CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

1. Schizophrenia -- Do You Hear What I Hear?


2. Multiple Personality Disorder -- We Three Kings Disoriented Are


3. Dementia -- Was I Going To Be Home for Christmas?


4. Narcissistic -- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me


5. Manic -- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and...


6. Paranoid -- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me


7. Borderline Personality Disorder -- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire


8. Personality Disorder -- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why


9. Attention Deficit Disorder -- Silent Night, Holy Oooh look at the Nativity, Can I have a chocolate, Why is Santa's suit red?


10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle, Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
    Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle...

2 Corinthians on Suffering

Suffering 1
Suffering 2
Suffering 3
Suffering 4

A Good Soldier

2 Timothy 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (ESV)

'You have been called to endure hardship, and every Christian who has gone before you has had his share. And although you haven’t yet shed blood for your faith (Hebrews 12:4), you will experience hardship as a Christian for your faithfulness–count on it. Jesus said, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). But be encouraged for He also said, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus is the perfect Commander who leads by example and will bring you to certain victory in the end.'

Read the whole article:
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2007/12/03/a-good-soldier/

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Be Still, My Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Ka­tha­ri­na A. von Schle­gel, in Neue Samm­lung Geist­lich­er Lied­er, 1752 (Stille, meine Wille, dein Je­sus hilft sie­gen); trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Jane L. Borth­wick in Hymns from the Land of Lu­ther, 1855.

Birthdays

For most of my adult life I've hated it when my birthday comes up. This year I was starting to feel the dread because I always get more depressed as it gets closer.

There are a few reasons I don't like my birthdays, the main one being that I wish I wasn't born. Life is too (increasingly) difficult and this world is fraught with evil and suffering.

I've been going through 2 Corinthians and I'm familiar with this verse in NIV:

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

But going through it in other versions really struck me:

2 Corinthians 4:17 NASB For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

2 Corinthians 4:17 NRSV For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure,

If I were to say that the glory in heaven will be 900 trillion tons and our suffering here, as bad as it can be, is like one tenth of a gram, that wouldn't show enough of a difference because that isn't "beyond all measure."

This year God is teaching me to hope for heaven and have faith that when that time comes around, it will have been more than worth it and I will be very glad that I was born so that I could be with God forever.

It doesn't make this life much easier but I need to ask God to give me the grace to have faith that it will be as He says it will be and experience the hope for heaven in this life.

When You're Too Tired To Pray

When a big stressor comes along or when you're wiped out for any other reason it can be difficult to even have the strength to pray when that's what you need to do most. God knows our weakness as mentioned in Psalm 73:26: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (NRSV)

Here are some steps I believe God led me through during one of these times.

• Just "be" in God's presence. No words are necessary. You may not feel God's presence--just acknowledge that He's everywhere and knows you and your situation. Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."


• Pray a written out prayer that you know is God's will. I have these:
  http://www.eternallifeministries.org/prayers.htm
  and other prayers formatted and printed in a binder for these occasions or when I just want a change. Also see the Prayer category here.
  


• Talk to God about how you feel as opposed to your regular devotional/prayer routine. Sometimes you can just talk to yourself without even praying directly to God. Psalm 62:8 says in part to "pour out your heart before Him". (NRSV)


• Spend a short amount of time reading (as opposed to studying) the Bible like one Psalm.

My thinking is not necessarily to do all of these things at once, but as you have the energy.

2 Corinthians 1:5

For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. (NRSV)

"But what kept me going more than anything else was my confidence in the character of God."
--Ravi Zacharias quoting Charles Cooper

We absolutely must read and study the Bible in order to know God's character and take refuge in Him.

Psalm 103:13-14

As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 10:1,17

Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

Lamentations 3:25

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him; (NIV)

Psalm 34:18

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit. (NRSV)

Praying the Psalms

I started praying the Psalms as mentioned previously.

Not all Psalms are prayers. However I learned that there are still things to pray about in each Psalm.

Do I participate in what "sinners" participate in? Do I mock others? Gently convict me and help me to repent.

Help me to delight in Your Word and to meditate on it more often.

Thank you that I am blessed and that You watch over me.

Psalm 1 (TNIV)
1 Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but who delight in the law of the LORD
and meditate on his law day and night.

