Grace Gems

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Search the Scriptures!

(George Everard, "A Talk about the Family Bible" 1878.)

The word Bible signifies Book; and when we call it the Bible, we mean that it is the Book of books--the best Book, the wisest Book, the Book that will do us the most good of any in the world!

If all the other books in the world were destroyed, however great and irreparable the loss--if men still had the Bible, they would be far better off than if this were destroyed and all other books remained.

It is the Book that alone can tell . . .
  how sin can be forgiven,
  how temptation can be overcome,
  how trouble and sorrow can be met,
  how tears can be wiped away, and
  how death can be the gate of everlasting life.

It is indeed the best companion . . .
  for days of trial,
  for the day of sickness, and
  for the hour when we must part from all below!

Oh what a treasure is a well-read Bible! It is . . .
  a mine of gold,
  a hive full of honey,
  a field covered with a rich harvest.
It is a tree of life, of which every twig bears precious fruit.
It is an ocean full of pearls.
It is a river full of the purest water of life.
It is a sun whose beams warm and cheer the heart.
It is a bright star that can guide the pilgrim through the darkest night.
It is a granary stored with the finest of the wheat.
It is a medicine-chest, from which we may find a remedy for every malady of the soul.
It is a Mount Pisgah, from which we can view the promised land of Canaan.
All this and much more, is the Bible to those who love to search it and explore the depths of heavenly wisdom which it contains.

Dear reader, whatever you forget, never, never forget to read something out of this precious Book day by day.

The Scriptures warn against . . .
  the fear of man,
  the allurements of worldly pleasures,
  the snare of pride, and
  the temptation of doubt and unbelief.

Search the Scriptures! Whatever you have done hitherto, begin now to search them daily as for hidden treasures!
Go deep into this precious mine.
Ponder what you read.
Compare one part with another.
Compare the commands and precepts with your own daily life.
Bring its promises to bear on your heart and temptations.

When we read the Scriptures, we should pay good heed to it. There are depths and heights in many of the simplest verses, that we can never reach. Therefore we ought to turn them over again and again in our minds. We must mark, learn, and inwardly digest them. A few verses or even a single verse well thought over, and still better, well prayed over--will bring more profit and help than many chapters listlessly or carelessly read!

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If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him!

(George Everard, "Heart-Work" 1871)

"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

Remember that the heart regulates the life. If the heart is right, then . . .
  the hands will do right--they will not steal or be idle, but do their work faithfully;
  the feet will move right, not going where they should not, standing in the way of sinners, or treading forbidden paths--but walking straight in the ways of godliness;
  the eyes will look right, not coveting forbidden fruit, or reading debasing literature--but spying out work that ought to be done, and looking kindly and pleasantly on those around;
the ears will hearken aright, not eagerly drinking in false reports, or the advice of those who have not yet learned to teach themselves--but ever willing to listen to a faithful reproof, or to a word of wise counsel;
  the lips will speak aright, not uttering words of slander, or falsehood, or folly--but words of truth and purity and love, words of earnest prayer and of grateful praise.

But HOW shall the heart be kept right?

1. First of all, remember that He  who made the heart, can alone fashion and dispose it to that which is good. Whatever is amiss, He knows how to remedy it:
  He gives it a new mainspring--He puts within it the love of Christ, instead of the love of the world;
  He sends His Holy Spirit to control and order its unruly passions and affections;
  He can cleanse it from all its defilements;
  When the chain is off the wheel, He can replace it--I mean, when something has turned our desires from their right object, He can restore them.

Then ask earnestly for grace, "Create in me a clean heart, O God! Incline my heart to Your testimonies! Let my heart be sound in Your statutes that I may honor You!"

But then, He bids us to be workers together with Him in this matter. There is that which He alone can do--but there is that which is our part by His grace to do also.

2. You must take care not to run into scenes of temptation. If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him, he would be very careful not to go where sparks were flying about--he would feel that in a moment a spark might be his destruction.

