Grace Gems

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

The whole apparatus of religion!
By J. C. Philpot
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Nothing is so filthy, so impure, so loathsome!

(James Smith, "The Voice of Mercy in the House of Affliction!" 1855)

"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!" Psalm 51:2

"Create in me a clean heart, O God!" Psalm 51:10

A clean heart is one that is . . .
   purified from guilt--by the blood of Jesus; and
   cleansed from filth--by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our hearts by nature, are all unclean. They are the most unclean things in existence! Nothing is so filthy, so impure, so loathsome--as the human heart!

The awakened sinner discovers that he is unclean, that his heart is unholy--and he desires to be thoroughly cleansed. He is not, he cannot be satisfied with outward reformation; he wants inward renovation. No promise in God's book suits him so well as, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws!" Ezekiel 36:25-27

"O Lord," he cries, "fulfill this precious promise in my experience. Give me the new heart, and take away the stony heart from me. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquities, and cleanse me from my sin. Make me holy--whatever I may suffer in the process."

The clean-hearted person . . .
  hates sin,
  shrinks from sin, and
  longs for entire freedom from sin!
But if the heart is not changed, the only thing feared is punishment, and the only thing sought is happiness.

The Holy Spirit alone can give us such views of sin--as will lead us to hate it; and He alone can give us such views of our own hearts--as will prompt us to cry, "Create in me a clean heart, O God! Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!"

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

Other men's sins!
By Thomas Brooks
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Sleeping sickness

(Arthur Pink "Sleepy Saints!" 1948 )

"So then, we must not sleep, like the rest--but we must stay awake and be serious!" 1 Thessalonians 5:6

What an anomaly! Drowsing on the verge of eternity!

A Christian is one who, in contrast to the unregenerate, has been awakened from the sleep of death in trespasses and sins, made to realize the unspeakable awfulness of endless misery in Hell, and the ineffable joy of everlasting bliss in Heaven; and thereby brought to recognize the seriousness and solemnity of life! A Christian is one who has been experientially taught the worthlessness of mundane things--and the preciousness of divine things! He has turned his back on Vanity Fair and has started out on his journey to the Celestial City.

Nevertheless, it is sadly possible . . .
  for him to suffer a relapse,
  for his zeal to abate,
  for his graces to languish,
  for him to leave his first love, and
  become weary of well-doing.
Yes, unless he is very much on his guard, drowsiness will steal over him--and he will fall asleep!

Corruptions still indwell him--and sin has a stupefying effect!
He is yet in this evil world--and it exerts an enervating influence!
Satan seeks to devour him, and unless resisted steadfastly--will hypnotize him!
Thus, the menace of this spiritual "sleeping sickness" is very real.

Slumbering saints! What an incongruity!
Taking their ease, while threatened by danger!
Lazing, instead of fighting the good fight of faith!
Rusting, instead of wearing out in His service!
Trifling away opportunities to glorify their Savior, instead of redeeming the time!

How startling and reprehensible is a careless Christian, who has departed from God, bewitched by a world which is doomed to eternal destruction!

"It is high time to awake out of sleep!" Romans 13:11

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

A lamp for my feet!
J.R. Miller--most practical and helpful!
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A sedative to all sorrows--and a solace under all sharp afflictions

(Theodore Cuyler, "Beulah-Land" or, Words of Cheer for Christian Pilgrims)

"After a little while--you will see Me!" John 16:17

Those sweet tender words, "After a little while," have deep thoughts in them, like the still ocean at the twilight--thoughts too deep for our fathoming. They breathe some precious consolations to those believers whose burdens are heavy--either with care, or poverty, or sickness. Neither shall the mourner weep much longer, or God's poor children carry the pains and privations of poverty much longer. The daily toil to earn the daily bread, the carking care to keep the barrel from running low and the scanty "cruse" from running out--will soon be over. Cheer up, my brother! "After a little while--you will see Me!" says your blessed Master, "for I am going to prepare a place for you!"

Oh the infinite sweep of that glorious transition! A few years here in a poor dwelling, whose rent it is hard to pay--and then infinite ages in the palace of the King of kings! Here a scanty table and coarse clothing--and yonder a robe of resplendent light at the marriage-supper of the Lamb! Let this blissful thought put new courage into your soul, and fresh sunshine into your countenance!