3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.

Isaiah 42:3

a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. (ESV)

What Did I Do To Deserve...?

What did I do to deserve this awful condition I'm in?

How come I explain myself over and over and nobody understands?

What happened to me that my dreams torment me every night?

What did I do to receive God's mercy?

What did I do so that He chose me?

What did I do so that my spiritual zeal increases as my condition worsens?

The answer is nothing.

Which would I rather have--normal mental and physical health with much less spiritual growth or the spiritual growth I've been experiencing without the chronic suffering? I can't answer that yet but as time goes on I'm more and more thankful for the spiritual growth and the opportunity to know Him so much better because of what He's doing.

I hate my life. I love God. He will be glorified. Someday, sometime it will have been worth it.

Am I Praying In God's Will -- Or Against It?

When to Be Bold and Persistent with Requests
http://nehemiah.gospelcom.net/praywill4.htm

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous be shaken. (TNIV)

Secrets of Contentment

Secrets of Contentment By John MacArthur

This is a continuing series.

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Blog Labels

I have simplified the labels of the blog. In the right hand column under LABELS you can click on each label to see all the posts under that category.

• Article - articles written by other people


• Personal - personal writings of my own
  


• Prayer - prayers mostly by others


• Quote - quotes from books, devotionals and found on the Web


• Scripture - Bible verses/passages

Praying the Psalms

There are seemingly happy people all around us. Many aren't letting on what's going on inside. We can feel like most of the people around us are living charmed lives, especially in the church. The praise choruses sung at many churches and gatherings are always upbeat in tone and almost never express doubt, pain or suffering.

Starting next month, I'm going to read one Psalm a day as a prayer. There is a much better balance of life and expression in these poems/songs. I'll try to report back.

Psalm 119:28

My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.

Psalm 147:11

the Lord delights in those
who fear him,
who put their hope
in his unfailing love. (NIV)

Trials and God's Discipline

Hebrews 12:7-10
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?
8 If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.
9 Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness.

We know that God uses all thing for good (Romans 8:28) but are all of our trials God's direct discipline?

Romans 8:18

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

This is not the worst thing to ever happen! Cancer is so limited. it cannot cripple love, shatter hope, corrode faith, eat away peace, destroy confidence, kill friendship, shut out memories, silence courage, quench the Spirit or lessen the power of Jesus.

Pete Grieg, God On Mute, quoting a lady named Margaret

Psalm 73:26

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. (NRSV)

When we pin our hopes on the fulfillment of our desires, we fall into the trap of wishful waiting... We can't know if our desires will be fulfilled or not.

Even if we could, we set ourselves up for disappointment when our focus is on the prize instead of on God....

When our hope is in God alone, He becomes our prize.

Jennifer Rothschild, Lessons I Learned in the Dark: Steps to Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

The book of Job is therefore both the most frustrating and enlightening treatment of unanswered prayer in the Bible, because God's solution to so much misery is merely and ultimately to reveal His greatness.
Pete Grieg, God On Mute

"Surprisingly, the Bible reveals that Jesus--even Jesus--suffered the silence of unanswered prayer."
Pete Grieg, God On Mute

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/september/19.86.html

These Inward Trials

I asked the Lord that I might grow,
In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

It was He who taught me thus to pray,
And He I trust has answered prayer.
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He'd answer my request.
And by His love's constraining power,
Subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel,
The hidden evils of my heart.
And let the angry powers of hell,
Assault my soul in every part.

Yes, more with His own hand, He seemed,
Intent to aggravate my woe.
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

"Lord, why is this?" I trembling cried.
Will You pursue Your worm to death?"
"This is the way" the Lord replied,
"I answer prayer for grace and strength."

"These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set you free;
And break your schemes of earthly joy,
That you may find thy all in Me."
--John Newton

"Blessed are the Poor in Spirit"

by Thomas Watson

"He that is poor in spirit is lowly in heart. Rich men are commonly proud and scornful, but the poor are submissive. The poor in spirit roll themselves in the dust in the sense of their unworthiness. 'I abhor myself in dust' (Job 42:6). He that is poor in spirit looks at another's excellencies and his own infirmities. He denies not only his sins but his duties.

