Tag: Charles Spurgeon

You Are More

You are Loved and You are More 

Are you a “speck”?

Wait, a “what”?

If anyone (including a well-known “scientist”) ever called you a speck, you’d probably think he or she was not only rude, but out of their minds.

As Bible-believing Christians, we know that we’re not “specks.”

Still, it’s hard to believe that some people support the theory that we’re insignificant people, living among other insignificant people, in an insignificant universe.

you are more

I am more, and you are more.

What our human bodies can do is nothing short of amazing.

Why? Because God created us that way.

This isn’t human emotions talking, it’s evidentiary.

God made each one of us with special gifts and talents, ultimately, that we can use for His glory.

amazing feats of the human body

The human body is the ultimate example of the marriage of design and function, enabling athletic abilities that showcase just how perfectly God engineered us. It takes all parts functioning together as one well-balanced system to achieve amazing athletic feats like ballet or skiing or throwing a baseball. – Institute For Creation Research.1

Speaking of baseball, according to Guinness World Records, Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest pitch in a game against the San Diego Padres in 2010.

His recorded pitching speed? 105.1 miles an hour.

amazing feat in baseball

You are More Than a Speck

Anyone with an advanced degree who wants to call us all “specks” has the right to do so.

But, he or she doesn’t speak for us.

We have the truth of God’s Word.

In the presence of our Heavenly Father, yes – we are small, but we are more than insignificant thoughts.

Naysayers of Biblical creation aren’t going to stop promoting their theories, but we can remember what He has told us through His Word.

There is evidence of the God of the Bible everywhere.

We just need to look.

Blessed is that man who seeth God in trifles! It is there that it is the hardest to see him; but he who believes that God is there, may go from the little providence up to the God of providence. Rest assured, when the fish in the sea take their migration, they have a captain and a leader, as well as the stars; for He who marshals the stars in their courses, and guides the planets in their march, is the master of the fly, and wings the bat, and guides the minnow, and doth not despise the tiniest of His creatures. – Charles Spurgeon, pastor and author.2

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1Institute For Creation Research quotation. Courtesy of Discovery Center For Science And Earth History. [Blog]. Staff Writer. 2015. Made in His Image: The Amazing Design of the Human Body. Acts & Facts. 44 (10).

2Quotation by Charles Spurgeon, influential Christian pastor and author, (1834-1892). Taken from The Spurgeon Center. “Providence.” April 11, 1858., para. 12. Retrieved from https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/providence/#flipbook/

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Trust God With My Whys

Learning to Trust God With My Whys

Let’s see, how many years has it been since I was in college?

I won’t say how many, but trust me when I say it’s been many.  😉

What amazes me is how radically different my life turned out from everything I had carefully planned.

I thought “career” was everything back then.

do what you love

My one goal was to become a TV reporter and follow in the footsteps of my idol – Jane Pauley.

When I landed that first TV job, I was in heaven.

I thought,

This is it!

I want to do this the rest of my life.

But God had other plans.

My TV reporter career came to a grinding halt once my father was diagnosed with Alzheimers. He was my rock and the person I most admired. You can read more about that here. 

I was devastated. When a cruel disease like that strikes a person you love, it sends you to your knees.

The right choice for me was to move back home to be with him. I will never regret that decision.

Didn’t God Care?

I got lost in a sea of “whys.” There were so many things at the time that I didn’t understand.

Why did God allow this to happen to my father?

Why didn’t God care?

Tear-stained thoughts flooded my pillow back then.

Nothing made sense.

My prayers were earnest, and finally my answer came.

I had to learn to trust God with my whys.

In time, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

My thirst for God turned on.

The desire to read and understand the Bible reached a fever pitch.

Not surprising, when you’re up against a wall and you realize you’re not in control.

Expect the Unexpected

Many years have passed and I look back in amazement of how God brought me through life’s many challenges.

Once you yield control, you can expect the unexpected.

Who would have ever thought that this former TV reporter would now have a passion to write about God and share my faith with others?