I sometimes go into a sick chamber where the godly are suffering with no prospect of recovery. Perhaps the eyes of some of those chronic invalids may fall upon this article. My dear friends, put under your pillows these sweet words of Jesus, "After a little while--you will see Me!" It is only for a little while--that you are to serve your Master by patient submission to His holy will. That chronic suffering--will soon be over. That disease which no earthly physician can cure--will soon be cured by your Divine Physician, who by the touch of His messenger death, will cure you in an instant, and bring you into the perfect health of Heaven! You will exchange this weary bed of pain--for that crystal air in which none shall ever say, "I am sick;" neither shall there be any more pain.

Not only to the sick and to the poverty-stricken children of God, do these tender words of our Redeemer bring solace. Let these words bring a healing balm to hearts that are smarting under unkindness, or wounded by neglect, or pining under privations, or bleeding under sharp bereavements. I offer them as a sedative to all sorrows--and a solace under all sharp afflictions. "After a little while--you will see Me!" The sight of Him shall wipe out all the memories of the darkest hours through which you made your way through this wilderness world--to mansions of glory!

"A few more struggles here,
 A few more conflicts more,
 A little while of toils and tears--
 Then we shall weep no more!"

May God help us all to be faithful--only for a little while--and then comes the unfading crown of glory!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

How to conquer the world!
by Thomas Brooks
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The blindness of ministers!

(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Luke" 1858 )

"Jesus told them this parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into the pit?" Luke 6:39

See the great danger of listening to false religious teachers. Our Lord compares such teachers and their hearers, to the blind leading the blind; and asks the reasonable question, "Will they not both fall into the pit?"

The subject which our Lord brings before us, deserves far more attention than it generally receives. The amount of evil which unsound religious teaching has brought on the Church in every age is incalculable! The man who hears such a false teacher runs a fearful risk himself of being lost eternally! "Will they not both fall into the pit?"

If we would escape the danger against which our Lord warns us, we must not neglect to prove the teaching that we hear, by the holy Scriptures. We must not believe things merely because ministers say them. We must not suppose, as a matter of course, that ministers can make no mistakes!

We must remember the advice of Paul and John "Test all things." "Test the spirits, whether they are of God." With the Bible in our hands, and the promise of guidance from the Holy Spirit to all who seek it--we shall be without excuse if our souls are led astray.

The blindness of ministers is no excuse for the darkness of the people! The man who from indolence, or superstition, or affected humility--refuses to test the teaching of the minister whom he finds set over him, however unsound it may be--will at length share his minister's portion!

If people will trust blind guides--then they must not be surprised if they are led to the pit!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

The Lord's gentle usher!
Thomas Brooks, very uplifting gem on 'death'.
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The problem of living in this world

(J. R. Miller, "Things to Live For" 1896)

The problem of living in this world, is to pass through life's vicissitudes without being harmed by them--growing into more and more radiant and beautiful Christly life, whatever our circumstances and experiences may be.

It is in this phase of our living, that we need Christ most of all. We cannot escape meeting temptation; but we are so to meet it as not to be hurt by it, coming from it rather with new strength and new radiancy of soul.

We cannot find a path in which no sorrow shall come into our life--but we are to pass through sorrow without having our life marred by it.

None but Christ can keep us thus unhurt--amid the manifold perils through which we must move continually. It is only by committing our life into the hands of Christ, that there ever can be absolute safety in this world so full of evil, or that our life ever can reach its holiest possibilities.

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

Hell would be the place of greatest pleasure!
Thomas Brooks, powerful
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Watch out!

(James Smith, "The Pastor's Morning Visit")

"Be watchful!" Revelation 3:2

Satan is watching--to devour us,
the world is watching--to ensnare us,
and God is watching--to protect us!

Jesus, our best friend, says to us, "Be watchful!"

Watch . . .
  against the vanity of the world,
  against your besetting sins,
  against seasons of temptation, and
  against Satan, the sworn enemy of your soul.

Unite together:
   prayer to God,
   dependence on His holy Word,
   and watchfulness.

Pray to be kept . . .
  from sin,
  in temptation,
  unspotted from the world.

Watch therefore, and pray always!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

A whore's forehead!
by Thomas Brooks
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The heavenly traveler

(Thomas Sherman, "Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ")

"They were strangers and pilgrims on the earth!" Hebrews 11:13

What heir, traveling to take possession of a rich inheritance, allows either a green meadow or pleasant garden to detain him; or a black cloud or a dirty road to dishearten him?

O my soul, you are traveling to take possession of a glorious eternal inheritance!
Will you turn aside--to pluck every flower?
Will you linger--to listen to every melodious sound?
Will you leave your way--to drink of every gliding stream of carnal pleasure?

What is this, but . . .
  to lose a mansion--to view a meadow!
  to sacrifice an eternal crown--for a dying flower!
  to lose immortal felicity--for a flying vanity!
  to forsake the way of Zion--to gather the grapes of Sodom!

