From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Men as Men; God as God
December 20
I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? (Isaiah 51:12-13)
Let the text itself be taken as the portion for today. There is no need to enlarge upon it. Trembling one, read it, believe it, feed on it, and plead it before the Lord. He whom you fear is only a man after all; while He who promises to comfort you is God, your Maker, and the creator of heaven and earth. Infinite comfort more than covers a very limited danger.
“Where is the fury of the oppressor?” It is in the Lord’s hand. It is only the fury of a dying creature; fury which will end as soon as the breath is gone from the nostril. Why, then, should we stand in awe of one who is as frail as ourselves? Let us not dishonor our God by making a god of puny man. We can make an idol of a man by rendering to him excessive fear as well as by paying him inordinate love. Let us treat men as men, and God as God; and then we shall go calmly on in the path of duty, fearing the Lord and fearing nobody else.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: afraid, almighty, awe, Believe, believers, Bible, breath, calmly, Christ, Christians, comfort, Comforter, courage, covers, created, Creation, Creator, creature, danger, Death, destroy, dishonor, dying, Earth, Elohim, else, end, equal, excessive, faithfulness, false god, Fear, fearing nobody, feed, foundations, frail, fury, God, God's people, God's Son, God's Word, gone, Heavenly Father, heavens, Holy Spirit, honor, hope, I Am, idol, idolatry, infinite, iniquity, inordinate, Jehovah, Jesus, level, limited, Lord, Lord's hand, love, Maker of Heaven and Earth, man, men, nature, normal men, nostril, oppressor, path of duty, paying, plead, portion, Pray, prayer, Promises, protect, protector, Provider, puny man, read, rendering, Savior, Scriptures, sin, stand, text, treat, trembling, trust, unequal, weak, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Divine Expulsion
December 16
Thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. (Joshua 17:18)
It is a great encouragement to valor to be assured of victory, for then a man goes forth to war in confidence and ventures where else he had been afraid to go. Our warfare is with evil within us and around us, and we ought to be persuaded that we are able to get the victory and that we shall do so in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are not riding for a fall, but to win; and win we shall. The grace of God in its omnipotence is put forth for the overflow of evil in every form: hence the certainty of triumph.
Certain of our sins find chariots of iron in our constitution, our former habits, our associations, and our occupations. Nevertheless we must overcome them. They are very strong, and in reference to them we are very weak; yet in the name of God we must master them, and we will. If one sin has dominion of us we are not the Lord’s free men. A man who is held by only one chain is still a captive. There is no going to heaven with one sin ruling within us, for of the saints it is said, “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Up, then, and slay every Canaanite, and break to slivers every chariot of iron! The Lord of hosts is with us, and who shall resist His sin-destroying power?
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: abiding, achieve, afraid, almighty, around, associations, assured, attacks, battles, believers, bravery, break, bullies, Canaanites, captive, certain, certainty, chain, chains, chariots, Christ, Christians, confidence, conquer, Constitution, courage, Defeat, dominion, drive out, employments, encouragement, enemies, eternal life, every, evil, Faith, faithfulness, fall, fight, foes, form, former, forth, friendships, go, God, God's grace, God's name, God's people, God's Power, God's Son, grace of God, great, guide, habits, Heaven, Heavenly Father, Hebrews, held, help, Helping, Holy Spirit, hope, iniquity, iron, Jesus, jobs, lead, Lord, Lord of Hosts, Lord's free men, Lord's name, man, Master, name of God, obtain, occupations, Omnipotence, overcome, overcomer, overflow, persuaded, power, Promise, protector, reference, relationships, resist, riding, ruling, saints, salvation, save, Savior, sin-destroying, sins, slay, slivers, strength, strong, struggles, temptations, trials, tribulations, triumph, trust, valor, ventures, victory, war, warfare, weak, weakness, weapons, win, within, work, zProvider
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Gift of Strength; Peace to Bless
December 7
The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)
David had just heard the voice of the Lord in a thunderstorm and had seen His power in the hurricane whose path he had described; and now, in the cool calm after the storm, that overwhelming power by which heaven and earth are shaken is promised to be the strength of the chosen. He who wings the unerring bolt will give to His redeemed the wings of eagles; He who shakes the earth with His voice will terrify the enemies of His saints and give His children peace. Why are we weak when we have divine strength to flee to? Why are we troubled when the Lord’s own peace is ours? Jesus, the mighty God, is our strength; let us put Him on and go forth to our service. Jesus, our blessed Lord, is also our peace; let us repose in Him this day and end our fears. What a blessing to have Him for our strength and peace both now and forever!
