A little sin, like a little pebble in the shoe, will make a traveler to heaven walk very wearily. - Charles Spurgeon

"When Jesus said that the meek will inherit the earth, he did not mean weakness before men. He meant humility before God."

-Gary North

I grew up in North Bend. Cool! Hope you do well.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 24th)

The Lord's "Much More"

And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this — 2 Chronicles 25:9

If you have made a mistake, bear the loss of it; but do not act contrary to the will of the Lord. The Lord can give you much more than you are likely to lose; and if He does not, will you begin bargaining and chaffering with God? The king of Judah has hired an army from idolatrous Israel, and he was commanded to send home the fighting men because the Lord was not with them. He was willing to send away the host, only he grudged paying the hundred talents for nothing. Oh for shame! If the Lord will give the victory without the hirelings, surely it was a good bargain to pay their wages and to be rid of them.

Be willing to lose money for conscience' sake, for peace's sake, for Christ's sake. Rest assured that losses for the Lord are not losses. Even in this life they are more than recompensed: in some cases the Lord prevents any loss from happening. As to our immortal life, what we lose for Jesus is invested in Heaven. Fret not at apparent disaster but listen to the whisper, "The Lord is able to give thee much more than this."

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 22nd)

He with Us; We with Him

The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened — Proverb 10:27

There is no doubt about it. The fear of the Lord leads to virtuous habits, and these prevent that waste of life which comes of sin and vice. The holy rest which springs out of faith in the Lord Jesus also greatly helps a man when he is ill. Every physician rejoices to have a patient whose mind is fully at ease. Worry kills, but confidence in God is like healing medicine.

We have therefore all the arrangements for long life, and if it be really for our good, we shall see a good old age, and come to our graves as shocks of corn in their season. Let us not be overcome with sudden expectation of death the moment we have a finger-ache, but let us rather expect that we may have to work on through a considerable length of days.

And what if we should soon be called to the higher sphere? Certainly there would be nothing to deplore in such a summons, but everything to rejoice in. Living or dying we are the Lord's. If we live, Jesus will be with us; if we die, we shall be with Jesus.

The truest lengthening of life is to live while we live, wasting no time, but using every hour for the highest ends. So be it this day.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 20th)

The Lord Our Companion

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me — Psalm 23:4

Sweet are these words in describing a deathbed assurance. How many have repeated them in their last hours with intense delight!

But the verse is equally applicable to agonies of spirit in the midst of life. Some of us, like Paul, die daily through a tendency to gloom of soul. Bunyan puts the Valley of the Shadow of Death far earlier in the pilgrimage than the river which rolls at the foot of the celestial hills. We have some of us traversed the dark and dreadful defile of "the shadow of death" several times, and we can bear witness that the Lord alone enabled us to bear up amid its wild thought, its mysterious horrors, its terrible depressions. The Lord has sustained us, and kept us above all real fear of evil, even when our spirit has been overwhelmed. We have been pressed and oppressed, but yet we have lived, for we have felt the presence of the Great Shepherd, and have been confident that His crook would prevent the foe from giving us any deadly wound.

Should the present time be one darkened by the raven wings of a great sorrow, let us glorify God by a peaceful trust in Him.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 19th)

A Sound Heart

Let my heart be sound in thy statutes: that I be not ashamed — Psalm 119:80

We may regard this inspired prayer as containing within itself the assurance that those who keep close to the Word of God shall never have cause to be ashamed of doing so.

See, the prayer is for soundness of heart. A sound creed is good, a sound judgment concerning it is better, but a sound heart toward the truth is best of all. We must love the truth, feel the truth, and obey the truth, otherwise we are not truly sound in God's statutes. Are there many in these evil days who are sound? Oh, that the writer and the reader may be two of this sort!

Many will be ashamed in the last great day, when all disputes will be decided. Then they will see the folly of their inventions, and be filled with remorse because of their proud infidelity and willful defiance of the Lord; but he who believed what the Lord taught, and did what the Lord commanded, will stand forth justified in what he did. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun. Men much slandered and abused shall find their shame turned into glory in that day.

Let us pray the prayer of our text, and we may be sure that its promise will be fulfilled to us. If the Lord makes us sound, He will keep us safe.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 18th)

God Himself Shall Work

Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself — Isaiah 33:10

When the spoilers had made the land as waste as if devoured by locusts, and the warriors who had defended the country sat down and wept like women, then the Lord came to the rescue. When travelers ceased from the roads to Zion, and Bashan and Carmel were as vineyards from which the fruit has failed, then the Lord arose. God is exalted in the midst of an afflicted people, for they seek His face and trust Him. He is still more exalted when in answer to their cries He lifts up Himself to deliver them and overthrow their enemies.

Is it a day of sorrow with us? Let us expect to see the Lord glorified in our deliverance. Are we drawn out in fervent prayer? Do we cry day and night unto Him? Then the set time for His grace is near. God will lift up Himself at the right season. He will arise when it will be most for the display of His glory. We wish for His glory more than we long for our own deliverance. Let the Lord be exalted, and our chief desire is obtained.