Though, my soul, your way is in tears, and your days in sorrow, all clouded; yet here is enough to comfort you: that a loving Father, an unending portion, a sweet rest, and an everlasting refreshment--will make amends for all!

Therefore, this vain world does not allure me--for I will make no deviation, because my way lies to purer comforts, and surer glory! Vexing world, do not entice me--I will not halt, because I am traveling to my heavenly Father's house!

"They were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them!" Hebrews 11:16

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

The Scriptures are sufficient!
by Thomas Brooks
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The poor Christian!

(James Smith, "Comfort for Christians!")

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?" James 2:5

Poverty is not spirituality--but sanctified poverty is a great friend to it.

Poverty is no sin--but it is sometimes a preventive to sin.

Poverty has its temptations--but it has also its consolations.

The poor ought not to repine at poverty--because God in His infinite wisdom has appointed it, and is able to render it the greatest blessing. God's chosen are generally found among the poor. Not that He chose them because they were poor; but choosing them in Christ--He appointed poverty as the best thing for them.

God's enemies have their full portion in this life--here, they have their good things. Not so with God's children! Here on earth, they have their evil things--and their best things are yet to come!

The poor Christian has . . .
  a rich Father in whom to trust;
  the fullness of Jesus to supply him;
  the precious promises on which to depend;
  the Holy Spirit to be his Comforter; and a
  glorious inheritance to anticipate and forever dwell in!

All Christians are "heirs of the kingdom"--
the kingdom of grace here--and of glory hereafter;
the kingdom in which Jesus will reign;
the kingdom where they will be princes--yes, kings and priests;
the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world!

My poor brother--my poor sister! Look up! Look forward!

Your cottage will soon be exchanged for a mansion!

Your sickness will soon be exchanged for health!

Your poverty will soon be exchanged for wealth!

Your sin will soon be exchanged for perfect holiness!

Your earth will soon be exchanged for Heaven!

You will not always be poor! You will not be poor for long. Jesus will soon come--and then you will reign with Him!

For you--an inheritance is reserved in Heaven!

For you--a mansion is being prepared!

For you--glory, honor, immortality, even eternal life, are in reserve!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

This pleasure-loving, pleasure-seeking, and pleasure-inventing age!
by J.A. James, very challenging--outstanding!
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Holiness is happiness!

(Arthur Pink, 1949)

"Her ways are ways of pleasantness--and all her paths are peace!" Proverbs 3:17

The Satan-deceived world imagines that godliness is a thing of gloom--rather than of gladness; that it is something which the saints endure--rather than enjoy. On the contrary, holiness is happiness!

It is neither the mirth of the fool, nor the giddy gaiety of the thoughtless--but a "peace which passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), and a heart-satisfaction not to be found elsewhere! So far from piety robbing us of freedom, it conducts into true liberty--delivering from the bondage of sin. Christ's yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

God has established an inseparable connection between holiness--and happiness; between our pleasing Him--and our enjoyment of His providential smile.

Worldly mirth is at best evanescent--but the delights of holiness are eternal.

Only the One Who made us--can truly content us!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

Human guidance?
by Octavius Winslow
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Suffering Christian!

(James Smith, "Comfort for Christians")

"God will wipe every tear from their eyes! There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain!" Revelation 21:4

How much pain many of the Lord's people are called to suffer--and how severe that pain often is! There are times when pain is hard to bear--when our spirits are exhausted and we are sorely tempted to doubt the pity and tender love of our Heavenly Father. Then it is  sweet to look forward to the place, and anticipate the time--when God will wipe every tear from our eyes--and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain!

Suffering Christian! Your pain will soon end--and your sufferings will soon be over! Jesus will come and fetch you from your bed of pain, your chamber of affliction, and your house of mourning! Absent from the body--you will be present with the Lord!

Seek grace from the Lord to suffer patiently. There is an end of every pain--and soon you will bless the Lord for the very pains which now cause you to sigh and groan! The songs of Heaven will be sweetened by the groans of earth; and the pleasures of eternity will be heightened by the pains of time!

Every pain endured--leaves one less pain to suffer. And every hour that passes--brings us one hour nearer to the time when the ransomed of the Lord shall leave behind this land of darkness and death, and go home to their Father's house with everlasting joy, while sorrow and sighing shall forever flee away!

"You will weep no more!" Isaiah 30:19

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

The one, precious, all-absorbing theme!
by Octavius Winslow
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Where is my mamma?

(by D. L. Moody)

What makes Heaven attractive for us?

It won't be the pearly gates!

It won't be the streets paved with transparent gold!

