Study: U.S. Unchurched Population Nears 100 Million

Study: U.S. Unchurched Population Nears 100 Million

Over the past decade, the unchurched population has remained stable at one third of the American population, the latest Barna Group survey showed.

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Mar. 20, 2007 Posted: 13:45:51 PM EST

Over the past decade, the unchurched population has remained stable at one third of the American population, the latest Barna Group survey showed.The Barna study found that 33 percent of adults are classified as unchurched – people who have not attended a religious service of any type during the past six months. The statistic has remained relatively the same since 1994 when 36 percent were reported to be unchurched.Still, the unchurched population in numbers is staggering. An estimated 73 million adults are presently unchurched. The number nears 100 million when teens and children are added to the population segment. That also includes an estimated 13 to 15 million born-again adults and children. On its own, the unchurched population of the United States would be the eleventh most-populated nation on earth, the Barna Group noted.Some people groups are notorious church avoiders, the study found. Political liberals were more than twice as likely to be unchurched (47 percent) than political conservatives (19 percent). Single adults were also more likely to avoid religious services (37 percent) than married adults (29 percent).Those least likely to be unchurched are residents in the South (26 percent) while residents in the West (42 percent) and Northeast (39 percent) remain the most church resistant.

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Beloved,

This study is just more convicting evidence showing that we must be on the frontlines proclaiming the very same Gospel that Jesus preached and commands His disciples to preach to the world, the very same Gospel that saved our souls from the power of sin and death.

Hell Is Burning While The American Church Sleeps,

Des

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:16-20, ESV

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ~ 1 Corinthians 9:16, ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” ~ Romans 1:16-17, ESV

"Once more, he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think much of him, and as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he will talk much of him. Do we so? If Jesus is precious to you, you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child's ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love. Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor. Recollect that. You either try to spread abroad the kingdom of Christ, or else you do not love him at all. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him. Of course I do not mean by that, that those who use the pen are silent: they are not. And those who help others to use the tongue, or spread that which others have written, are doing their part well: but that man who says, "I believe in Jesus," but does not think enough of Jesus ever to tell another about him, by mouth, or pen, or tract, is an impostor. You are either doing good, or you are not good yourself. If thou knowest Christ, thou art as one that has found honey; thou wilt call others to taste of it; thou art like the lepers who found the food which the Syrians had cast away: thou wilt go to Samaria and tell the hungry crowd that thou hast found Jesus, and art anxious that they should find him too. Be wise in your generation, and speak of him in fitting ways and at fitting times, and so in every place proclaim the fact that Jesus is most precious to your soul." ~ A Sermon and a Reminiscence by Charles Spurgeon, From the March 1873 Sword and Trowel

DON'T TELL THEM JESUS LOVES THEM
Words by Steve Camp and Rob Frazier
Music by Steve Camp, CD: "JUSTICE" (1988)

Oh, the suffering souls
Cryin' out for love in a world that seldom cares
See the hungry hearts
Longing to be filled, with much more than our prayers
And a young girl sells herself on Seventh Avenue
And you hear her cryin' out for help
My God! What will we do?

Chorus

Don't tell them Jesus loves them
Till your ready to love them too!
Till your heart breaks from their sorrow
And the pain they're going through
With a life full of compassion
May we do what we must do
Don't tell them Jesus loves them,
Till you're ready to love them too!

All the desperate men
Are we reaching for the souls
That are sinking down in sand?
Oh, cry for the churchWe've lost our passion for the lost
And there are billions left to win
And another 40,000 children starved to death today
Would we risk all we have
To see one of them saved!?!

Chorus

Don't tell them Jesus loves them
Till your ready to love them too!
Till your heart breaks from their sorrow
And the pain they're going through
With a life full of compassion
May we do what we must do
Don't tell them Jesus loves them,
Till you're ready to love them too!

Why have we waited so long
Oh to show them Jesus lives
To share salvation's song!
Why have our hearts become so proud
That we fail to see
To love them is to love God

And a young girl sells herself on Seventh Avenue
Hear her crying out for help
What will we do?