The more grace he has, the more humble he is, because he now sees himself a greater debtor to God. If he can do any duty, he acknowledges it is Christ's strength more than his own. As the ship gets to the haven more by the benefit of the wind than the sail, so when a Christian makes swift progress, it is more by wind of God's Spirit than the sail of his own endeavour. The poor in spirit, when he acts most like a saint, confesses himself to be 'the chief of sinners'. He blushes more at the defect of his graces than others do at the excess of their sins. He dares not say he has prayed or wept. He lives, yet not he, but Christ lives in him. He labours, yet not he, but the grace of God."

A Prayer for the Heart

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord, our God, understanding to know You, diligence to seek You, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace You; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
--Thomas Aquinas

"Take, Lord" Prayer by Ignatius of Loyola

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my intellect, and all my will--all that I have and possess. You gave them to me: to You, Lord, I return them. All is Yours, dispose of all according to Your will. Give me only Your love and grace, for these are enough for me.
--Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

'...faith is not merely an attitude—it is also the response to God's specific promises. In Abraham's case, his faith answers the divine word, "So shall your offspring be. " Faith is not content-less humility that places our hope in a higher power. No, in faith we answer the divine word and its specific verbal content. God speaks, and we believe in him in response to his word.'
--Simon Gathercole

The Trials of Life

http://www.novumtestamentum.com/2007/08/04/the-trials-of-life/

From Lessons I Learned in the Dark by Jennifer Rothschild
'I once saw a bumper sticker that said "God is my co-pilot." That sounds spiritual, but it isn't true. The truth is that on our faith journey, God is the Pilot, and we must follow, not co-lead.'

For the five of you who are reading this blog I will try to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Please tell your friends. I hope this blog blesses someone.

From Lessons I Learned in the Dark by Jennifer Rothschild

Sometimes God delivers us through the thorns instead of from the thorns. Why? So His grace can grow there. So His strength can sustain us there. And so we can learn how to travel in tandem with Him.

2 Corinthians 12:7-12
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Calm thyself, O my soul

"Calm thyself, O my soul, so that the divine can act in thee!
Calm thyself, O my soul, so that God is able to repose in thee so that His peace may cover thee."
--Kierkegaard

"A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two people's worries and fears."
--Tony Snow

In the book Spiritual Depression he D. Martin Lloyd-Jones talks about Philippians 4:6-7 and how we need to come to Him in prayer and petition. Not just petition. That was somewhat enlightening. We need to come to Him praising Him for who He is, knowing who He is and then ask for what we need along with thanksgiving for what He has already given us.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING

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Saturday, October 7, 2006

MORNING:

"Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant?"
-- Numbers 11:11

Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our
faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of
fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the
diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can
only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the
business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord's
faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits
are depressed, and the light of our Father's countenance is hidden. A
faith which can say, in the direst trouble, "Though he slay me, yet
will I trust in him," is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts his
servants to glorify himself, for he is greatly glorified in the graces
of his people, which are his own handiwork. When "tribulation worketh
patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope," the Lord is
honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of
the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the
grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet
perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the
warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and
power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which
his vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend
also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to
bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in
heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth?
Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after
toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of
the glorified? There are many other comfortable answers to the question
with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse upon it all day
long.

Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING

(Emphasis below is added.)

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Friday, November 3, 2006

EVENING:

"Their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto
heaven."
-- 2 Chronicles 30:27

Prayer is the never-failing resort of the Christian in any case, in
every plight. When you cannot use your sword you may take to the weapon
of all-prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bow-string may be relaxed,
but the weapon of all-prayer need never be out of order. Leviathan
laughs at the javelin, but he trembles at prayer. Sword and spear need
furbishing, but prayer never rusts, and when we think it most blunt it
cuts the best. Prayer is an open door which none can shut. Devils may
surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as
long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy's
hand. We can never be taken by blockade, escalade, mine, or storm, so
long as heavenly succours can come down to us by Jacob's ladder to
relieve us in the time of our necessities. Prayer is never out of
season: in summer and in winter its merchandise is precious. Prayer
gains audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the midst of
business, in the heat of noonday, in the shades of evening. In every
condition, whether of poverty, or sickness, or obscurity, or slander,
or doubt, your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from
his holy place. Nor is prayer ever futile. True prayer is evermore true
power. You may not always get what you ask, but you shall always have
your real wants supplied. When God does not answer his children
according to the letter, he does so according to the spirit. If thou
askest for coarse meal, wilt thou be angered because he gives thee the
finest flour? If thou seekest bodily health, shouldst thou complain if
instead thereof he makes thy sickness turn to the healing of spiritual
maladies? Is it not better to have the cross sanctified than removed?
This evening, my soul, forget not to offer thy petition and request,
for the Lord is ready to grant thee thy desires.

Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING

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Saturday, November 11, 2006

EVENING:

"He shall choose our inheritance for us."
-- Psalms 47:4

Believer, if your inheritance be a lowly one you should be satisfied
with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured that it is the
fittest for you. Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for
you the safest and best condition. A ship of large tonnage is to be
brought up the river; now, in one part of the stream there is a
sandbank; should some one ask, "Why does the captain steer through the
deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line?" His
answer would be, "Because I should not get my vessel into harbour at
all if I did not keep to the deep channel." So, it may be, you would
run aground and suffer shipwreck, if your divine Captain did not steer
you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble follow each
other in quick succession. Some plants die if they have too much
sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get but little, you
are put there by the loving Husbandman, because only in that situation
will you bring forth fruit unto perfection. Remember this, had any
other condition been better for you than the one in which you are,
divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most
suitable circumstances, and if you had the choosing of your lot, you
would soon cry, "Lord, choose my inheritance for me, for by my
self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows." Be content with such
things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your
good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for
your shoulder, and will prove most effective to make you perfect in
every good word and work to the glory of God. Down busy self, and proud
impatience, it is not for you to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

This is from The Practice Of The Presence Of God - Letters
http://www.practicegodspresence.com/
--------------------
Eleventh Letter: I do not pray that you may be delivered from your pains; but I pray earnestly that God gives you strength and patience to bear them as long as He pleases. Comfort yourself with Him who holds you fastened to the cross. He will loose you when He thinks fit. Happy are those who suffer with Him. Accustom yourself to suffer in that manner, and seek from Him the strength to endure as much, and as long, as He judges necessary for you.
-------------------
The Eleventh through the Fifteenth letters are very good regarding suffering.

Disclaimer: I don't necessarily agree with his theology but think he has a lot of good things to say.

Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING

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Saturday, December 9, 2006

MORNING:

"Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you."
-- Isaiah 30:18

God often DELAYS IN ANSWERING PRAYER. We have several instances of this in sacred Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel
until near the dawn of day-he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor
woman of Syrophenicia was answered not a word for a long while. Paul
besought the Lord thrice that "the thorn in the flesh" might be taken
from him, and he received no assurance that it should be taken away,
but instead thereof a promise that God's grace should be sufficient for
him. If thou hast been knocking at the gate of mercy, and hast received
no answer, shall I tell thee why the mighty Maker hath not opened the
door and let thee in? Our Father has reasons peculiar to himself for
thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his power and his
sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give or to
withhold. More frequently the delay is for our profit. Thou art perhaps
kept waiting in order that thy desires may be more fervent. God knows
that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if he keeps thee
waiting thou wilt see thy necessity more clearly, and wilt seek more
earnestly; and that thou wilt prize the mercy all the more for its long
tarrying. There may also be something wrong in thee which has need to
be removed, before the joy of the Lord is given. Perhaps thy views of
the Gospel plan are confused, or thou mayest be placing some little
reliance on thyself, instead of trusting simply and entirely to the
Lord Jesus. Or, God makes thee tarry awhile that he may the more fully
display the riches of his grace to thee at last. Thy prayers are all
filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly not
forgotten, but in a little while shall be fulfilled to thy delight and
satisfaction. Let not despair make thee silent, but continue instant in
earnest supplication.