Who would have thought that I’d end up in a choir loft with enthusiastic brothers and sisters in Christ singing praises to God?

Unleashing the Power of Psalm 40

Psalm 40 is especially meaningful.

Trust God with my whys

When I first read David’s psalm it struck a chord like no other.

That’s it!

Those introductory verses are a great description as to what I feel when I look back on my life.

The next time tragedy strikes your life, remember we must trust in God’s sovereignty to get us through.

The Father of All Compassion hears you when you call out to Him.

O Christian, can you grasp the thought? The Eternal Father thinks of you! You are so inconsiderable that if the mind of God were not Infinite, it would not be possible that He should remember your existence! Yet He thinks upon you! How precious ought His thoughts be to you! The sum of them is great, let your gratitude for them be great, too! – Charles Spurgeon, pastor and author.

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1 Scripture quotation, courtesy of the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Quotation from Charles Spurgeon, influential Christian preacher and author, (1834-1892). Taken from The Kingdom Collective. “The Charles Spurgeon Sermon Collection: The Happy Beggar.” n.d., para. 30. Web. Accessed 4 May, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.thekingdomcollective.com/spurgeon/sermon/3040/

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Who Else Works Overtime?

Who Else Works Overtime Besides You?

Who else works overtime besides you?

Here’s to all of you who have to work overtime – my hat’s off to you.  🙂

Give yourself a pat on the back for taking on those extra hours when duty calls.

I’m not just talking about hospital workers.

You know who else works long hours to help to make this country great?

Men and women serving in the military

Police officers

Secretaries

Biblical pastors writing their sermons

Delivery drivers

And many other occupations that don’t get the media accolades.

We’ve probably all worked overtime at some point in our lives.

I remember working overtime often over the years, even overnight as a reporter camped outside a breaking crime scene.

It’s just what you do to get the job done, and to do it well.

While we’re on the subject, guess who else works overtime, but not for the good like all of those dedicated workers mentioned above?

Evil Doesn’t Sleep

Spiritual Enemy No. 1, Satan, also works overtime.

The Enemy of our souls spends hour after hour, every single day, looking for ways to trip you up, make you doubt your faith, and throw every conceivable distraction at you so you don’t have time for God.

Fact: The Enemy hates every single one of us.

Satan is geared to the destruction of God’s people, primarily. Obviously he wants to damn the whole human race, but his particular preoccupation is with those who belong to God, i.e., Adam and Eve and Job and Peter and Paul and others. His hope is that if he can’t destroy their faith, he can destroy their integrity before God by a long list of indictments. – John MacArthur, pastor and bible teacher from Grace To You.1

And so he acts the same with us.

Satan also works overtime

Satan’s time is short.

Is he invincible?

No!

Jesus Will One Day Take All Of This Evil Away

Fortunately for us, there’s someone greater, omnipotent, and sovereign who works overtime.

That someone is Jesus – our Sovereign God who has already won the battle against evil.

Christians know that troubling times continue up ahead.

It’s easy to get discouraged during all of this craziness – but don’t stay in that place for long.  Keep your eyes on Jesus.

We have blessed assurance that every last repentant sinner who recognizes Jesus as Savior will be saved.

Jesus Christ, our Deliverer, works overtime praying for you and for me, and at the appointed time, He will come back for us.

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1 John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/sermons-library. 20 February, 2000. para. 17. Web. Accessed 19, April, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-236/the-character-of-satan

* Charles Spurgeon, influential pastor, quotation was accessed April 14, 2021 and retrieved from https://www.thekingdomcollective.com/spurgeon/sermon/92/. n.d., Para 39. Web. Photo used under the Pixabay License – free for commercial or private use – an artistic derivative created by me of the background photo original.

 

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No Time To Pause

We Have No Time To Pause

Easter (or more accurately, Resurrection Sunday) just wasn’t the same this year, was it?

Several Christians I’ve spoken to have described it as:

Strange

Surreal

Different

Heartbreaking

Whether you were watching a service online, or sitting in your car at an outdoor church service, all of us had to face the reality that we are not in control.