Chorus

Don't tell them Jesus loves them
Till your ready to love them too!
Till your heart breaks from their sorrow
And the pain they're going through
With a life full of compassion
May we do what we must do
Don't tell them Jesus loves them,
Till you're ready to love them too!

Rick Warren & Purpose-Driven Strife Tonight on ABC's Nightline

Rick Warren and Purpose-Driven Strife - ABC News

Article & 1 Minute Video Preview of Martin Bashir's interview
with Pastor? Rick Warren tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m.

Article Excerpt:

So the debate goes on: Is the purpose-driven method simplifying Christianity in exchange for church growth? The founder of the movement says the conflicts and divisions are inevitable costs.

"You know, I wouldn't intentionally want to cause pain to any person or to anyone," Warren said. "Am I willing to put up with pain so the people [that] Jesus Christ died for can come to know him? Absolutely."

Warren said that if some churches may suffer as a result of applying some of those principles, then "that's the price."

"Every church has to make the decision. … Is it going to live for itself, or is it going to live for the world that Jesus died for?"

When asked if he thinks that some of these splits are actually because Christians themselves are indulgent and refusing to change, Warren said, "Oh, without a doubt." And when asked if he blames them, he replied, "I do blame them."

Beloved,

I will let Bishop Ryle speak on this matter.

And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. ~ Hebrews 11:4c, ESV

Selected Excerpts From J.C. Ryle's book, "Warnings To The Churches" Chapter 6, "The Fallibility of Ministers."

"Do not put implicit confidence in any man's opinion, merely because he is a minister.

What are the best of ministers but men--dust, ashes and clay-men with a nature like our own, men exposed to temptations, men liable to weaknesses and failings.

They have often driven the truth into the wilderness,and decreed that to be true,
which was false. The greatest errors have been begun by ministers.

Yes! Peace without truth is a false peace; it is the very peace of the devil.

Unity without the gospel is a worthless unity; it is the very unity of hell.

We ought to contend jealously for the truth and to fear
the loss of truth more that the loss of peace.

We have no right to expect anything but the pure Gospel of Christ, unmixed and unadulterated; the same Gospel that was taught by the Apostles; to do good to the souls of men. I believe that to maintain this pure truth in the Church men should be ready to make any sacrifice, to hazard peace, to risk dissension, and run the chance of division. They should no more tolerate false doctrine than they would tolerate sin. They should withstand any adding to or taking away from the simple message of the Gospel of Christ.

Never let us be guilty of sacrificing any portion of truth on the altar of peace.

We should no more tolerate false doctrine than we would tolerate sin.

To regularly hear unscriptural teaching is a serious thing.
It is a continual dropping of slow poison into the mind.

Let us receive nothing, believe nothing, follow nothing which is not in the Bible,
nor can be proved by the Bible."

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

God bless,

Des

Christian Purity In A Fast and Loose Age, Part 2

My Pastor finished his two-part sermon series, concerning sexual purity, "Christian Purity In A Fast and Loose Age" that I strongly recommend that you listen to and share with anyone that our Lord may lead. Christians of every age and sex must be continually reminded that God commands us to live in holiness even though this world bombards us with a myriad of sexual temptations and mocks us for what we believe. Let us by His grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit, "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." ~ Romans 13:14, ESV

Christian Purity In A Fast and Loose Age ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Part 1, 2

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:3, ESV

In Christ,

Des

The Gospel According To Oprah

Thanks to Divine Intervention for the majority of the material included in the following article.

In Christ,

Des

Divine Intervention - The Gospel According to Oprah

Oprah Winfrey proclaims herself a Christian. In fact, she did as recently as Thursday, February 15, 2007 on her show while yet providing her enthusiastic support of the New Age theology and teachings of The Secret. But in a segment sometime ago of "Oprah After the Show", where she speaks unscripted and unrehearsed with her studio audience, she states "There couldn't possibly be just one way [to be saved]." Oprah must have skipped over the Bible verse where Jesus said:

"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6 KJV)

You can't be a Christian without Christ. Just because one says they're a Christian doesn't make it so...