Now your heart is very like that gunpowder--a little thing may set it all alight with evil passions! Words may be spoken that may arouse unholy thoughts or desires--therefore be careful. Never go near places where the devil is accustomed to come. Keep far away from the theater, the dancing-room, and never enter the bar of a tavern if you can avoid it.

3. You must watch against any evil thoughts lodging in your mind. You may not be able to prevent them arising, but endeavor to drive them away as soon as you can. A flock of birds may fly over your head--but you would not let them build a nest in your hair! Little flies or insects in summer are very troublesome sometimes--but you take pains to keep them from getting into your eyes, or irritating your face and hands. In the same way, watch against every bad thought.

Remember that among the thousands of thoughts that pass through your mind in a day, there is not one hidden from God! He understands your thoughts afar off, and in His sight the thought of foolishness is sin. Therefore be watchful--do not dwell on anything that may pollute the mind. Cast away murmuring thoughts, angry thoughts, impure thoughts--and pray that God would preserve you from them. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord!"

4. But to keep away thoughts that do harm--nourish thoughts that will do you good. "Finally, brothers . . .
  whatever is true,
  whatever is noble,
  whatever is right,
  whatever is pure,
  whatever is lovely,
  whatever is admirable,
  if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

There is a good old proverb, "Fill the sack with wheat--and there will be no room for chaff!" Fill your heart with kind thoughts, grateful thoughts, holy thoughts--and you will be safe. Let God's thoughts which are given to us in the Bible--leaven all your thoughts. Hide in your heart the promises and precepts of His Word.

5. But above all, live in a spirit of prayer. Believe that God is always ready to hear you--and often go to Him for help. Draw near to God--and He will draw near to you. Nothing will keep your heart in a holy, happy frame, so much as prayer.

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All seemed dark and mysterious!

(John MacDuff, "Loving Counsels" A New Years Address, 1868.)

"On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night." Psalm 63:6

Some of you can look back over this past year to a time of sickness, when you experienced divine help and consolation--when first you were summoned to retire from the busy throng, and from the scenes in which you delighted. All seemed dark and mysterious. The consciousness that health had departed--that disease was progressing--and that pain and weariness was confining you, as a prisoner, to the bed of suffering. All this pressed hard upon your spirit, and filled your soul with despondency and gloom. The trying dispensation, instead of appearing what it eventually proved--a precious blessing--seemed to be a dire and heavy calamity!

But He, who works His purposes of mercy and love towards His children, in a way often contrary to their expectations and plans--did not leave you to linger in darkness and despair. He came to you in the night watches--He made all your bed in your sickness--He brought promise upon promise to cheer your drooping spirit! He taught you that your sickness and suffering, were needed--to refine, elevate, and sanctify you! He taught you that He designed, thereby . . .
  to draw you nearer to Himself,
  to wean your affections from the world, and
  to bring your will into sweeter and more perfect harmony with His own!

Oh! surely, you have good reason, this day, to bless God for that bed of suffering--that couch of weakness, and those wearisome days, and long sleepless nights, if, thereby, you have . . .
  been enabled to realize more fully, that God is your all, your portion, your Father;
  been brought into closer relation, and more endeared intimacy, and fellowship with Jesus--the sympathizing Brother--the tender loving Friend;
  become more deeply sensible of the Holy Spirit's work within you--of His power to comfort, support, and sanctify you.

Looking back upon that eventful period, your feeling now is:
"Thank God for my trial-time of sickness--for calling me away from the busy throng, that I might be alone with Him! Thank God for teaching me . . .
  my own weakness--and His strength;
  my own emptiness--and His fullness;
  my own sinfulness--and His pardoning love;
  my own utter helplessness--and His upholding, comforting, and sustaining grace!

Thank God . . .
  that the anguish of that season of pain, distress, and suffering--was so often solaced by His love;
  that its loneliness was so often dispelled by His gracious presence;
  that its gloom was so often brightened with His smile;
  and that its calamity was so often sanctified by His grace!

