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MORNING AND EVENING BY CHARLES SPURGEON
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Morning
"These have no root."
Luke 8:13
My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. Thou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not always a lasting one. In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah's gourd; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus, above all let me feel the energy of his Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower, plough me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield thee a bounteous harvest.
-- By Charles Spurgeon (on Public Domain)
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Evening
"I have prayed for thee."
Luke 22:32
How encouraging is the thought of the Redeemer's never- ceasing intercession for us. When we pray, he pleads for us; and when we are not praying, he is advocating our cause, and by his supplications shielding us from unseen dangers. Notice the word of comfort addressed to Peter--"Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat; but"--what? "But go and pray for yourself." That would be good advice, but it is not so written. Neither does he say, "But I will keep you watchful, and so you shall be preserved." That were a great blessing. No, it is, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." We little know what we owe to our Saviour's prayers. When we reach the hill-tops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise him who, before the eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon earth. How shall we thank him because he never held his peace, but day and night pointed to the wounds upon his hands, and carried our names upon his breastplate! Even before Satan had begun to tempt, Jesus had forestalled him and entered a plea in heaven. Mercy outruns malice. Mark, he does not say, "Satan hath desired to have you." He checks Satan even in his very desire, and nips it in the bud. He does not say, "But I have desired to pray for you." No, but "I have prayed for you: I have done it already; I have gone to court and entered a counterplea even before an accusation is made." O Jesus, what a comfort it is that thou hast pleaded our cause against our unseen enemies; countermined their mines, and unmasked their ambushes. Here is a matter for joy, gratitude, hope, and confidence.
-- By Charles Spurgeon (on Public Domain)
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MORNING BY SPURGEON AND THE TEXT
Luke 8:4-18 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
4 As a large crowd was gathering, and people were flocking to Him from every town, He said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.” As He said this, He called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”
9 Then His disciples asked Him, “What does this parable mean?” 10 So He said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that
Looking they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit. 15 But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.
16 “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light. 17 For nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t be made known and come to light. 18 Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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Luke 8:11-15 Expanded Bible (EXB)
11 “This is what the ·story [parable] means: The seed is God’s ·message [word]. 12 The seed that fell ·beside the road [along the footpath] is like the people who hear God’s teaching, but [L then] the devil comes and takes it away from ·them [L their hearts] so they cannot believe it and be saved. 13 The seed that fell on rock is like those who hear God’s teaching and ·accept [receive] it ·gladly [L with joy], but they ·don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives [L have no root]. They believe for a while, but when ·trouble [L a time of temptation/testing] comes, they ·give up [fall away; depart]. 14 The seed that fell among the thorny weeds is like those who hear God’s teaching, but they let the ·worries [cares; anxieties], riches, and pleasures of this life ·keep them from growing and producing [L choke/crowd them and they do not produce] ·good [mature; ripe] fruit. 15 And the seed that fell on the good ground is like those who hear ·God’s teaching [the word] with good, honest hearts and ·obey [cling/hold to] it and ·patiently [with perseverance] produce good fruit.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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Luke 8:11-15 King James Version (KJV)
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
King James Version (KJV)
by Public Domain
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UNITED WE STAND?
Americans, do we understand what this truly means?
Are we actually living this?
Christians, do we really believe this and live it?
Do we?
Do we know our true enemy?
Do we label our enemy correctly?
Are we fighting and going against the true enemy?
Do we stand against the true enemy?
Please take some time to stop, think, and pray on these questions. Be real.
JOURNALING PROMPT: Use this as a journaling prompt and a prayer point.
Let's get real.
We are not united.
Each and every one of us needs to think and act on these things, not just make it a fancy talking point. If we would, we would then stand united.
Take some time. Think. Act.
JOURNALING PROMPT: How can you stand united with everyone, without worrying about being politically correct and without watering down your beliefs, but allowing others to express their beliefs as well?
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We live in a day when I am ashamed to be American, for we do not stand united. We are not fighting the true enemy. It isn't ourselves, it's terror. My question for myself is this: What am I going to do to take a stand? I'm not sure. But, I do know how to identify the correct enemy and not get sidetracked by talking points.
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PASSIONS OF JANUARY 2015
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JESUS IS MY ONE WORD
Written January 11. 2015, Sunday
It's rather ironic how I started this year off with the one word of "FOCUS." It is precisely what I need. I need to focus my spirit, heart, mind, and actions (including my writing) so I live a more faithful life.
I realize that my true one word every year, including 2015 should be only one. Only One forevermore.
Jesus.
If I focus on Him, everything especially into its natural place.
Jesus is my one word. He is my life word.
Any others and I live a life and of wrongdoing.
Jesus.
Jesus should be my primary focus and passion. Nothing and no one else.
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HONESTY ABOUT MY WRITING (AND MY WRITING PASSIONS)
1052 a.m.
The truth of the matter is this: I want to write everything and feel pulled to write several different things.
I have so many passions I want to write that it makes me realize one simple underlining truth:
I have no idea what to really write.
So, I'm sure thinking this:
1 Daily Thoughts (Non-Fiction, including Christian and Journaling Thoughts)
2 Short Stories and Novellas (Fantasy)
Then, I can lengthen things from there, if I feel so inclined.
I'm not sure if this is the answer or not. We shall see. Time will bring answers.
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MY CURRENT PASSIONS
1 Daily Bible reading
2 Spurgeon
3 THE LORD OF THE RINGS and Tolkien
4 Jesus... What He offers versus the other world religions and spiritualities.
5 Terrorism
6 The Church
7 Counting my blessings and giving thanks.
8 The U.S.
Not in any order, let me add.
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#GodAndCountry
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