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. ~ Acts 4:12, ESV

And sometimes I wonder if the antichrist might be Oprah

It puts me in a true rage
That she pumps the new age
On television
Like five days a week

Yet only a few gauge
That that won't get you saved
from Hell, so listen
'Cause my God came to speak!

shai linne - The Solus Christus Project

Watch the Video where Oprah denies the only Savior, Jesus Christ. Then pray for the richest woman in the world who is only a heartbeat from Hell.

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ~ Luke 9:23-26, ESV

Church Attendance: Is It Important?

Beloved, I encourage you to read this excellent article by Earl Blackburn on the importance of church attendance. May our Lord use it to encourage and if necessary convict you on the blessing and beauty of the Lord's Day. Let us pray that we can continually call the Sabbath a delight until we enter our eternal Sabbath rest.

Soli Deo Gloria!

In Christ,

Des

Church Attendance: Is It Important?
by Earl Blackburn

Being faithful and consistent in attending a true church of Jesus Christ and worshipping God is extremely important; more important that you may realize. Irregularity and unfaithfulness in attending church conveys a certain message and produces definite short-term and far-reaching effects. Failure to assemble yourself with the Lord's people at all stated meetings for worship, unless you are sick or legitimately hindered:

1. Reveals a cold heart and lack of fervent love to Christ who instituted local churches (Revelation 2:4 & 3:20)

2. It shows disregard for the apostolic example and command of God's Holy Word. (Acts 2:41ff; Hebrews 10:25)

3. It robs you of blessing and help for the days ahead.

4. It cheats the brethren of blessings and help they would receive from your mutual ministry to them (Thessalonians 5:14; Hebrews 10:24, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works." ~ ESV

5. It grieves the Holy Spirit who dwells in each believer individually, and in the church as a whole.

6. It grieves the Elders who oversee you and minister the Word of God to you. (Hebrews 13:7 & 17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12,13)

7. I can influence others, by your poor example, to become unfaithful, lazy, indifferent and selfish. (Many young Christians have said, "Brother or Sister So-and-So do not come regularly, why should I?" You are a letter known and read by all men. (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3a)

8. It discourages brethren in the body with whom you are joined.

9. It is a poor testimony to unbelievers who see you inconsistently. (see John 13:35; 1 John 3:13,14)

10. It demonstrates your lack of vision for the future of that particular church of Jesus Christ in which you are a member. (Jeremiah 29:10,11)

11. It makes you a covenant-breaker in your commitment to God and to the church where you are a member.

12. It is a dreadful and empty step toward backsliding and apostasy. (study Hebrews 10:25 in its context of verses 19-39)

13. It shows disrespect for the best and the brightest day of the week, Sunday - the Lord's Day, the day on which the Lord Jesus rose from the dead.

A Christian is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone and this saving grace causes One to love Christ's churches (see Psalms 27:4; 84:1, 2 & 10; 87:1-3). If there is no love for Christ's churches or no concern to be identified with a local church, the one's faith is suspect. True and saving faith creates a love for the things Christ loves. He "loved the church and gave Himself for it," (Ephesians 5:25) John Owen put it well when he says:

"It is the duty of everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, and takes due care of his own eternal salvation, voluntarily and by his and by his own choice to join himself to some congregation of Christ's institution...no particular person is to be esteemed a legal, true subject that does not appear in these His courts with a solemn homage to Him." (Works, Vol. 15, 'Duty of Believers to Join Themselves in Church Order,' pp. 319-327).

