Grace Gems

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Afflictions!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous." Psalm 34:19

"For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives!" Hebrews 12:6

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Health is the greatest temporal blessing that God ever sends us--besides sickness, which is far better.

   ~  ~  ~  ~
 
There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty.
Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles--they believe . . .
   that Sovereignty has ordained all their afflictions,
   that Sovereignty overrules them, and
   that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

I bear my witness that the worst days I have ever had, have turned out to be my best days. And when God has seemed most cruel to me, He has then been most kind. If there is anything in this world for which I would bless him more than for anything else--it is for pain and affliction. I am sure that in these things, the richest tenderest love has been manifested to me. Our Father's wagons rumble most heavily, when they are bringing us the richest freight of the bullion of His grace.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Love letters from Heaven are often sent in black-edged envelopes!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

I have got more good out of my afflictions, than out of all my prosperity! I would not be without a cross for all the world!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

I have learned to kiss the stormy waves which throw me up against the Rock of Ages!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Those who dive in the sea of affliction--bring up rare pearls!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Lord gets His best soldiers, out of the highlands of affliction.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The tears of affliction, are often needed to keep the eye of faith bright.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The best remedy for affliction, is submitting to God's providence.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

To be one of the Lord's saved ones--is joy enough to bear up the heart under every affliction!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The discerning of the hand of God in all our afflictions, is a sweet lesson in the school of experience.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

What can't be cured, must be endured!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

As for any affliction that you ever can have to endure on earth, it is not merely light, it is absolutely unworthy of mention in comparison with the eternal woe that is the portion of the lost!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The furnace of affliction is a good place for you, Christian.
It benefits you--it helps you to become more like Christ, and it is fitting you for Heaven.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Our trials and troubles, afflictions and adversities--are among the best medicines of our Great Physician.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Suffering is better than sinning. There is more evil in a drop of sin--than in an ocean of affliction!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Some day you will thank God for all your afflictions.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The most sympathizing, loving and Christlike--are generally those who have the most affliction.
The worse thing that can happen to any of us, is to have our path made too smooth.
One of the greatest blessings the Lord ever gives us, is a cross.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me--to think . . .
   that I have an affliction which God never sent me,
   that the bitter cup was never filled by His hand,
   that my trials were never measured out by Him, nor
   sent to me by His arrangement of their weight and quantity.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Most of the grand truths of God have to be learned by trouble. They must be burned into us with the hot iron of affliction--otherwise we shall not truly receive them.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Lord's mercy often rides to the door of our heart, upon the black horse of affliction!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

What a blessed affliction it is--which leads us to a Savior's love!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Our afflictions may come distinctly from man, as the result of persecution or malice--and yet they come with even greater certainty from the Lord, and are the necessary outcome of His special love to us.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Many believers think that their afflictions were punishments sent from God on account of their sins. The thing is impossible! God has punished us, who are His people, once and for all in Christ--and He will never punish us again! He cannot do it, seeing He is a just God. Afflictions are chastisements from a Father's hand--they are not judicial punishments!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

I would never have known the Savior's love half as much--if I had never been in the storms of affliction.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Christian is sometimes in the furnace of affliction. The fire will soon be over when he can say, "May the Lord's will be done." It is a sign that the dross has gone, when you can see the image of the Refiner in it--when the heart reflects the face of God and says, "Not as I will, but as You will."

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Very few of Christians will fully ripen without affliction. The vine produces little fruit--unless it makes acquaintance with the knife, and is sternly pruned.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

 Our afflictions become the black velvet on which the diamond of God's love glitters all the more brightly!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Heaven shall make amends for all!

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Splendid sins!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ!" Galatians 2:16

See the uselessness of mere morality. Honesty, morality and such things may be very good among men. But all these things put together, without faith, do not please God.

Without saving faith, all moral virtues are but splendid sins!

You will as surely be lost if you trust to your good works, as if you had trusted to your sins!

Trust Jesus, and you are saved.
Trust self, and you are damned.