Lord, help us in such a way that we may see that thou thyself art working. May we magnify thee in our inmost souls. Make all around us to see how good and great a God thou art.

Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.

John Owen

In Christ, God's face shines out, full of grace and gentleness to us poor, unworthy sinners.

John Calvin #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 16th)

Possess Not Only Profess

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance — Matthew 13:12

When the Lord has given to a man much grace He will give him more. A little faith is a nest egg; more faith will come to it. But then it must not be seeming faith, but real and true. What a necessity is laid upon us to make sure work in religion, and not to profess much, and possess nothing! For one of these days the very profession will be taken from us, if that be all we have. The threatening is as true as the promise.

Blessed be the Lord, it is His way when He has once made a beginning to go on bestowing the graces of His Spirit, till he who had but little, and yet truly had that little, is made to have abundance. Oh, for that abundance! Abundance of grace is a thing to be coveted. It would be well to know much, but better to love much. It would be delightful to have abundance of skill to serve God, but better still to have abundance of faith to trust in the Lord for skill and everything.

Lord, since thou hast given me a sense of sin, deepen my hatred of evil. Since thou hast caused me to trust Jesus, raise my faith to full assurance. Since thou hast made me to love Thee, cause me to be carried away with vehement affection for Thee!

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 15th)

Home Blessings Extended

The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life — Psalm 128:5

This is a promise to the God-fearing man who walks in the ways of holiness with earnest heed. He shall have domestic blessedness; his wife and children shall be a source of great home happiness. But then as a member of the church he desires to see the cause prosper, for he is as much concerned for the Lord's house as for his own. When the Lord builds our house, it is but fitting that we should desire to see the Lord's house builded. Our goods are not truly good unless we promote by them the good of the Lord's chosen church.

Yes, you shall get a blessing when you go up to the assemblies of Zion; you shall be instructed, enlivened, and comforted, where prayer and praise ascend, and testimony is borne to the Great Sacrifice. "The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion."

Nor shall you alone be profited; the church itself shall prosper; believers shall be multiplied, and their holy work shall be crowned with success. Certain gracious men have this promise fulfilled to them as long as they live. Alas! When they die the cause often flags. Let us be among those who bring good things to Jerusalem all their days. Lord, of thy mercy make us such! Amen.

New article by my pastor: Old objections to Christianity answered.

"I’m seeing an objection in short videos recently. It is an old Muslim argument, although non-Muslims make use of it, against Christianity: “Jesus never said he was God.”

The charge is that Christians have wrongly raised Jesus of Nazareth to the level of divinity. We’ve made him our God, contrary to his own teachings and will. That’s the assertion.

Part of the objection may be freely admitted. The Bible never records Jesus saying the words, “I am God.”

(As an aside, before I address that in earnest, I’ll point out that Jesus is never recorded saying the words, “I am a prophet,” but the Muslims believe that is the clear teaching of the Gospels. We all go through the same process of reading and then summarizing what is written.)

Part of the issue is that the teaching style of Jesus was rarely on-the-nose and direct, especially as the topic at hand became more significant. He did a lot of teaching through stories and object lessons. The frustrating thing is that he didn’t always come right out and say what the point was. This was on purpose.

He wants you to think about what he’s said and work through it yourself. This meant that his audience was (and is) filled with two types of people: the ones who get it and ones who don’t, or rather won’t. He’ll walk around a point, motioning to it the whole time, and expect you to look at it on your own.

So, he’ll tell you he’s the light of the world. He’ll tell you he’s the way, the truth, and the life. He’ll let you know he’s coming back one day to raise everyone from the dead and judge them, assigning to each one the appropriate reward in the afterlife. He’ll claim the authority to forgive the sins of all people. He claimed to have existed in glory before the foundation of the world. He’ll demonstrate his authority over disease, death, demons, and the processes of the created world.

But, what does he do after these things leave his own disciples stunned, asking, “What sort of man is this?” He’s silent. You figure it out.

You’ve got the former prophets promising that the Messiah to come would be called the Mighty God, and that he would take his rightful place on the throne of heaven, with authority over all things. Jesus loved pointing to David, for instance, who referred to the coming king as his Lord. Jesus challenged his opponents to tell him what that meant, and they couldn’t, or wouldn’t.

To crowds who knew and loved the 23rd Psalm, Jesus pictured all the people of God as a flock of sheep, and then claimed to be their good shepherd, not as if hired to do the job by their owner, but as the owner himself. Who owns God’s sheep?

So, sure, the point is taken. You won’t find a place where the Lord says, “I am God.” Maybe he thinks your brain is sufficient to add all of this up on your own. The issue is never that God hasn’t given us enough evidence or information: it’s that we don’t like what he’s given.

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari.

https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2023/06/14/opinion/old-objections-to-christianity-answered/24853.html

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 14th)

He Constantly Abides

For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake; because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. — 1 Samuel 12:22

God's choice of His people is the reason for His abiding by them, and not forsaking them. He chose them for His love, and He loves them for His choice. His own good pleasure is the source of their election, and His election is the reason for the continuance of His pleasure in them. It would dishonor His great name for Him to forsake them, since it would either show that He made an error in His choice, or that He was fickle in His love. God's love has this glory, that it never changes, and this glory He will never tarnish.