May each of us say from his heart, as David said of old, "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1)

Christian Purity In A Fast and Loose Age

My Pastor preached a powerful sermon yesterday concerning sexual purity, "Christian Purity In A Fast and Loose Age" that I strongly recommend that you listen to and share with anyone that our Lord may lead. Christians of every age and sex must be continually reminded that God commands us to live in holiness even though this world bombards us with a myriad of sexual temptations and mocks us for what we believe. Let us by His grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit, "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." ~ Romans 13:14, ESV

Christian Purity In A Fast and Loose Age ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:3

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:3, ESV

In Christ,

Des

EVENING

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

Friday, February 9, 2007

EVENING:

"Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil [or, the evil one]." ~ Luke 11:4

What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue or avoid in action. Very earnestly, therefore, should we avoid temptation, seeking to walk so guardedly in the path of obedience, that we may never tempt the devil to tempt us. We are not to enter the thicket in search of the lion. Dearly might we pay for such presumption. This lion may cross our path or leap upon us from the thicket, but we have nothing to do with hunting him. He that meeteth with him, even though he winneth the day, will find it a stern struggle. Let the Christian pray that he may be spared the encounter. Our Saviour, who had experience of what temptation meant, thus earnestly admonished His disciples—"Pray that ye enter not into temptation."

But let us do as we will, we shall be tempted; hence the prayer "deliver us from evil." God had one Son without sin; but He has no son without temptation. The natural man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards, and the Christian man is born to temptation just as certainly. We must be always on our watch against Satan, because, like a thief, he gives no intimation of his approach. Believers who have had experience of the ways of Satan, know that there are certain seasons when he will most probably make an attack, just as at certain seasons bleak winds may be expected; thus the Christian is put on a double guard by fear of danger, and the danger is averted by preparing to meet it. Prevention is better than cure: it is better to be so well armed that the devil will not attack you, than to endure the perils of the fight, even though you come off a conqueror. Pray this evening first that you may not be tempted, and next that if temptation be permitted, you may be delivered from the evil one.

Blessing in the City

Tuesday February 6, 2007

Faith's Checkbook by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Blessing in the City

If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, blessed shalt thou be in the city. ~ Deuteronomy 28:2-3)

The city is full of care, and he who has to go there from day to day finds it to be a place of great wear and tear. It is full of noise, and stir, and bustle, and sore travail; many are its temptations, losses, and worries. But to go there with the divine blessing takes off the edge of its difficulty; to remain there with that blessing is to find pleasure in its duties and strength equal to its demands.

A blessing in the city may not make us great, but it will keep us good; it may not make us rich, but it will preserve us honest. Whether we are porters, or clerks, or managers, or merchants, or magistrates, the city will afford us opportunities for usefulness. It is good fishing where there are shoals of fish, and it is hopeful to work for our Lord amid the thronging crowds. We might prefer the quiet of a country life; but if called to town, we may certainly prefer it because there is room for our energies.

Today let us expect good things because of this promise, and let our care be to have an open ear to the voice of the Lord and a ready hand to execute His bidding. Obedience brings the blessing. "In keeping his commandments there is great reward."

Creed of the Modern Man

I heard this for the first time today from Ravi Zacharias on his radio program, "Let My People Think." Apparently, it was written in the late 1970s by a British journalist named Steve Turner. "Creed of the Modern Man", Turner's satirical poem on the modern mind is taken from Ravi Zacharias’ book "Can Man Live Without God?", Pages 42-44.

Creed of the Modern Man ~ Steve Turner

We believe in Marx, Freud and Darwin
We believe everything is OK as long
as you don't hurt anyone
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting
better despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes
UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man
just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher
though we think His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same,
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes The Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then its compulsory heaven for all excepting perhaps
Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn

We believe in Masters and Johnson
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors.
And the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds, And the flowering of individual thought.

"Chance" a post-script

If chance be the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky
and when you hear

State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!

It is but the sound of man worshipping his maker.