Unbelief nullifies everything!
It is the dead fly in the ointment!
It is the poison in the pot!

All the moral virtues,
all the benevolence of philanthropy,
all the kindness of unselfish charity,
--give no title to Divine acceptance, for "without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:6

The cardinal error against which the gospel of Christ has to contend, is the tendency of the human heart to rely on salvation by its works, or morality, or virtues.

The poor sinner trying to be saved by his morality or good works, is like a blind horse going round and round a mill, and never getting a step further, but only being whipped continually.

    ~  ~  ~  ~

J.C. Ryle: "The holiest actions of the holiest saint that ever lived, are all more or less full of defects and imperfections. They are either wrong in their motive, or defective in their performance, and in themselves are nothing better than "splendid sins," deserving God's wrath and condemnation. To suppose that such actions can stand the severity of God's judgment, atone for sin, and merit Heaven--is simply absurd! The only righteousness in which we can appear before God, is the righteousness of another--even the perfect righteousness of our Substitute and Representative, Jesus Christ the Lord. His work, and not our work--is our only title to Heaven. This is a truth which we should be ready to die to maintain!"

    ~  ~  ~  ~

Arthur Pink: "The Gospel addresses men as guilty, condemned, perishing criminals. It declares that the most chaste moralist is in the same terrible plight as is the most voluptuous profligate; and the zealous professor, with all his religious performances, is no better off than the most profane infidel! The Gospel contemplates every person as a fallen, polluted, Hell-deserving and helpless sinner. Salvation by Christ alone, is the sinner's only hope!"

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There lies the sweetness!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"My meditation of Him shall be sweet." Psalm 104:34

"Of Him"--that is, of the Well-Beloved of the Father, of the Well-Beloved of my own soul--of Him who loved me, in whose blood I have washed my robes and made them white.

It is meditation "of Him" that is sweet--not merely of doctrine about Him--but of Him, of Himself. Not merely of His offices, and His work, and all that concerns Him--but of His own dear Self! There lies the sweetness!

The closer we come to His blessed Person, the more truly have we approached the very center of bliss!

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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 God for 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!

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!" Revelation 14:13

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

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Their hearts were devoted to their idols!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Son of man, these men have set up idols in their heart!" Ezekiel 14:3

"Their hearts were devoted to their idols!" Ezekiel 20:16

Whatever a man depends upon,
whatever rules his mind,
whatever governs his affections,
whatever is the chief object of his delight
  --is his god.

Man is such an idolater that, if he cannot idolize anything else--he will idolize himself, and bow down and worship himself!

If you love anything better than God--you are idolaters.
If there is anything you would not give up for God--it is your idol.
If there is anything that you seek with greater fervor than God--that is your idol.

True conversion is a turning from every idol!
"They tell how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God!" 1 Thessalonians 1:9

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols!" 1 John 5:21

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Our sins--His mercies!

(Letters of John Newton)

"Where sin abounded--grace did much more abound!" Romans 5:20

March 18, 1767
Dear friend,
You have one hard lesson to learn, that is--the evil of your own heart. You know something of it, but it is needful that you should know more; for the more we know of ourselves--the more we shall prize and love Jesus and His wondrous salvation.
The more you know Him--the better you will trust Him.
The more you trust Him--the better you will love Him.
The more you love Him--the better you will serve Him.
This is God's way. He is teaching you these things, and I trust He will teach you to the end.

Do not be surprised to find yourself to be poor, helpless, and vile. All whom God favors and teaches--will find themselves so. The more grace increases--the more we shall see in ourselves to abase us in our own eyes!

I hope what you find in yourself by daily experience, will humble you--but not discourage you.
For if our Physician is almighty--our disease cannot be desperate.
Our sins are many--but His mercies are more.
Our sins are great--but His righteousness is greater.
When our sins prevail, remember that we have an Advocate with the Father, who is able to pity, to pardon, and to save to the uttermost!