Translation of Nahum 1:7

A diversion from the normal subject matter:

I asked one of the people at Better Bibles Blog to look into Nahum 1:7 because of a difference I noticed in the last part of the verse between translations. I was thrilled to find out they looked into it.

http://englishbibles.blogspot.com/2007/08/nahum-17-yada-yada.html

Nahum 1:7

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him

Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006

MORNING:

"The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof
is of the Lord."
-- Proverbs 16:33

If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's whose is the arrangement of
our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by him, how
much more the events of our entire life-especially when we are told by
our blessed Saviour: "The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not
a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father." It would bring a
holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember
this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the
better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian
should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is
troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are
serving himself. If you would "seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness," all things would then be added unto you. You are
meddling with Christ's business, and neglecting your own when you fret
about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying "providing" work
and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the
obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your
Father's storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he
has laid up so great an abundance in his garner? Look at his heart of
mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at his inscrutable
wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus
Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your
Father deal ungraciously with you? If he remembers even sparrows, will
he forget one of the least of his poor children? "Cast thy burden upon
the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous
to be moved."

My soul, rest happy in thy low estate,
Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great;
To take the impress of the Will Divine,
Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.

From the book New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton.

On humility and trial:
"The joy of the mystical love of God springs from a liberation from all self-hood by the annihilation of every trace of pride. Desire not to be exalted but only to be abased, not to be great but only little in your own eyes and the eyes of the world: for the only way to enter into that joy is to dwindle down to a vanishing point and become absorbed in God through the center of your own nothingness. The only way to possess His greatness is to pass through the needle's eye of your own absolute insufficiency.

The perfection of humility is found in transforming union. only God can bring you to the purity through the fires of interior trial. It would be foolish not to desire such perfection. For what would be the good of being humble in a way that prevented you from seeking the consummation of all humility?"

Seeking the will of God being more important than seeking peace:
"But if I think the most important thing in life is a feeling of interior peace, I will be all the more disturbed when I notice that I do not have it. And since I cannot directly produce that feeling in myself whenever I want to, the disturbance will increase with the failure of my efforts. Finally I will lose my patience by refusing to accept this situation which I cannot control and so I will let go of the one important reality, union with the will of God, without which true peace is completely impossible."

Just a little diversion with a heads up on free Bible software with $25 of free modules.

http://www.bsreview.org/blog/2007/08/free_copy_of_pradis_60.html

EXPIRED

Revelation 2:9

I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich!

Lamentations 3:22-24

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

From Still Higher For His Highest - Oswald Chambers
January 20

Temperamental-the way a man looks at life. My temperament is an inner disposition which influences my thoughts and actions to a certain extent, i.e., I am either pessimistic or optimistic according to the way my blood circulates. It is an insult to take the temperamental line in dealing with human beings-"Cheer up, look on the bright side"; there are some types of suffering before which the only thing you can do is to keep your mouth shut. There are times when a man needs to be handled by God, not by his fellow men, and part of the gift of a man's wisdom is to know how to be reverent with what he does not understand.

Job 2:13
Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

From Still Higher For His Highest - Oswald Chambers
January 21

Psalms 91:15
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. (KJV)

There are disasters to be faced by the one who is in real fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God has never promised to keep us immune from trouble; He says "I will be with him in trouble," which is a very different thing.

From the book Things Unseen:

"Few things have the power to fashion in us utter trust in God and deep conformity to the character of Jesus Christ like suffering does. Few things build our faith and refine our faith like it does. What others intend for evil, God uses for good. He takes trials of many kinds and from them makes possible in us the heart of His Son. And to become like Christ is our everlasting destiny. Thus, such trials achieve for us an eternal glory that far outweighs all else."

2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Psalm 27:5, Psalm 31:7

Psalm 27:5
"In the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock."

Psalm 31:7
"I am overcome with joy because of God's unfailing love, for He has seen my troubles, and He cares about the anguish of my soul".

From the book The Gospel According to Job:

"...only when we have truly given up on both the pursuit and the control of happiness, will we make the tremendous discovery that we no longer feel the sting of God's wrath when things start to go wrong in our lives. Instead we will simply know, whether in good times or in bad, that we are under the Lord's grace."

John 10:10

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life. And have it to the full.

Can we be afflicted and suffer and have a full life? I think we can. It may be a matter of degree. Or it may be purely a spiritual matter. Some people may seem to have a fuller life but is it because of being more comfortable with material things? Or being more successful in worldly terms?