Thank God that I can now sit loosely to the world, and feel, that I am only a stranger and a pilgrim in it, journeying to my heavenly home! Thank God that I can rest in the assurance of having One ever near, to whom I can reveal every doubt, and care, and perplexity--on whose arm I can confidingly lean in 'coming up from the wilderness;' from whose infinite fullness I can at all times obtain . . .
  strength for duty,
  patience for suffering,
  support under weakness,
  and comfort in the midst of sorrow!

His grace is 'sufficient' to bear me up amid all earthly trials and sorrows, temptations and infirmities--and His strength can guide and uphold me in duty, service, and suffering--until that blessed hour, when, the conflict ended, and the victory won--He shall conduct me safely to my eternal home!"

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The last day of the year!

("Daily Bible Readings in the Life of Christ" J.R. Miller, December 31, 1890)

"Jesus said unto him: Follow Me!" John 21:19

We have come now to the last day of the year! For a whole year in these daily readings, we have been walking with Christ. Is there any better word with which to close this book and close the year, than this last invitation of Jesus, "Follow Me!" This is the true outcome of all learning of Christ. Mere knowledge, though it be of spiritual things, avails nothing--except as it leads us to follow Christ.

We have seen Jesus in all the different phases of His life. We have heard many of His words. Now it remains only for us to follow Him. The outcome of seeing and knowing Jesus--should be holy living and doing. The last day of the year suggests also the same duty.

Who is satisfied with his life as it appears in retrospect? The past, however blotted, must go as it is; we cannot change it, and we need not waste time in regretting. But the new year is before us, and if we would make that better than the stained past, it must be by following Christ more closely.

To follow Christ is to go where He leads--without questioning or murmuring. It may be to a life of trial, suffering, or sacrifice--but it does not matter; we have nothing whatever to do with the kind of life to which our Lord calls us. Our only simple duty is to obey and follow. We know that Jesus will lead us only in right paths, and that the way He takes slopes upward and ends at the feet of God!

The new year on which we are about to enter is unopened, and we know not what shall befall us; but if we follow Christ we need have no fear. So let us leave the old year with gratitude to God for its mercies, and with penitence for its failures and sins; and let us enter the new year with earnest resolve in Christ's name to make it the holiest and most beautiful year we have ever lived.

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Lord, how can we know the way?

(J.R. Miller, "Evening Thoughts" 1907)

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, how can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way" John 14:5-6

This is the first day of a new year. We are setting out on a journey of which we can have no knowledge in advance. The road is one on which we never have gone hitherto. We know not what any day will have for us . . .
  what our duties will be,
  what burdens shall be laid upon us,
  what sorrows we shall have to endure,
  what battles we shall have to fight.

"You have never traveled this way before." Joshua 3:4. We cannot see one step before us! How can we know the way?

As we sit in the quiet, this first evening, and ask the question, we hear an answer which is full of comfort. Jesus says to us, "I am the way!"

All we shall have to do, therefore, will be to follow Jesus. He has made a way through this dark world for us. He has gone over all the journey and opened a road for us at great cost. He went over the way Himself--we shall find His shoe-prints at every step.

He has a definite way for each one of us. Every mile of the journey He has chosen--and every place where I pitch my tent He has selected for me!

"Leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps!" 1 Peter 2:21

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A New Year's Resolution

(Matthew Henry)

"My times are in Your hand!" Psalm 31:15

Firmly believing that my times are in God's hand, I here submit myself and all my affairs for the ensuing year, to the wise and gracious disposal of God's divine providence. Whether God appoints for me . . . .
  health or sickness,
  peace or trouble,
  comforts or crosses,
  life or death--
may His holy will be done!
All my time, strength, and service, I devote to the honor of the Lord Jesus--and even my common actions. It is my earnest expectation, hope, and desire, my constant aim and endeavor--that Jesus Christ may be magnified in me.

In everything I have to do--my entire dependence is upon Jesus Christ for strength. And whatever I do in word or deed, I desire to do all in His name, to make Him my Alpha and Omega. I have all from Him--and I would use all for Him.