These would not satisfy us! If these were all--we would not want to stay in Heaven forever.

I heard the other day, of a little girl whose mother was very sick. While she was sick, one of the neighbors took the child away to stay with her, until the mother would be well again. But instead of getting better--the mother died! They thought it best, that they should not tell the child, nor take her home until the funeral was all over.

So a while afterward, they brought the little girl home. First she went into the sitting-room to find her mother; then she went into the parlor; and then she went from one end of the house to the other--and could not find her mother. At last she said, "Where is my mamma?" And when they told her that her mamma had died, the little girl wanted to go back to the neighbor's house again. Home had lost its attractions to her--since her mother was no longer there!

Just so--it is not the streets of gold and the pearly gates that are going to make Heaven attractive. It is the being with Jesus, our beloved Redeemer!

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me--that you also may be where I am!" John 14:3

"I desire to depart and be with Christ--which is better by far!" Philippians 1:23

"And so we will be with the Lord forever!" 1 Thessalonians 4:17

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

What a treasure!
by Thomas Reade
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What kind of bodies will they have?

(Islay Burns, 1888 )

"But someone may ask: How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?"

Many other questions, of deepest interest to the thoughtful mind, we might ask--but cannot answer.

What precisely shall be the new conditions, capacities, abilities of our immortal body?

In what respect shall it be the same--and in what respect unlike, our present earthly state?

What new avenues of knowledge shall we possess?
What new organs of perception?
What new spheres of activity?
What new springs of enjoyment?

Shall there be music, poetry, art, science, deepening research, and advancing knowledge of the works and ways of God in Heaven--even as here on earth?

Where shall the final dwelling-place of the redeemed be? Shall they be confined, as now, to one exclusive spot--to one single orb in the immensity of God's universe? Or shall they rather roam at large through all its wide domains--and tread freely and unrestrained, through all the streets of the fathomless city of God?

Shall we still, then as now--only scan from afar, the course of the distant planetary orbs? Or shall we be permitted to visit them, and know all about them, and be at home in them--as in so many chambers of the Father's one majestic house?

In what form or stage of their development shall the bodies of the blessed arise--as in youth, or in manhood, or in ripe old age?

Shall the child of this world--be still a child in Heaven; or shall the child expand all at once in that wondrous transfiguration moment, into the fullness of its stature and perfection of its powers? Shall the old man be still an old man forever; or shall he be brought back to the freshness and strength of his manly prime? Shall we, in short, appear then--just as we were when death took us--and not rather as we were or might have been, at our best?

Shall the great Architect of Heaven, create the true and perfect ideal of the life of His saints--or the restoration only, though in a glorified state, of their actual form here below?

We cannot tell the answer to any of these inquiries. "Now we are children of God; and what we will be, has not yet been made known!" 1 John 3:2.

It is enough, that God knows--and that He plans and does all things well.

It is enough, that however high our conceptions of the unseen world, and however sublime our aspirations in regard to it--it will still be something far higher and grander than we could ever dream!
"No eye has seen,
 no ear has heard, and
 no mind has imagined--
what God has prepared for those who love Him!"
    1 Corinthians 2:9

It is enough, that there shall be a new Heaven, and a new earth, and that we shall be made perfectly fit to possess and to enjoy it!

And above all, it is enough that Christ Himself shall be there, and that we shall be with Him, and "that we will be like Him--for we will see Him as He really is!"

"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.
The body that is sown is perishable--it is raised imperishable;
it is sown in dishonor--it is raised in glory;
it is sown in weakness--it is raised in power;
it is sown a natural body--it is raised a spiritual body!"
     1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Here, then, we must pause. With this glimpse of the glory to be revealed--grand, but incomplete--we must rest satisfied!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

Is the Bible the Word of God?
by J.C. Ryle
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Divine Sympathy!

(by John MacDuff)

"I know their sorrows!" Exodus 3:7

These are God's own words! Man cannot say so. There are many sensitive fibers in the soul, which the best and tenderest human sympathy cannot touch. But the Prince of Sufferers, He who led the way in the path of sorrow, "knows our frame."

When crushing bereavement lies like ice on the heart--when the dearest earthly friend cannot enter into the peculiarities of our grief--Jesus can! Jesus does! He who once bore my sins--also carried my sorrows. That eye, now on the throne--was once dim with weeping!

Israel had long groaned under bondage. God appeared not to know it--or, if He did know it--not to care. He seemed, like Baal, to be "asleep". Yet at that very moment--His pitying eye was yearningly beholding His enslaved people. It was then that He said, "I know their sorrows!"