That same God who rides upon the storm in days of tempest will also rule the hurricane of our tribulation and send us, before long, days of peace. We shall have strength for storms and songs for fair weather. Let us begin to sing at once unto God, our strength and our peace. Away, dark thoughts! Up, faith and hope!
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: almighty, attacks, away, battles, before, believers, Bless, blessed, blessing, bolt, calm, chosen, Christ, Christians, Comfoter, cool, dark, David, day, days, described, divine, eagles, Earth, Elohim, end, enemies, fair, Faith, fears, flee, forever, give, God, God'peace, God's children, God's people, God's Redeemed, God's Saints, God's Son, heard, Heaven, Heavenly Father, help, Holy Spirit, hope, hurricane, Jehovah, Jesus, long, Lord, mighty, now, ours, overwhelming, path, peace, power, Promise, protector, Provider, repose, rides, rule, same, Savior, seen, send, service, shaken, shakes, shelter, sing, Songs, Storms, strength, strengthen, struggles, tempest, terrify, thoughts, thunderstorms, trials, tribulation, troubled, unerring, up, Voice, weak, weather, wings, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Clearly Supernatural
November 18
In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (Zechariah 12:8)
One of the best methods of the Lord’s defending His people is to make them strong in inward might. Men are better than walls, and faith is stronger than castles.
The Lord can take the feeblest among us and make him like David, the champion of Israel. Lord, do this with me! Infuse Thy power into me, and fill me with sacred courage that I may face the giant with sling and stone, confident in God.
The Lord can make His greatest champions far mightier than they are: David can be as God, as the angel of Jehovah. This would be a marvelous development, but it is possible, or it would not be spoken of. O Lord, work with the best of our leaders! Show us what Thou art able to do–namely, to raise Thy faithful servants to a height of grace and holiness which shall be clearly supernatural!
Lord, dwell in Thy saints, and they shall be as God; put Thy might into them, and they shall be as the living creatures who dwell in the presence of Jehovah. Fulfill this promise to Thine entire church in this our day, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: able, afflicted, aged, almighty, among, angel of Jehovah, angel of the Lord, attacks, baattles, battle, before, believers, best, braveerry, castles, champions, Christ, Christtians, church, Comforter, confidence, confident, couragee, create, creatures, David, day, defend, defending, defense, development, dwell, Elohim, entire, face, Faith, faithful, feeble, feeblest, fight, fill, fulfill, giant, God, God's people, God's Son, grace, greatest, handicapped, Heavenly Father, height, holiness, Holy Spirit, House of David, ill, infusee, inhabitants, inward, Israel, Jeehovah, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jews, leaders, living, Lord, marvelous, men, methods, might, mightier, mighty, possible, power, presence, Promise, prophecy, protection, protector, Provider, raise, sacred, saints, sake, Savior, servants, show, sling, stone, streength, strong, stronger, struggles, supernatural, victory, walls, weaakest, weak, work, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Walk Without Stumbling
November 10
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. (Psalm 121:3)
If the Lord will not suffer it, neither men nor devils can do it. How greatly would they rejoice if they could give us a disgraceful fall, drive us from our position, and bury us out of memory! They could do this to their heart’s content were it not for one hindrance, and only one: the Lord will not suffer it; and if He does not suffer it, we shall not suffer it.
The way of life is like traveling among the Alps. Along the mountain path one is constantly exposed to the slipping of the foot. Where the way is high the head is apt to swim, and then the feet soon slide; there are spots which are smooth as glass and others that are rough with loose stones, and in either of these a fall is hard to avoid. He who throughout life is enabled to keep himself upright and to walk without stumbling has the best of reasons for gratitude. What with pitfalls and snares, weak knees, weary feet, and subtle enemies, no child of God would stand fast for an hour were it not for the faithful love which will not suffer his foot to be moved.