If this should prove a year of affliction, a sorrowful year to me--I will fetch all my supports and comforts from the Lord Jesus and stay myself upon Him, His everlasting consolations, and the good hope I have in Him through grace.

And if it should be my dying year--then my times are in the hand of the Lord Jesus. And with a humble reliance upon His mediation, I would venture into the eternal world looking for the blessed hope. Dying as well as living--Jesus Christ will, I trust, be gain and advantage to me.

Oh, that the grace of God may be sufficient for me, to keep me always a humble sense of my own unworthiness, weakness, folly, and infirmity--together with a humble dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ for both righteousness and strength.

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The cross is not made of soft feathers!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Take up the cross--and follow Me." Mark 10:21

You have not the liberty of making of your own cross; although unbelief is a master carpenter at cross-making. Neither are you permitted to choose your own cross; although self-will would gladly be lord and master. Your cross is prepared and appointed for you by divine love--and you are cheerfully to accept it. You are to take up the cross as your chosen portion, and not to stand caviling at it. Jesus bids you to submit your shoulder to His easy yoke. Do not . . .
  kick at it in petulance, or
  trample on it in vain-glory, or
  fall under it in despair, or
  run away from it in fear.
Take it up like a true follower of Jesus.

Jesus was a cross-bearer; He leads the way in the path of sorrow. Surely you could not desire a better guide! And if He carried a cross--what nobler burden would you desire?

The Way of the Cross is the way of safety--do not fear to tread its thorny paths.

Beloved, the cross is not made of soft feathers, or lined with velvet--it is heavy and galling to disobedient shoulders! But it is not an iron cross, though your fears have painted it with iron colors! It is a wooden cross, and a man can carry it, for the Man of sorrows carried the load. Take up your cross, and by the power of the Spirit--you will soon be so in love with it, that like Moses, you would not exchange the reproach of Christ for all the treasures of Egypt!

Remember that the cross will soon be followed by the crown. The thought of the coming weight of glory--will greatly lighten the present heaviness of trouble. May the Lord help you to bow your heart in submission to His divine will--that you may go forth to this day's cross with the holy and submissive spirit which befits a follower of the Crucified One.

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Beneath the cross of Jesus!

(George Everard, "Beneath the Cross" 1877)

Beneath the cross of Jesus, I shall best learn to know my sin aright. For in the presence of Him who was crucified for me, I learn how fearful is the character of sin. Sin is . . .
  the knife that slew my best friend;
  the nail that pierced His hand;
  the spear that wounded His side;
  the scourge that bruised Him;
  the thorn that marked His brow.

With this sight before me . . .
  let me hate my sin with deadly hatred;
  let me never cloak or excuse sin, though in the most subtle form;
  let me abhor the very shadow, the very approach of evil;
  let me keep at the utmost distance from that which crucified my Lord.

The more I keep beneath the cross of Jesus, the more shall I grieve over the evil I have done, and grow in humility before God.

Beneath the cross of Jesus, I also see the completeness and the all-sufficiency of my sin's remedy! However great the evil I discover--help and salvation is close at hand. I can never despair, while I gaze on Him who was wounded for my transgressions and who bore my sins in His own body on the tree!

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Spoiled children!

(J.C. Ryle, "The Duties of Parents")

Train your children to a habit of obedience. No habit, I suspect, has such an influence over our lives as this. Parents, determine to make your children obey you--though it may cost you much trouble--and cost them many tears! Let there be no questioning, and reasoning, and disputing, and delaying, and answering back. When you give them a command, let them see plainly that you will have it done.

It ought to be the mark of well-trained children, that they cheerfully do whatever their parents command them. Where, indeed, is the honor which the fifth commandment enjoins, if fathers and mothers are not obeyed cheerfully, willingly, and immediately?

Parents, do you wish to see your children happy? Take care, then, that you train them to obey when they are spoken to--to do as they are told.