Those who suffer may have more of an opportunity to live a fuller life spiritually.

And if we think aren't living a full life, as I often do, think of what it would be comparatively if we didn't have a life hidden in Christ.

Cancer's Unexpected Blessings

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/25.30.html

2 Timothy 2:3

Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

From the book Believing God by Beth Moore:

"...I am utterly convinced that any no an earnestly seeking child of God receives from the Throne is for the sake of a great yes, whether realized on earth or in heaven."

From the book Believing God by Beth Moore (her mantra):

God is who He says He is.
God can do what He says He can do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ.
God's Word is alive and active in me.

Heaven

My knowledge of that life is small;
The eye of faith is dim:
But it's enough that Christ knows all;
And I shall be with Him.
--Richard Baxter

"...do I, as a Christian, understand myself? Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Saviour is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, any time when your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true."
--J.I. Packer, Knowing God

From the book Believing God by Beth Moore:
"...pray, I must. It's God's will even when I can't tell if it's changing a thing.

Though I may practice these disciplines in various ways, I do them virtually every day. Why? Because God seems to like them."

"Often, our conversations with God come from our desire to be delivered from our circumstances. In that, we're not much different from the Old Testament saints. However, in the New Testament we discover a new and higher value. While we're not discouraged from praying for deliverance (Mt. 6:13; 2 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:19; 2 Thess. 3:2; 2 Tim. 4:17), deliverance from our circumstances is not our highest priority; development in our circumstances is."
--Not Your Patriarch's Prayers by Eddie Smith in Pray! magazine

Luke 22:31-32
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Psalms

Psalms by category according to the book How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth.

Book 1: Ps. 1-41; Book 2: Ps. 42-72; Book 3: Ps. 73-89; Book 4: Ps. 90-106; Book 5: Ps. 107-150

Laments

• Individual-3; 22; 31; 39; 42; 57; 71; 88; 120; 139; 142
• Corporate-12;44;80;94;137

Thanksgiving

• Community-65; 67; 75; 107; 124; 136
• Individual-18; 30; 32; 34; 40; 66; 92; 116; 118; 138

Praise
God as:

• Creator-8; 19; 104; 148
• Protector and benefactor of Israel-66; 100; 111; 114; 149
• Lord of history-33; 103; 113; 117; 145-147

Celebration and Affirmation

• 2; 18; 20; 21; 24; 29; 45; 46; 47; 48; 50; 72; 76; 81; 84; 87; 89; 93; 95-99; 101; 110; 122; 132; 144

Wisdom

• 36; 37; 49; 73; 112; 127; 128; 133

Trust

• 11; 16; 23; 27; 62; 63; 91; 121; 125; 131

Stumbling After Jesus

"I worry about our society's desire to engineer trials out of existence. Sometimes, even we who decry the health-and-wealth gospel forget that the Christian life was never meant to be a cakewalk, that discipleship requires suffering, and that spiritual victory presupposes struggle."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/15.52.html

Negative Self-Talk

Many of us, including me, have negative critical thoughts going in our head much of the day. I'm referring to the non-psychotic type. For me it's likely because my mom was always so critical of me, my own perfectionism and who knows what else.

I came to the realization lately that it's just God and me. God resides in me and He would never accuse or be critical other than conviction of sin, which isn't what the negative talk is about.

Romans 8:1
There is therefore, now no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus.

1 John 4:15
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

So when I hear the critical voice in me I tell it to shut up and let myself be who I am, and do what I do the way I do it, as long as it is righteous or benign behavior. Whether Satan is directly involved in this I'm not sure. I'm inclined to believe it's my own sinful nature and patterns that have developed. But Satan is the accuser and if Satan is involved:

James 4:7
Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

And we should not judge ourselves (as in condemn, berate etc.):

1 Corinthians 4:3
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

Although we should examine ourselves to be sure we are living out the faith God wants us to live:

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?

Loving Father, strengthen my mind to be able to take captive every thought and make it obedient to you. Let me know quickly when I'm thinking untruthful thoughts and show me your truth. Renew my mind so that my thoughts are pleasing to you.

