heaven to prepare a place for those who are His.  I know I am one of those, and that it won’t be long whether through my death or the Rapture that I will be with Jesus there in Heaven.  But there are many other things that I know from the prophecy in the Bible about what is to come.  For one, the rising persecution of Christians and Jews, and for another that there will be a chain of events that will happen before Jesus comes back to end all the evil on Earth and judge all people.  There will be great roaring of the seas that will cause men’s hearts to fear.  There will be wars and rumors of wars.  Another list of things is famine, earthquakes, and pestilence.  In the last years we have seen those things growing, and during the Tribulation these things will be far worse than even what we see today.  One thing we know as Christians is that we don’t know the day, nor the hour, not even the very moment of the 2nd coming of the Lord Jesus, but we know what he tells us to look for so that we will know it is close.  In Matthew 24 Jesus, himself, gives us many of these signs to look for in his answer to the disciples question about what would be the signs of His coming.  Jesus gave us these signs so that as his children we would know what to watch for.  i can tell you that I’ve been watching, as are many other Christians and those times are upon us.

Some believe that the trumpet sound the Rapture, or the moment when Jesus will take all true believers to Heaven so we won’t live through the Tribulation, that we will just pop out of here and never have to face any trials at all.  Others, like me, know that God doesn’t promise that we won’t see any of these trials, but that we won’t see the worst of them that will come in the Tribulation, when the Antichrist (False Messiah) rules the Earth under a One World Government.    We already see some of those near future elements of the Tribulation being put into affect.  For example, Agenda 21 of the U.N., which will have many effects on all the world, from education, to confiscation of guns, even those liscensed and registered to personal owners, which will leave only criminals and governments to have them.  It will also put all economics, all personal records including medical records under one government.  It will put so much control on the people of the world that ultimately we will all be slaves to those in power, forced to worship the AntiChrist or face death.  People will be executed for not denying Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and those who do not take the Mark of the Beast (AntiChrist) will not be able to buy or sell, get food, or live in homes like we do now.  It will be a terrible time, of what will be a global dictatorship, with a global one world religion, and a time of great persecution of anyone who doesn’t conform, especially Christians and Jews.  It will also be a terrible time of environmental upheaval as storms become even deadlier than they are now, great food shortages, greater earthquakes and volcanic activity, and plagues like we have never seen.

As I said, these things are already on the rise.  I read an article the other day that coined the term “Christianopobia”, which is the hate and fear of Christians.  A week doesn’t go by that I don’t read comments on articles or hear how someone on the news is calling Christians “haters”.  I read articles weekly about churches all over the world being bombed or attacked and Christians being imprisoned, persecuted, and killed.  Of course these aren’t reported on the mainstream media as much, but there are articles coming out of news sources around the world that report these attacks.  There is a group called “Voice of the Martyr” that acts like an advocate for those Christians who are being persecuted around the world.  In the U.S. there is a growing hatred for Christians coming from many different groups from Athiest, Muslims, Gays, Communists, Socialists, Marxists, Anarchists, and many groups on the Left.  It seems like every terrible event that happens the left rushes to blame it on Conservative Christians, even though it isn’t true.  Our own government under Barack Obama has gone as far as calling all those who disagree with his agenda as Homeland Terrorists, including those who are Pro-Life, Pro-Marriage, Conservative, Christian, Stay-at-Home Moms, Military Men and Women, Military Vets and Retirees.  They have even installed security measures to spy on us like we are no more than common criminals.  They allow Leftists Protestors speak out, and even allow their acts of vandalism, but threaten anyone who gathers peacefully to protest Obama’s wicked agenda which includes the killing of millions through his Healthcare Plan, and through abortion.  Recently there was a pastor who was jailed for holding a Bible Study in his own home.  As we near the Tribulation more of these attacks on Christianity will rise.

As I said earlier, we do not know the day, the hour, nor the very moment that Jesus will call us home.  But I can tell you this as this time approaches we will see more attacks on Christians, on freedom, and on truth, and my friends, things could get a lot uglier than we ever dreamed of until the day of our Rapture.  But we don’t need to be afraid, because there are so many verses in the Bible that God has given us to see us through, just like tese found in I Peter.  God gives us instructions on how to stand strong, how to overcome, and reminds us that in the face of these trials and tribulations, in times of great fear and adversity, God will always be here for us.  He will see us through if we just keep holding on to him.

 

He of Tender Conscience (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
He of Tender Conscience
August 26
I will judge between cattle and cattle. (Ezekiel 34:22)

Some are fat and flourishing, and therefore they are unkind to the feeble. This is a grievous sin and causes much sorrow. Those thrustings with side and with shoulder, those pushings of the diseased with the horn, are a sad means of offense in the assemblies of professing believers. The Lord takes note of these proud and unkind deeds, and He is greatly angered by them, for He loves the weak.
Is the reader one of the despised? Is he a mourner in Zion and a marked man because of his tender conscience? Do his brethren judge him harshly? Let him not resent their conduct; above all let him not push and thrust in return. Let him leave the matter in the Lord’s hands. He is the Judge. Why should we wish to intrude upon His office? He will decide much more righteously than we can. His time for judgment is the best, and we need not be in a hurry to hasten it on. Let the hard-hearted oppressor tremble. Even Zion though he may ride roughshod over others with impunity for the present, all his proud speeches are noted, and for every one of them account must be given before the bar of the great Judge.
Patience, my soul! Patience! The Lord knoweth thy grief. Thy Jesus hath pity upon thee!

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