To my eyes, a parent always yielding--and a child always having its own way--are a most painful sight! Painful, because I feel sure the consequence to that child's character in the end will be self-will, pride, and self-conceit!

Parents, if you love your children, let obedience be a motto and a watchword continually before their eyes!

Learn to say "No" to your children. Show them that you are able to refuse whatever you think is not fit for them. Show them that you are ready to punish disobedience, and that when you speak of punishment, you are not only ready to threaten, but also to perform. Do not merely threaten. Threatened folks, and threatened faults, live long. Punish seldom, but really and earnestly. Frequent and slight punishment is a wretched system indeed.

Beware of letting small faults pass unnoticed under the idea, "it is a little one." There are no little things in training children--all are important. Little weeds need plucking up as much as any. Leave them alone, and they will soon become giants!

Parents, if there is any point which deserves your attention, believe me, it is this one. It is one that will give you trouble, I know. But if you do not take trouble with your children when they are young--they will give you trouble when they are old! Choose which you prefer!

Do not be afraid, above all, that such a plan of training will make your child unhappy. I warn you against this delusion. Depend on it, there is no surer road to unhappiness than always having our own way! To be indulged perpetually is the way to be made selfish--and selfish people and spoiled children, believe me, are seldom happy!

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Mary's portion!

(George Everard, "The Home of Bethany" 1873)

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

"Only one thing is needed." Not many things, but one. Not the provision for the table, the food that perishes--but the Bread of Life; for "man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

Dear reader, one thing is needful for you . . .
  the wedding garment to cover you,
  the pearl of great price to enrich you,
  the water of life to refresh you,
  the balm of Gilead to heal you,
  the Rock of Ages to shelter you,
  the Everlasting arms to uphold you,
  the wing of your Redeemer to cover you.

Yes, "one thing is needed;" in a word, Christ! His love, His presence, His grace, His image, His glory! With this, you are rich and happy through eternal ages!

And this was Mary's portion. This was her rich inheritance. This was the good part which she had chosen, and which would never be taken from her. Her choice was without wavering or hesitation. She could say in truth, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. I have one desire, one aim, one deep longing--to know You, to love You, to cleave to You more and more."

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The lever which has turned the world upside down!

(J.C. Ryle)

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14

The cross of Christ is the strength of the minister--it is the heart of the gospel.

I would not preach a sermon without preaching Christ Crucified. I would feel . . .
  like a soldier without a weapon,
  like an artist without a brush,
  like a ship without a rudder,
  like a laborer without tools.

Let others, if they will, preach law and morality; let others drench their congregations with baptisms and church laws--but give me the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is the lever which has turned the world upside down!

This is the only gospel that will cause men to repent and forsake their sins.

This is the only message which can give peace to a troubled soul.

And if the cross of Christ will not do it, nothing will.

A man may begin preaching with a perfect knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; but he will do his hearers no good unless he experimentally knows Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

A missionary may go forth with compassion for the poor, tenderness for the sick, and pity for the enslaved; but he will never relieve poverty of spirit, sickness of soul, nor bondage of will--unless he takes them the gospel of Christ Crucified.

This is the preaching the Holy Spirit will bless. He honors those who honor Christ Crucified!

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Sin, sin! What have you done!

(George Everard, "Dark Gethsemane" 1877)

"Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane." Matthew 26:36

"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death!" Matthew 26:38

"And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground!" Luke 22:44

Let me draw near--let me behold this wondrous sight. If Moses took off his shoes when the Lord came near at the burning bush, still more should I regard Gethsemane as holy ground.

I see the Redeemer of sinners prostrate on the cold earth. I hear a sorrowful groan. There is deep soul agony; there is sore dismay; there is darkness that may be felt. Dark and gloomy was the shadow cast by those olive trees in the Garden. But a deeper darkness overshadowed the spirit of the Savior. Well might He employ the language of the Psalmist: "Fearfulness and trembling have come upon Me, and a horrible dread has overwhelmed Me!"