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Romans 12:2a
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Training Through Chastening by Theodore Epp
Hebrews 12:1-11

If you are now going through testing, there are three things you should especially remember.

First, God's way is the wisest way. Training is always accompanied by some type of hardship.

Even athletes realize they cannot properly train without giving up some of the pleasures of life and enduring the hardship of training. God trains us through chastening.

Second, God's time is the best time. God was working out His purpose through Joseph. It was impossible for Joseph to realize it at the time, but later he could look back and see that God's time had been exactly right--everything had worked out.

But imagine the lonely years of waiting. God does not act too early nor too late. He is never in a hurry but accomplishes things in His own time.

Too many of us either lag behind or run ahead of God's time. But we need to remember that the clock of divine providence keeps strict time. Because of our circumstances it may appear to be slow at times and fast at others, but the all-wise God knows precisely when to act.

Third, God's grace is sufficient. He will give us the grace we need to be patient.

James 1:4 says, "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." The word "perfect" means "mature" or "complete." God is seeking to teach us valuable lessons so we will be mature believers.

"Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty" (Job 5:17).

http://www.backtothebible.org/custom/executequery-19.html

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows,
but only empties today of its strength.

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
English Baptist preacher

To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love...
-- A. W. Tozer

God's will. Surrender. Taking up our cross.

I've given God permission to do whatever He wants in my life and I will always love Him.

Life has been so difficult with mental illness and so many disappointments and trials. But for some reason this causes me to feel I'm living His will. He is letting this happen. I'm learning and growing more spiritually than I would have any other way.

I don't like it. It all seems strange. But we can't try to intellectually understand God and how He works. Although I don't feel a warm, mushy love for Him I suppose I am loving Him by not giving up and doing all I can to get to know Him better.

Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Job 9:12
If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'

Romans 11:33-36
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
35"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Has it never occurred to us, when surrounded by sorrows, that they may be sent to us only for our instruction, as we darken the cages of birds when we wish to teach them to sing.
-- Jean Paul Friedrich Richter (Johann Paul Richter) (used ps. Jean Paul)

From the book God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer:
"Christians are quick to spread glory stories, but disappointments tend to be brushed under the carpet because we don't want to discourage anyone at church or be a bad commercial at work. But God isn't like us. He doesn't get insecure about His performance, and He never asks us to cover up for Him."

Choking on Anxiety

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2005/002/3.28.html

"Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue."
--Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)

Contentment is not freedom from desire, but freedom of desire. To be content is not pretending that everything is the way you wish it would be, nor is it acting as though you have no wishes. Rather, it is no longer being ruled by your desires.
-- John Eldridge

1 Peter 1:3-7

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,
7so that the genuineness of your faith-being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

How, after all this time, can I still be "of little faith?"
What a humbling realization

I know I am saved
I believe who God is

Do I believe Him? What He says?

Oh loving Father of mine
I confess my little faith

Enlarge it to believe your promises
to believe I'm more important than the lilies of the field
that the hairs of my head really are numbered
and that worry will do me no good

Help me to see the world and my physical life as temporal as it is
and to store up treasures in heaven

Help the eyes of my heart to be enlightened
so that I may believe all Your promises and all that all that You say is true

Most Christians, want the product of Paul's life (his maturity), but not the process of his life (the suffering).
--Dr. Roger Spradlin

Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.
----------------------
Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust--not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. ...suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.
--Brennan Manning

Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING

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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING http://www.heartlight.org/
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Saturday, October 7, 2006

MORNING:

"Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant?"
-- Numbers 11:11

Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our
faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of
fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the
diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can
only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the
business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord's
faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits
are depressed, and the light of our Father's countenance is hidden. A
faith which can say, in the direst trouble, "Though he slay me, yet
will I trust in him," is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts his
servants to glorify himself, for he is greatly glorified in the graces
of his people, which are his own handiwork. When "tribulation worketh
patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope," the Lord is
honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of
the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the
grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet
perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the
warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and
power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which
his vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend
also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to
bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in
heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth?
Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after
toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of
the glorified? There are many other comfortable answers to the question
with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse upon it all day
long.

Prayer of Abandonment - Charles de Foucauld

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

Welcome