How vast the benefits divine!

How vast the benefits divine
Which we in Christ possess!
We are redeemed from sin and shame,
And called to holiness. ’
Tis not for works that we have done,
These all to Him we owe;
But He of His electing love
Salvation doth bestow.

–Augustus Toplady

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Stick with your work!

Wow, this is powerful and convicting. A goal to keep in mind though none fulfill it perfectly:

Stick with your work.

Do not flinch because the lion roars.
Do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs.
Do not fool away your time chasing the devil’s rabbits.

Do your work.

Let liars lie.
Let sectarians quarrel.
Let critics malign.
Let enemies accuse.
Let the devil do his worst.

But see to it nothing hinders you from fulfilling with joy the work God has given you.

He has not commanded you to be admired or esteemed.
He has never bidden you defend your character.
He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood (about yourself)
which Satan’s or God’s servants may start to peddle,
or to track down every rumor that threatens your reputation.
If you do these things, you will do nothing else.
You will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord.

Keep at your work.
Let your aim be as steady as a star.
You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, slandered,
wounded and rejected, misunderstood, or assigned impure motives;
You may be abused by foes, forsaken by friends,
and despised and rejected of men.
But see to it with steadfast determination,
with unfaltering zeal,
that you pursue the great purpose of your life and object of your being
until at last you can say, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”

- Anonymous

HT: Kingdom People

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What we owe godly mothers

“I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother; neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of “mother” is creation’s blot. Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me. How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent; others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me. How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, “Oh, that my son might live before Thee!” Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory—that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities; and her smiles have never faded from my recollections— the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel.”

~Charles Spurgeon, as quoted in Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1

HT: Carolyn Mahaney

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Give yourself to the church!

Charles Spurgeon on church membership:

Give yourself to the church. You that are members of the church have not found it perfect, and I hope that you feel almost glad that you have not. If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all; and the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us. . . .

All who have first given their own selves to the Lord, should, as speedily as possible, also give themselves to the Lord’s people. How else is there to be a church in the earth? If it is right for anyone to refrain from membership in the church, it is right for everyone, and then the testimony for God would be lost to the world. As I have already said, the church is faulty; but that is no excuse for your not joining it, if you are the Lord’s. Nor need your own faults keep you back; for the church is not an institution for perfect people; but a sanctuary for sinners saved by grace, who, though they are saved, are sinners still, and need all the help they can derive from the sympathy and guidance of their fellow-believers. The church is the nursery for God’s weak children, where they are nourished and grow strong. It is the fold for Christ’s sheep; the home for Christ’s family.

Spurgeon, C. H. (1998). Vol. 37: Spurgeon’s Sermons: Volume 37 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Spurgeon’s Sermons. Albany, OR: Ages Software.

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Three quotes for Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day! Let us not forget the impact of motherhood–especially of godly, Chris-loving mothers!

“Who can measure the long-term effects of nurturing helpless infants, supervising wandering toddlers, discipling self-willed children, and counseling self-absorbed adolescents? Of family outings planned, traditions built, memories made, books read, songs sung, Scripture taught? That’s why motherhood belongs under the heading, ‘Engage the World’; no one shapes generations or fashions cultures more than mothers.”

~ Jeff Purswell, Worldliness, (edited by C.J. Mahaney, p. 159) on the goal of motherhood:

“You fulfill yourself by denying yourself, preparing the people you can’t live without to live without you”

~Andrew Ferguson HT: Kevin DeYoung

The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!

Charles Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel (September, 1873). See this quote in artistic form here. 

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