His soul is amazed and very heavy. He prays in an agony. The conflict is great, and His sweat is as drops of blood falling to the ground.

Who can pierce the darkness?
Who can tell the secret of that hour?
Who can explain the cause of that mysterious agony?

Is it that, in some way altogether beyond our thought--sin, our sin--is piercing the Holy One? Is it the guilt of sinners oppressing our Surety--the judgment and the wrath we had merited, descending upon Him? Who shall answer? Who has known the mind of the Lord? Rather let us worship and adore.

O sinless Lamb, O Lord Jesus, I bow before You, and praise You for Your love! What marvels do I behold!
You, the source of all joy--are borne down with heavy sorrow!
You, the source of all comfort--faint for lack of it.
You, the Fountain of Life--wrestle with death.
You, the highest Majesty, before whom Principalities and Powers bow--bow down Yourself to the earth before Your Father.
You, before Whom cherubim and seraphim veil their faces--lie in the dust and tread the winepress of divine wrath, for man.

Ah, I learn here the fearful reality of sin! Sin, sin! What have you done! This is your work. Never, but for sin, would we have seen the holy, spotless Savior thus enduring unspeakable sorrows. Never, but for sin, would Christ have drunk the cup of suffering, wrath, and death! Can it be a light thing which cost the Son of God such groans, such tears, such agony?

Who can utter all that sin has done?
The whole creation groans beneath the burden.
Countries are filled with cruelty and oppression.
Homes are made wretched by its power.
Ten thousand times ten thousand hearts, it has crushed and broken.
On account of it, myriads of death-beds have been without one ray of hope---and unnumbered souls have perished eternally.

O that I may abhor the faintest shadow of evil!

O that I may shrink from the least taint of this deadly thing!

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A diamond with a flaw--is better than a pebble without one!

(George Everard, "The Home of Bethany" 1873)

"Then Thomas said to the rest of the disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with Him!" John 11:16

We often think only of Thomas as the picture of a doubting, unbelieving disciple. Let us not forget that there was in him the spirit of true self-denying love. Christ purposed to go into Judea. Thomas thought the Jews would kill Him--but if so, he was ready to share the danger.

We may learn a lesson here--let us look at the best side of a Christian's character.

"A diamond with a flaw--is better than a pebble without one!" A Christian may have some grave infirmity; he may fail very grievously at some crisis of his Christian career--yet for all that he may be one of Christ's jewels, and may shine brightly hereafter in His crown!

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WWJD

(Charles Spurgeon,  "The Fair Portrait of a Saint" 1880)

"My feet have closely followed His steps--I have kept to His way without turning aside." Job 23:11

A very beautiful motto is hung up in our classroom at the Stockwell Orphanage, "What would Jesus do?" Not only may children take it as their guide, but all of us may do the same, whatever our age.

"What would Jesus do?"

If you desire to know what you ought to do under any circumstances, imagine Jesus to be in that position and then think, "What would Jesus do? For what Jesus would do--that ought I to do."

This principle unties the knot of all moral difficulty in the most practical way, and does it so simply that no great wit or wisdom will be needed.

"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John 13:15

"Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in His steps." 1 Peter 2:21

"Whoever claims to live in Him, must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

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Far better that the serpent should be discovered and brought out into the light of day!

(George Everard, "Bitten by Four Rattlesnakes!" 1882)

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles--and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us!" Hebrews 12:1

What has been your own besetting sin?

Has it been pride or self-will?
Has it been some form of self-indulgence that you know is wrong?
Has it been the neglect of some duty?
Has it been the lack of genuine piety?
Has it been evil-speaking, or envy, or a bitter, revengeful spirit against someone whom you think has wronged you?

Track your sin to its hiding-place! Search it out and look it in the face. Far better that the serpent should be discovered and brought out into the light of day--than hidden in your bosom or in some secret corner of your heart! Out with it, however deadly, however strong, yes, however enticing! Out with it, and bring it into Christ's presence, that He may slay your enemy and save your soul alive.

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5