Cool 3D model of Herod's Temple at the time of Christ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUhxQjdviAw #faith #bible #christian

To remember injuries, to retain a sense of wrongs, to watch for opportunities of revenge, to hate and be maliciously perverse, is to represent the image of the 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 unto the world in its proper colors.

—John Owen #faith #bible #christian

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

Reward is Certain

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward — Matthew 10:42

Well, I can do as much as that. I can do a kind act toward the Lord's servant. The Lord knows I love them all, and would count it an honor to wash their feet. For the sake of their Master I love the disciples.

How gracious of the Lord to mention so insignificant an action - "to give to drink a cup of cold water only"! This I can do, however poor: this I may do, however lowly: this I will do right cheerfully. This, which seems so little, the Lord notices - notices when done to the least of His followers. Evidently it is not the cost, nor the skill, nor the quantity, that He looks at, but the motive: that which we do to a disciple, because he is a disciple, his Lord observes, and recompenses. He does not reward us for the merit of what we do, but according to the riches of His grace.

I give a cup of cold water, and He makes me to drink of living water. I give to one of His little ones, and He treats me as one of them. Jesus finds an apology for His liberality in that which His grace has led me to do, and He says, "He shall in no wise lose his reward."

#faith #bible #christian

You know God exists and that you will be judged by Him. Turn to Christ before it's too late.

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

The Safest Shelter

And a man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind and a covert from the tempest. — Isaiah 32:2

Who this MAN is we all know. Who could He be but the Second Man, the Lord from Heaven, the Man of sorrows, the Son of Man? What a hiding-place He has been to His people! He bears the full force of the wind Himself, and so He shelters those who hide themselves in Him. We have thus escaped the wrath of God, and we shall thus escape the anger of men, the cares of this life, and the dread of death. Why do we stand in the wind when we may so readily and so surely get out of it by hiding behind our Lord? Let us this day run to Him, and be at peace.

Often the common wind of trouble rises in its force and becomes a tempest, sweeping everything before it. Things which looked firm and stable rock in the blast, and many and great are the falls among our carnal confidences. Our Lord Jesus, the glorious Man, is a covert which is never blown down. In Him we mark the tempest sweeping by, but we ourselves rest in delightful serenity.

This day let us just stow ourselves away in our hiding-place, and sit and sing under the protection of our Covert. Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus! How we love thee! Well we may, for thou art to us a shelter in the time of storm. #faith #bible #christian

You're welcome.

There's an exe you can download called Caffeine.

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

Mark of Divine Approval

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him — James 1:12

Yes, he is blessed while he is enduring the trial. No eye can see this till it has been anointed with heavenly eye-salve. But he must endure it, and neither rebel against God, nor turn aside from his integrity. He is blessed who has gone through the fire, and has not been consumed as a counterfeit.

When the test is over, then comes the hallmark of divine approval - "the crown of life." As if the Lord said, "Let him live; he has been weighed in the balances, and he is not found wanting." Life is the reward: not mere being; but holy, happy, true existence, the realization of the divine purpose concerning us. Already a higher form of spiritual life and enjoyment crowns those who have safely passed through fiercest trials of faith and love.

The Lord hath promised the crown of life to those who love Him. Only lovers of the Lord will hold out in the hour of trial; the rest will either sink or sulk, or slink back to the world. Come, my heart, dost thou love thy Lord? Truly? Deeply? Wholly? Then that love will be tried; but many waters will not quench it, neither will the floods drown it. Lord, let thy love nourish mine to the end. #faith #bible #christian

Dang, sorry to hear that. I think my girls are well protected but there's always that possibility.

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness. For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb.

Trust in Yahweh and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in Yahweh; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to Yahweh, Trust in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.

Be still in Yahweh and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out schemes of wickedness.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

For evildoers will be cut off, But those who hope for Yahweh, they will inherit the land.

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; You will look carefully at his place, and he will not be there. But the lowly will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant peace.

The wicked schemes against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct.

Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken.

Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But Yahweh sustains the righteous.

Yahweh knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever. They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

But the wicked will perish; and the enemies of Yahweh will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish—in smoke they vanish away.

The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives. For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

The footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because Yahweh is the One who sustains his hand.

I was young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his seed begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends, And his seed is a blessing.

Depart from evil and do good, so you will dwell forever.

For Yahweh loves justice And will not forsake His holy ones; They are kept forever, But the seed of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice.

The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.

The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to put him to death. Yahweh will not forsake him in his hand; He will not condemn him when he is judged.

Hope for Yahweh and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and behold, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found.

Observe the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity. But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh; He is their strength in time of distress. Yahweh helps them and protects them; He protects them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.

#faith #bible #christian

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

The Dew of Heaven

His heavens shall drop down dew — Deuteronomy 33:28

What the dew in the East is to the world of nature, that is the influence of the Spirit in the realm of grace. How greatly do I need it! Without the Spirit of God I am a dry and withered thing. I droop, I fade, I die. How sweetly does this dew refresh me! When once favored with it I feel happy, lively, vigorous, elevated. I want nothing more. The Holy Spirit brings me life, and all that life requires. All else without the dew of the Spirit is less than nothing to me: I hear, I read, I pray, I sing, I go to the table of communion, and I find no blessing there until the Holy Ghost visits me. But when He bedews me, every means of grace is sweet and profitable.