Think of the names and relations which Jesus bears to us. He calls Himself . . .
  our Savior,
  our Shepherd,
  our Friend,
  and our Husband!

He has made known unto us . . .
  His wondrous love,
  His atoning sacrifice,
  His righteousness,
  His promises,
  His power, and
  His grace--and all for our encouragement!
It is better to be admiring the compassion and fullness of grace which is in our Savior--than to dwell and pore too much upon our own poverty and vileness.

Remember that He has loved you with an everlasting love--and therefore in loving-kindness has drawn you to Himself. He will surely accomplish that which He has begun. Nothing which can be named or thought of--shall ever be able to separate you from Him!
This persuasion will give you strength for the battle!
This is the shield which will quench the fiery darts of Satan!
This is the helmet which the enemy cannot pierce!
Be strong, therefore, not in yourself--but in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Remember, the growth of a believer is not like a mushroom--but like an oak, which increases slowly--but indeed surely. Many suns, showers, and frosts, pass upon it before it comes to perfection. And in winter, when it seems to be dead--it is gathering strength at the root. Be humble, watchful, and diligent in the means of grace; and endeavor to look through all, and fix your eye upon Jesus--and all shall be well. I commend you to the care of the good Shepherd and Guardian of your souls!

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A saint abroad, and a devil at home!

(Charles Spurgeon)

The way in which a man lives in his home is vital. It will not do to be a saint abroad, and a devil at home! There are some of that kind. They are wonderfully sweet at church, but they are dreadfully sour to their wives and children. This will never do! Every genuine believer should say and mean it: "I will be careful to lead a blameless life . . . I will walk in my house with blameless heart." Psalm 101:2

It is in the home that we get the truest proof of godliness.

"What sort of a man is he?" said one to George Whitefield, and Whitefield answered, "I cannot say, for I have never lived with him."

The best way to test what a man really is, is to live with him.

"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:1-2

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Preach with your feet!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." 1 Peter 2:12

It is well to preach as I do, with my lips. But you can all preach with your feet and by your lives--and that is the most effective preaching! The preaching of holy lives is living preaching! The most effective ministry from a pulpit is that which is supported by godliness from the pew! A holy life is a missionary enterprise.

There are many more flies caught with honey than with vinegar. In the same way, there are many more sinners brought to Christ by joyful Christians than by doleful Christians!

"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives." 1 Peter 3:1-2

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven!" Matthew 5:16

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That spiritual chemistry which turns all metals into gold!

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night." Psalm 1:2


William Bates: "Meditation is the serious exercise of the mind, whereby our thoughts are fixed on the observation of spiritual things, in order to practice them. Meditation is that spiritual chemistry which turns all metals into gold!"


Arthur Pink: "Reader! You will derive far more benefit from a single verse of Scripture read slowly and prayerfully, and duly meditated upon--than you will from ten chapters read through hurriedly! Meditation is nearly a lost art. Lack of meditation is at the root of most of our spiritual troubles."


Edmund Calamy: "The reason why all the sermons we hear do us no more good, is for lack of divine meditation. For it is with sermons as it is with food--it is not having food upon your table that will nourish you, but you must eat it. And you must not only eat it, but digest it--or else your food will do you no good.

So it is with sermons: it is not hearing sermons that will do you good, but pondering in your hearts what you hear, and digesting them by meditation. One sermon well digested, well meditated upon--is better than twenty sermons without meditation! I am confident the great reason why we have so many hunger-starved Christians who are lean in grace and lean in practice, though they hear sermon upon sermon--is because they digest nothing. They never ponder and meditate upon what they hear!

There are some men sick with a disease that makes them vomit up whatever they eat--the food never does them any good. So is the custom of many of you: you hear a sermon, you go away, and never think of it afterward. This is just like food that you vomit up! That is the reason why you are so lean in grace--though you are so fully fed with sermons!"

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What a contrast!

("Every Day!" Author unknown, 1872)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way!" Psalm 139:23, 24

What a contrast there is between a man of this world--and a child of God!

