The Spirit himself bears witness...

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. -Romans 8:16-18

The Lord afflicts us at times; but it is always a thousand times less than we deserve, and much less than many of our fellow-creatures are suffering around us. Let us therefore pray for grace to be humble, thankful, and patient.  -John Newton

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you...

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

   -Psalm 63:1-4

Christ Our Wisdom

 

Christ Our Wisdom 

Sovereign Grace Music

Christ our wisdom, we are humbled

When You hide Your ways from us

You have purposes unnumbered

Each one good and glorious 

Help us trust when we grow weary 

Free us from our anxious thoughts 

Give us grace to see more clearly  

You are God and we are not    

Christ our wisdom, be our gladness

When we fail to understand

You ordain all joy and sadness

To fulfill Your perfect plan

Help us know You rule with power

Over every raging flood

In our most uncertain hour 

You are God and we are loved

 

Christ our wisdom, we will follow

Though the way ahead is veiled

As we journey through the shadows 

Grant us faith where sight has failed 

Help us cling to Your commandments 

Strengthened by Your faithful Word 

We will never be abandoned 

You are God and we are Yours  

Christ our wisdom we adore You

For the beauty of the cross

Once in foolishness we scorned You

But Your blood has ransomed us

Help us sing the endless mercies

Of Your humble heart to save 

Christ our wisdom, Christ our glory

You are God forever praised

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

Why do the nations rage

    and the peoples plot in vain?

  The kings of the earth set themselves,

      and the rulers take counsel together,

      against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

  “Let us burst their bonds apart

     and cast away their cords from us.”

  He who sits in the heavens laughs;

      the Lord holds them in derision.

  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

      and terrify them in his fury, saying,

  “As for me, I have set my King

      on Zion, my holy hill.”

  I will tell of the decree:

    The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;

     today I have begotten you.

  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

       and the ends of the earth your possession.

  You shall break them with a rod of iron

      and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

       be warned, O rulers of the earth.

  Serve the Lord with fear,

       and rejoice with trembling.

  Kiss the Son,

       lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

       for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 -Psalm 2

When you walk through fire you shall not be burned...

But now thus says the Lord,

He who created you, O Jacob,

He who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

    I have called you by name, you are mine.

  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

    and the flame shall not consume you.

     -Isaiah 43:1-2

As sure as ever God puts his children in the furnace, He will be in the furnace with them. -CH Spurgeon 

Blessings in disguise...

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. -Hebrews 12:11

Good when He gives, supremely good;

Nor less when He denies:

Afflictions, from His sovereign hand,

Are blessings in disguise.

   -Brother Lawrence Image

He made you for an end...

"There is not a spider hanging on the king's wall but hath its errand; there is not a nettle that groweth in the corner of the churchyard but hath its purpose; there is not a single insect fluttering in the breeze but accomplisheth some Divine decree; and I will never have it that God created any man, especially any Christian man, to be a blank, and to be a nothing. He made you for an end. Find out what that end is; find out your niche and fill it. If it be ever so little, if it is only to be a hewer of wood and a drawer of water, do something in the great battle for God and truth." -C.H. Spurgeon

Charity is a paradox, like modesty and courage...

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. -Luke 6:32-35

Charity is a paradox, like modesty and courage. Stated baldly, charity certainly means one of two things—pardoning unpardonable acts, or loving unlovable people.  

-GK Chesterton

Faith is required of thee, and a sincere life...

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. -Ephesians 2:8-10

Faith is required of thee, and a sincere life, not loftiness of intellect, nor deepness in the mysteries of God. If thou understandest not... the things which are beneath thee, how shalt thou comprehend those which are above thee? Submit thyself unto God, and humble thy sense to faith, and the light of knowledge shall be given thee, as shall be profitable and necessary unto thee. -Thomas à Kempis

O Blessed Assurance...

 

Blessed Assurance 

CityAlight

All my attempts to be satisfied

Were vain and empty

Until the moment you rescued me

And your love filled me

My soul sings

Now my soul sings

What blessed assurance

I’ve found in you

I’ve found in you

I won’t be shaken I will not be moved

How steadfast your strong hand

Is keeping me

Is keeping me

I won’t be shaken I will not be moved

Oh blessed assurance

No other love that I’ve ever known

Compares to you God

No other love that I’ve ever found

Has done what you’ve done

Ever my anchor

Ever my strength

Ever my portion

And all I need

Ever my healing

Ever my hope

Ever the truth that leads me home

That leads me home

Fire is the chosen symbol of Heaven for moral passion...

Fire is the chosen symbol of Heaven for moral passion. It is emotion aflame. God is love; God is fire. The two are one. The Holy Spirit baptises in fire. Spirit-filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They believe with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with a fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the Fire of God. 

-Samuel Chadwick

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness...

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. -Romans 8:26-27

If the spiritual life be healthy, under the full power of the Holy Spirit, praying without ceasing will be natural.  -Andrew Murray

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God...

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

    and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

    that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord's hand

    double for all her sins.

-Isaiah 40:1-2

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O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame,

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

    -William Cowper Image