By all the memories of the Lord's former lovingkindnesses let us rest assured that He will not forsake us. He who has gone so far as to make us His people, will not undo the creation of His grace. He has not wrought such wonders for us that He might leave us after all. His Son Jesus has died for us, and we may be sure that He has not died in vain. Can He forsake those for whom He shed His blood? Because He has hitherto taken pleasure in choosing and in saving us, it will be His pleasure still to bless us. Our Lord Jesus is no changeable Lover. Having loved His own, He loves them to the end.

Sometimes when your child talks, your friends cannot understand what he says; but the mother understands very well. So if our prayer comes from the heart, God understands our language.

Dwight L. Moody

I'm concerned with actual LDS doctrine, not the superficial buzzword script missionaries give at the doorstep that uses a lot of evangelical language but radically redefines the terms. Many evangelicals are easily duped by such a presentation because they don't really know what they believe or why they believe it.

Organizations like mrm.org, carm.org, aomin.org and Apologia Church deal faithfully with what your church teaches and have done so for decades. How is dealing with actual Mormon sources, Mormons in their own words giving into fear and hype?

You don't believe there is but one God. You believe there are many many gods. Hinduism has roughly 330 million gods, but Mormonism has an infinite number of gods. Islam is way closer to Biblical Christianity than Mormonism is. Muslims at least believe there is only one God who created all things and is uncreated.

There can be no peace apart from the true Christ. The one you believe in now is an imposter and can only give you death at the judgement. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 13th)

Divine Cultivation

I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day — Isaiah 27:3

When the Lord Himself speaks in His own proper person rather than through a prophet, the word has a peculiar weight to believing minds. It is Jehovah Himself who is the keeper of His own vineyard; He does not trust it to any other, but He makes it His own personal care. Are they not well kept whom God Himself keeps?

We are to receive gracious watering, not only, every day and every hour, "but every moment." How we ought to grow! How fresh and fruitful every plant should be! What rich clusters the vines should bear!

But disturbers come; little foxes and the boar. Therefore, the Lord Himself is our Guardian, and that at all hours, both "night and day." What, then, can harm us? Why are we afraid? He tends, He waters, He guards; what more do we need?

Twice in this verse the Lord says, "I will." What truth, what power, what love, what immutability we find in the great "I will" of Jehovah! Who can resist His will? If He says "I will," what room is there for doubt? With an "I will" of God we can face all the hosts of sin, death, and hell. O Lord, since thou sayest, "I will keep thee," I reply, "I will praise thee!"

Welcome to biblical law.

“Whoever sheds man’s blood,

By man his blood shall be shed,

For in the image of God

He made man.

— Genesis 9:6

Sure you can find it in History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 408-409.

Just like with the rest of Mormon doctrine, these quotes from various people and times are contradictory https://www.mrm.org/christianity-quotes

Again, your Christ is not mine. Mine is one essence with the Father and the Spirit, not one of three separate beings (and also an entirely created being himself). The Father does not have a body of flesh and bones. He is not Elohim, a man born on another planet who eventually became a god himself by obeying the god of that planet. All of this is entirely foreign to the biblical faith. You've been ensnared in a belief system that would have you believe that the Apostles and Christ taught the things you believe today, but you couldn't be more wrong.

Sit down and read the entire Bible for yourself without the lens of Mormon doctrine. Read a modern translation like the ESV or LSB. Have you done that? Seek to understand it with fresh eyes as if you were a new convert who is eager to learn what the Word says.

Christ created everything, not only this world. Literally everything that exists was made by Him and is sustained by Him. He didn't organize pre-existent matter.

You need to escape from the false religion you are ensnared in and come to the true Christ, who is the only Christ that can save you. Your best efforts before God merit you absolutely nothing having to do with salvation or forgiveness of sins of any kind. You must trust wholly in the cross and the imputed righteousness of Jesus as the basis of your peace with God.

He kept God's law perfectly. You can't. He suffered the wrath of God in the place of sinners, taking upon Himself their penalty. The true gospel is that by trusting in Christ and what He has done, sinners can have peace with God forever. No mixture of my effort and God's grace (UNmerited favor) will grant me peace with a thrice holy God.

Are you the blessed man of Romans 4:8 to whom the Lord will not take your sins into account? Or is it the case that your sins will be imputed to you if you fail to deny yourself of ALL ungodliness. How are you doing?

D&C 82:7; “And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin to your charge; go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God.”

Isaiah 43:25; “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”

God promises to not remember the sins of those who trust in the true Jesus. The false Jesus of Mormonism will forget them temporally, but then lay them back on your shoulders if you stumble in your walk with Him.

"The Nicean Creed that says all three are in one has no precedence in the Bible."

The Trinity is a biblical doctrine first and foremost. 1. Scripture teachers there is one God who created all things and has always been God. 2. Scripture teaches the Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God. 3. Scripture teaches the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Because of those three truths, I believe the the doctrine of the Trinity.