The one wishes to avoid the scrutiny of God--and the other desires and prays for it.

The one loves sin, and cherishes it--the other abhors sin, and desires to be delivered from it.

The one walks hand in hand with iniquity--the other grieves that he bears about with him a body of sin and death.

It is the earnest desire of all who are born of God, and made partakers of the Divine nature--to be delivered from the power of sin that dwells in them. They would have no lust spared--and no corruption unmortified.

Chosen by the Father in eternity past,
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and justified freely by His grace
--they would also be sanctified by His Spirit.

They would be holy as He is holy--and their desires will eventually be satisfied! He who has begun a good work in them, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He will present them "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy!"

"Search me, O God, and try my thoughts,
 And make my heart sincere;
 Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
 And keep my conscience clear!

"Make me to walk in Your commands,
 'Tis a delightful road;
 Nor let my head, or heart, or hands,
 Offend against my God!"

"The desire of the righteous will be granted!" Proverbs 10:24

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Do not reckon that God will give you a life without difficulty!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward!" Job 5:7

"How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!" Job 14:1

"My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak." Psalm 31:10

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous" Psalm 34:19

David did not expect to pass through life without experiencing difficulties. He had many severe trials. He expected to have troubles, and he certainly was not disappointed. Nor will you be.

Do not reckon that God will give you a life without difficulty! Tell me, if you can, of any child of His who ever had such a portion? He had one Son without sin--but no son without sorrow. No, that Son who had no sin, was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. So you must expect the Lord to deal with you as He does with the rest of His household.

"Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." John 16:33

"God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11

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Self-sins!

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves" 2 Timothy 3:1-2

(A.W. Tozer)

We all have a number of self-sins:
  self-righteousness,
  self-pity,
  self-confidence,
  self-sufficiency,
  self-admiration,
  self-worth,
  self-love and
  a host of others like them!
These self-sins are not something we do, they are something we are--and therein lies both their subtlety and their power. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures, to come to our attention--until the light of God is focused upon them.

The grosser manifestations of these sins--egotism, pride, arrogance, self-elevation, self-promotion--are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy! They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust that it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the  visible Church.

Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ--is currently so common as to excite little notice!

"They do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely" Philippians 1:17

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You must keep the circus going!

(Ernest Reisinger)

Whatever means you use to get people into the church, is precisely what you must use to keep them.

If you get them with a 'religious circus' then you must keep the circus going--you must keep up the entertainment.

If you get them with biblical preaching and teaching, then that will keep them and you will not need the entertainment.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:2-3

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A statue of a stone lamb!

(J.R. Miller)

"Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us!" 1 Corinthians 5:7

On a little church in Germany stands a statue of a stone lamb, which has an interesting history. When some workmen were engaged on the roof of the building, one of them fell to the ground. His companions hastened down, expecting to find him dead. They were amazed, however, to see him unhurt. A lamb had been grazing just where he struck the ground, and falling upon it, the little creature was crushed to death, while the man himself escaped injury. He was so grateful for this wonderful deliverance, that he had a statue of the lamb carved in stone, and placed on the building as a memorial. The lamb saved his life, by dying in his place.
 
In the same way, every saved soul can point to the Lamb of God, and say, "I am saved--because Jesus died in my stead!"

What memorial have we set up to witness to our gratitude and love?

"The Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!" Galatians 2:20

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain--to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" Revelation 5:12

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There would be a jubilee in Hell at the very thought of it!

(Charles Spurgeon)

In Hell, there is no hope.

They have not even the hope of dying, or the hope of being annihilated.

They are forever--forever--forever lost!

On every chain in Hell, there is written, "forever!"

In the fires, there blaze out the words, "forever!"

Up above their heads, they read, "forever!"

Their eyes are galled, and their hearts are pained with the thought that it is forever!

Oh! if I could tell you tonight that Hell would one day be burned out, and that those who were lost might be saved--there would be a jubilee in Hell at the very thought of it! But it cannot be, for "They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever!" Revelation 20:10