The world is temporarily on hold, but Christians, we have no time to pause . . . in faith matters, that is.

The time is now.

There are hurting people out there who don’t know the Lord. All they’re hearing about is a seemingly out-of-control virus, and what the media tells them every night.

This is an opportunity for us to shine the light of the gospel in the midst of a global panic.

What We Know About Godreaching the lost

Christians – we have the answer for lost people.

Although this pandemic may have temporarily caught us off guard, the fact is, the Bible speaks to us about calamities and pestilence.

But, I never thought I would see something like this in my lifetime.

I sooooo get it.

I’ve had my own moments of tears and frustration.

But, our Sovereign God already knew about this virus.

He will accomplish His will through this.

As this virus continues to attack our sense of peace, please try to take comfort in the fact that there are lost people coming to Christ all over the world through this awful contagion.

Shelter in His Wings

At a time like this, many Christians are turning to Psalm 91.

When you read through it, you can trust the reassuring words that God is our refuge and we need not be afraid.

Psalm 91

The Lord has graciously given medical experts the knowledge to work towards a cure, He has given a heart of compassion and skillful hands to all of our brave emergency responders to help the afflicted, and He has given us (the people of God) the ability to add to this fight with fervent prayer.

no time to pause

I love Charles Spurgeon’s expository lesson on Psalm 91, a small portion below.

Upon the child of the Lord’s own heart, pestilence has no destroying power, and calamity no wasting influence: pestilence walks in darkness, but he dwells in light; destruction wastes at noonday, but upon him another sun has risen whose beams bring restoration. – Charles H. Spurgeon, influential pastor and author.2

Every day is a day that the Lord has made.

A Wake-Up Call To Reach The Lost

This pandemic is a global wake-up call for each and every one of us.

Dr. Michael Youssef quotation

The Great Commission has not gone away.

The best way we can delight in God is to take the truth of His Word to the lukewarm and to the lost.

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Photo source credits:
– Window photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash.
– Oswald Chambers meme regarding Prayer, released into the public domain , via pixabay. It is an allowed derivative work of the original, and is licensed under a  Creative Commons CC0 License by Gracie Jane.

1 Scripture quotation, courtesy of the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Quotation from Charles Spurgeon, influential Christian preacher and author, (1834-1892). Taken from The Treasury of David by Charles H. Spurgeon. “Psalm 91. Exposition.” n.d., para. 10. Web. Accessed 8 April, 2020. Retrieved from https://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps091.php

3 Quotation from Dr. Michael Youssef, influential Christian pastor and author. Taken from The Christian Post. “2 Things God is calling us to do in the age of COVID-19.” n.d., para. 11. Web. Accessed 14 April, 2020. retrieved from https://www.christianpost.com/voices/2-things-god-is-calling-us-to-do-in-the-age-of-covid-19.html

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Look Up At The Stars

When I Look Up At The Stars

Look up at the stars

How many stars are there?

Billions?

Trillions, even?

There are estimates online, but no matter what, the fact is that God created each and every one.

How amazing is that?

Each and every one.

Just like He created you and me.

I can’t look up at the beautiful night sky without thinking of our Heavenly Father.

How astonishing is it that in this vast universe, blanketed by stars and galaxies too numerous to count, God’s design included a “you” and a “me”?

I hope we can always remember how much He loves us when we come to Him in prayer.

God’s Timing

We may not always understand God’s timing, or why He answers “No” sometimes.

But, we are His children, and He does hear us. He never would have sent us His Son if He didn’t love us.

Please don’t give up on God.

Pray big prayers.

Remember His past blessings in your life and don’t forget to always thank Him.

Another blessing may be just around the corner.

Charles Spurgeon quotation

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*Quotation from Charles Spurgeon, influential Christian preacher and author, (1834-1892). Taken from A Closer Look, “Encouragements To Prayer.” Accessed July 12, 2019. Page 49 of Prayer Focus.

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