What a promise is this for me! "His heavens shall drop down dew." I shall be visited with grace. I shall not be left to my natural drought, or to the world's burning heat, or to the sirocco of Satanic temptation. Oh, that I may at this very hour feel the gentle, silent, saturating dew of the Lord! Why should I not? He who has made me to live as the grass lives in the meadow, will treat me as He treats the grass; He will refresh me from above. Grass cannot call for dew as I do. Surely, the Lord who visits the unpraying plant will answer to His pleading child. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 12th)

What of My House?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house — Acts 16:31

This gospel for a man with a sword at his throat is the gospel for me. This would suit me if I were dying, and it is all that I need while I am living. I look away from self, and sin, and all idea of personal merit, and I trust the Lord Jesus as the Saviour whom God has given. I believe in Him, I rest on Him, I accept Him to be my all in all. Lord, I am saved, and I shall be saved to all eternity, for I believe in Jesus. Blessed be thy name for this. May I daily prove by my life that I am saved from selfishness, and worldliness, and every form of evil.

But those last words about my "house": Lord, I would not run away with half a promise when thou dost give a whole one. I beseech thee, save all my family. Save the nearest and dearest. Convert the children, and the grandchildren, if I have any. Be gracious to my servants, and all who dwell under my roof, or work for me. Thou makest this promise to me personally if I believe in the Lord Jesus; I beseech thee to do as thou hast said.

I would go over in my prayer every day the names of all my brothers and sisters, parents, children, friends, relatives, servants, and give thee no rest till that word is fulfilled, "and thy house."

#faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 11th)

Sufferers Make Strong Believers

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth — Lamentations 3:27

This is as good as a promise. It has been good, it is good, and it will be good for me to bear the yoke.

Early in life I had to feel the weight of conviction, and ever since it has proved a soul-enriching burden. Should I have loved the gospel so well had I not learned by deep experience the need of salvation by grace? Jabez was more honorable than his brethren because his mother bare him with sorrow, and those who suffer much in being born unto God make strong believers in sovereign grace.

The yoke of censure is an irksome one, but it prepares a man for future honor. He is not fit to be a leader who has not run the gauntlet of contempt. Praise intoxicates if it be not preceded by abuse. Men who rise to eminence without a struggle usually fall into dishonor.

The yoke of affliction, disappointment, and excessive labor is by no means to be sought for; but when the Lord lays it on us in our youth it frequently develops a character which glorifies God and blesses the Church.

Come, my soul, bow thy neck; take up thy cross. It was good for thee when young, it will not harm thee now. For Jesus' sake, shoulder it cheerfully. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 8th)

Broken and Smoking

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 me. 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.

#faith #bible #christian

US

New article by my pastor: Suffering no argument against God.

"The brilliant man in the video was asked whether he believed in God. He said the amount of suffering he sees in the world makes it hard for him to believe in a God who is good and loving.

This is a common argument among skeptics. Suffering is bad, so God must not be good. He’s either too weak to do anything about it or unconcerned with it.

For an atheist to make the whole suffering argument, however, is inconsistent with atheism, which can have no objective morality. He doesn’t believe in God, but he’s somehow confident that suffering is bad. It’s so bad, in fact, that its prevalence in the world makes God’s existence doubtful. But, without God, “good” and “bad” are only statements of personal preference. They can’t be talking about real moral value.

The smart guy is repulsed by human suffering. Therefore, it must be evil. It must be something that a good person would oppose. He didn’t get to this conclusion from science.

Sickness, starvation, suffering, injury, violence, and death are the most common things in the world that we can observe in nature. As Tennyson poetically called it: “nature red in tooth and claw.”

Suffering in nature is everywhere. Supposedly, that’s how life survives and thrives. The fittest manage to survive the suffering and impose it on others, who don’t. I know it’s cold and harsh to our ears, but this is merely how it is. What right, then, does the atheist have to complain about suffering? It’s simply the way business is done.

Some of the same folks who use this argument against a good God also say things like, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Or, they work out in t-shirts that say, “No pain, no gain.” These are admissions that some pain and suffering may be good for us in the long term.

Skeptics may also be in favor of strict punishments for some crimes. Somebody obviously needs to pay a price for bad things that were done, and this includes prices that make the bad guy suffer.

The concept of human suffering is not a problem the Bible shies away from. I’ve hinted at a couple of possible answers above (long-term good and punishment of evil) as to why a good God might allow such things. But there is a lot more. A little column in the newspaper isn’t going to be able to do it justice.

Read the short book of Ecclesiastes, for instance. It’s so negative and depressing at times, it’s caused people to wonder why it’s even included. The point is, it’s honest. If you’re really looking for an answer, and not merely an excuse for unbelief, give it a read. God knows what he’s doing. The fact that there is darkness doesn’t mean light doesn’t exist. The fact of human suffering doesn’t mean God is absent, either.

The best people I know have all come through great hardship and trials. They’ve suffered losses and setbacks that many don’t recover from. They follow a Lord who, though he suffered death, knew the way out of the grave."

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:

reformnm@yahoo.com

https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2023/09/06/opinion/suffering-no-argument-against-god/25095.html #faith #bible #christian

Thanks, I DM'd him.

Fantastic, thank you.

I'd love to see it James.

Much appreciated.