Wednesday, February 6, 2013

In the Words of Spurgeon

Forgive me, but I'm going to do some plagiarizing today.  Although I think it's only plagiarizing if I pretend I'm the one that wrote it.

I love the writing of Charles Spurgeon.  He was a British preacher in the second half of 19th century, but frankly, I don't know much about the man himself.  I never want to become so admiring of any person ~ author, pastor, speaker, or whatever ~ that I elevate them too close to God.  Instead, I read the Bible, and then I supplement my reading with other books.  And when I do, I read those books through the filter of Scripture.  If it lines up with Scripture, and points me to God, then I think it's worth my time.  If it doesn't, and doesn't, then I don't.   So the upshot is that I don't always know very much about the authors I read.    

Anyhow, Spurgeon has been so inspirational to me in how I read the Bible, and many of the posts on this humble blog imitate his style.  I love how, instead of focusing in on a whole verse, he sometimes just used a phrase, or even a few words of a phrase.  It led me to a way of reading the Bible that can be very analytical ~ which is the way I like to approach life anyway! 

The book of Spurgeon's that I read is called Morning and Evening, and it has two devotionals per day.  And the one I read the other day touched me very strongly, and I just wanted to share it with you.  Hope that's okay!  :)

The highlighted verse comes from the Book of Hosea, which underscores this devotion's point of love, even more deeply.  Hosea was instructed by God to marry Gomer, who is unfaithful to him.  But God calls him to love her continually, and forgive her repeatedly.  The relationship is symbolic of the unreliable love of God's people for Him, and His unchanging, forgiving love for us.

"the love of the Lord"
Hosea 3:1

And Spurgeon says:  Believer, look back on all your experience, and think of how the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness, and how He has fed and clothed you ever day ~ how he has borne with your treatment of Him ~ how He has put up with all your murmuring, and all your longing after the flesh-pots of Egypt ~ how He has opened the rock to supply you, and fed you with manna that came down from heaven.  

Think of how His grace has been sufficient for you in all your troubles ~ how His blood has been a pardon to you in all your sins ~ how His rod and His staff have comforted you.

And when you have thus looked back upon the love of the Lord, then let faith survey His love in the future.  He who has loved and pardoned you, shall never cease to love and pardon.  He is Alpha and He shall be Omega.  He is first, and He shall be last.  

"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Now, soul, is not your love refreshed?

Yes.  Yes it is. 

~ "He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing" ~
Zephaniah 3:17

Answers to yesterday's quiz:
1.  Eve (Genesis 3:20)
2.  Passover (Matthew 26:19-20)
3.  Reuben (Genesis 35:23)
4.  Rahab (Joshua 2:1)
5.  Locusts & honey (Mark 1:6)
6.  Five (1 Samuel 2:21)
7.  Jubal (Genesis 4:21)
8.  Three (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles)
9.  Nicodemus (John 3:2)
10. Bethel (Genesis 28:16-19)
~

2 comments:

  1. I was right -- 9 out of 10. And if I had guessed, I would have guessed five as the number of Hannah's children because ten and fifteen seemed like way too many (my sincere apologies to Susanna Wesley, mother of both John and Charles, who gave birth to 19 children).

    Is there really a difference between "Passover" and "the Feast of Unleavened Bread"? I thought they were the same thing....

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  2. You're absolutely right, RWP, they are the same. I live in a world where trick questions are allowed, I guess. But if I were awarding any points, you'd receive extras for catching it! :)

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