Just so, He may seem at times thus to forget and forsake us--leaving us to utter the plaintive cry, "Has God forgotten to be gracious?" When all the while, He is bending over us in tenderest love. He often allows our needs to reach their extremity--that He may stretch forth His supporting hand, and reveal the plenitude of His grace! "You can see how the Lord was kind to Job at the end--for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy!" James 5:11

And God fully "knowing" our sorrows--is a blessed guarantee that none will be sent, but those which He sees to be needful. "I will not," says He, "make a full end of you--but I will correct you in measure." Jeremiah 30:11

All the trials which He sends--are precisely meted out--and wisely apportioned. There is nothing accidental or random or unnecessary--no excess thorn--no superfluous pang!

"You keep track of all my sorrows! You have collected all my tears in Your bottle! You have recorded each one in Your book!" Psalm 56:8. Each one is counted and recorded--drop by drop--tear by tear! Tears are sacred things among the treasures of God!

Suffering believer, the iron may have entered deeply into your soul; yet rejoice! Jesus, a sorrowing, sympathizing Jesus--"knows" your aching pangs and burning tears, and He will "come down to deliver you!"

And of this divine sympathy, we are also assured in the New Testament, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tested in every way, just as we are!" Hebrews 4:15. What an elevating truth! We have the Sympathy of the God-Man-Mediator in our sorrows! What a source of exalted joy, to the stripped and desolate heart! What a green pasture to lie down upon, amid the windy storm and tempest, or in the dark and cloudy day!

The sympathy of man is cheering and comforting; but "thus far shall you go, and no farther." Man's sympathy is finite--limited--and often selfish! There are nameless and numberless sorrows on earth, which are far beyond the reach of all human alleviation!

The sympathy of Jesus alone, is . . .
  exalted,
  pure,
  infinite,
  removed from all taint of selfishness!

Jesus has Himself passed through every experience of woe. There are no depths of sorrow or anguish into which I can be plunged--but His everlasting arms are lower still! He has been called "The great sympathetic nerve of His Church, over which the afflictions and oppressions, and sufferings of His people continually pass!"

Child of Sorrow! A human heart beats on Heaven's Throne--and He has your name written on that heart! He cares for you as if no other claimed His regard--as if you were the only object of His care!

He "has been tested in every way, just as we are!" Blessed assurance! I never can know a sorrow into which the "Man of Sorrow" cannot enter. Ah rather, in the midst of earth's most lacerating trials--let me listen to the unanswerable challenge from the lips of a suffering Savior, "Was there ever any sorrow, like unto My sorrow!" Yet He willingly drank the cup of wrath! He did not shrink back from the appointed cross! And even when He hung upon the bitter tree--He refused the sour wine which would have assuaged the rage of thirst and mitigated physical suffering.

Are we tempted at times to murmur under God's afflicting hand? "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart!" Shall we hesitate to bear any cross which our Lord and Master sees fit to lay upon us--when we think of the infinitely weightier Cross He so meekly and willingly carried for us?

Jesus has some wise and gracious purpose in every mysterious chastisement. His language is, "Hear the rod--and Him who has appointed it!" Micah 6:9. He has too kind and loving a heart--to cause us one needless or superfluous pang!

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

Which of our senses shall be most enthralled?
by Andrew Gray  Play Audio!  Download Audio

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

What a superlatively grand and consoling idea!

(John Foster, 1888 )

"For to me, to live is Christ--and to die is gain!" Philippians 1:21

What a superlatively grand and consoling idea--is that of DEATH! Without this wondrous hope of death--life would, to my view, darken into midnight melancholy! Oh! the expectation of living always on this sin-cursed earth--would be indeed a prospect of overwhelming despair! But thanks to that fatal decree which dooms us to die! Thanks to that gospel which opens up the vista of a glorious and endless life! And thanks, above all, to that Savior-Friend who has promised to conduct all the godly through the sacred trance of death--into scenes of Paradise and everlasting delight!

"You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!" Psalm 16:11

[nChrist]

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Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

The God of the broken-hearted!
by J.R. Miller, very comforting
Play Audio! Download Audio

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We must ALL appear!

(by Gardiner Spring)

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable--and we will be changed!" 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Whether . . .
buried in the earth,
or floating in the sea,
or consumed by the flames,
or enriching the battlefield,
or devoured by beasts--
all, from Adam to the last-born--shall wend their way to the great arena of the judgment! Every one shall obey the summons and come forth!

If one could then look upon the earth, he would see it as one mighty excavated globe, and wonder how such countless generations could have found a dwelling beneath its surface!

"For we must ALL appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad!" 2 Corinthians 5:10