Amidst a thousand snares I stand
Upheld and guarded by thy hand;
That hand unseen shall hold me still,
And lead me to thy holy hill.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: almighty, Alps, among, attacks, avoid, battles, believers, best, bury, Child of God, Christ, constantly, content, could, demons, devils, disgraceful, do, drive, Elohim, enabled, enemies, exposed, faithful, fall, fast, feet, foot, give, glass, God, God's people, God's Son, gratitude, greatly, guarded, hand, hard, head, hearts, Heavenly Father, help, high, hill, himself, hindrance, hold, holy, Holy Spirit, hope, hour, Jehovah, Jesus, keep, knees, lead, Life, loose, Lord, love, memory, men, mountain, moved, out, path, pitfalls, position, Promise, protection, protector, reasons, rejoice, rough, safety, Satan, Savior, slide, slipping, smooth, snares, spots, stand, still, stones, struggles, stumbling, subtle, suffer, swim, temptations, thousand, throughout, traveling, trials, tribulations, unseen, upheld, upright, walk, way, way of life, weak, weary, without, would, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Broken and Smoking
September 8
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. (Isaiah 42:3)
Then I may reckon upon tender treatment from my Lord. Indeed, I feel myself to be at best as weak, as pliant, as worthless as a reed. Someone said, “I don’t care a rush for you”; and the speech, though unkind, was not untrue. Alas! I am worse than a reed when it grows by the river, for that at least can hold up its head. I am bruised — sorely, sadly bruised. There is no music in me now; there is a rift which lets out all the melody. Ah, me! Yet Jesus will not break me; and if He will not, then I mind little what others try to do. O sweet and compassionate Lord, I nestle down beneath Thy protection and forget my bruises!
Truly I am also fit to be likened to “the smoking flax,” whose light is gone, and only its smoke remains. I fear I am rather a nuisance than a benefit. My fears tell me that the devil has blown out my light and left me an obnoxious smoke, and that my Lord will soon put an extinguisher upon one. Yet I perceive that though there were snuffers under the law, there were no extinguishers, and Jesus will not quench me; therefore, I am hopeful. Lord, kindle me anew and cause me to shine forth to Thy glory and to the extolling of Thy tenderness.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: assurance, backslidden, battered, break, bruised, bruised reed, Christ, Elohim, faithfulness, forgiveness, God, grace, guilt, heal, Heavenly Father, help, Holy Spirit, hope, Jehovah, Jesus, Lord, melody, mercy, moldable, Music, pliant, Promise, quench, rebuild, repentance, Savior, separation, shame, sinfilled, smoking flax, speech, squeezed, strength, tenderness, treatment, weak, weakness, Yahweh, Yeshua
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
God Can Make You Strong
February 17
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. (2 Chronicles 15:7)
God had done great things for King Asa and Judah, but yet they were a feeble folk. Their feet were very tottering in the ways of the Lord, and their hearts very hesitating, so that they had to be warned that the Lord would be with them while they were with Him, but that if they forsook Him He would leave them. They were also reminded of the sister kingdom, how ill it fared in its rebellion and how the Lord was gracious to it when repentance was shown. The Lord’s design was to confirm them in His way and make them strong in righteousness. So ought it to be with us. God deserves to be served with all the energy of which we are capable.
If the service of God is worth anything, it is worth everything. We shall find our best reward in the Lord’s work if we do it with determined diligence. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord, and we know it. Halfhearted work will bring no reward; but when we throw our whole soul into the cause, we shall see prosperity. This text was sent to the author of these notes in a day of terrible storm, and it suggested to him to put on all steam, with the assurance of reaching port in safety with a glorious freight.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: calling, diligence, feeble, God, hesitation, Jehovah, Jesus, Lord, Lord's work, overcoming, Promise, responsibility, reward, strength, strong, weak, will, work
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Clearly Supernatural
November 18
In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (Zechariah 12:8)
One of the best methods of the Lord’s defending His people is to make them strong in inward might. Men are better than walls, and faith is stronger than castles.
The Lord can take the feeblest among us and make him like David, the champion of Israel. Lord, do this with me! Infuse Thy power into me, and fill me with sacred courage that I may face the giant with sling and stone, confident in God.
The Lord can make His greatest champions far mightier than they are: David can be as God, as the angel of Jehovah. This would be a marvelous development, but it is possible, or it would not be spoken of. O Lord, work with the best of our leaders! Show us what Thou art able to do–namely, to raise Thy faithful servants to a height of grace and holiness which shall be clearly supernatural!
Lord, dwell in Thy saints, and they shall be as God; put Thy might into them, and they shall be as the living creatures who dwell in the presence of Jehovah. Fulfill this promise to Thine entire church in this our day, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: angel, bravery, courage, David, defense, Devotional, feeble, God, house, inhabitants, Jehovah, Jesus, Lord, man, methods, strength, weak
forhisgloryandpraise 