J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew 12:22-37

22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~ Matthew 12:22-37, The Holy Bible English Standard Version

"This passage of Scripture contains "things hard to be understood." The sin against the Holy Spirit in particular has never been fully explained by the most learned divines. It is not difficult to show from Scripture what the sin is not. It is difficult to show clearly what it is. We must not be surprised. The Bible would not be the book of God, if it had not deep places here and there, which man has no line to fathom. Let us rather thank God that there are lessons of wisdom to be gathered, even out of these verses, which the unlearned may easily understand.

Let us gather from them, in the first place, that there is nothing too blasphemous for hardened and prejudiced men to say against Christ. Our Lord casts out a devil; and at once the Pharisees declare that He does it "by the prince of the devils."

This was an absurd charge. Our Lord shows that it was unreasonable to suppose that the devil would help to pull down his own kingdom, and "Satan cast out Satan." But there is nothing too absurd and unreasonable for men to say, when they are thoroughly set against Christ. The Pharisees are not the only people who have lost sight of logic, good sense, and temper, when they have attacked the Gospel of Christ.

Strange as this charge may sound, it is one that has often been made against the servants of God. Their enemies have been obliged to confess that they are doing a work, and producing a good effect on the world. The results of Christian labor stare them in the face. They cannot deny them. What then shall they say? They say the very thing that the Pharisees said of our Lord, "It is the devil." The early heretics used language of this kind about Athanasius. The Roman Catholics spread reports of this sort about Martin Luther. Such things will be said as long as the world stands.

We must never be surprised to hear of dreadful charges being made against the best of men, without cause. "If they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?" It is an old device. When the Christian's arguments cannot be answered, and the Christian's works cannot be denied, the last resource of the wicked is to try to blacken the Christian's character. If this be our lot, let us bear it patiently. Having Christ and a good conscience, we may be content. False charges will not keep us out of heaven. Our character will be cleared at the last day.

In the second place, let us gather out of these verses the impossibility of neutrality in religion. "He who is not with Christ is against him, and he who doesn't gather with him, scatters."

There are many people in every age of the Church, who need to have this lesson pressed upon them. They endeavor to steer a middle course in religion. They are not so bad as many sinners, but still they are not saints. They feel the truth of Christ's Gospel, when it is brought before them, but are afraid to confess what they feel. Because they have these feelings, they flatter themselves they are not so bad as others. And yet they shrink from the standard of faith and practice which the Lord Jesus sets up. They are not boldly on Christ's side, and yet they are not openly against Him. Our Lord warns all such that they are in a dangerous position. There are only two parties in religious matters. There are only two camps. There are only two sides. Are we with Christ, and working in His cause? If not, we are against Him. Are we doing good in the world? If not, we are doing harm.

The principle here laid down is one which it concerns us all to remember. Let us settle it in our minds, that we shall never have peace, and do good to others, unless we are thorough-going and decided in our Christianity. The way of Gamaliel and Erasmus never yet brought happiness and usefulness to any one, and never will.

In the third place, let us gather from these verses the exceeding sinfulness of sins against knowledge. This is a practical conclusion which appears to flow naturally from our Lord's words about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Difficult as these words undoubtedly are, they seem fairly to prove that there are degrees in sin. Offences arising from ignorance of the true mission of the Son of Man, will not be punished so heavily as offences committed against the noontide light of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The brighter the light, the greater the guilt of him who rejects it. The clearer a man's knowledge of the nature of the Gospel, the greater his sin, if he wilfully refuses to repent and believe.

The doctrine here taught is one that does not stand alone in Scripture. Paul says to the Hebrews, "It is impossible for those who were once enlightened--if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance." "If we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for of judgment." (Heb. 6:4-7, and 10:26, 27.) It is a doctrine of which we find mournful proofs in every quarter. The unconverted children of godly parents, the unconverted servants of godly families, and the unconverted members of evangelical congregations are the hardest people on earth to impress. They seem past feeling. The same fire which melts the wax, hardens the clay.

It is a doctrine, moreover, which receives dreadful confirmation from the histories of some of those whose last ends were eminently hopeless. Pharaoh, and Saul, and Ahab, and Judas Iscariot, and Julian, and Francis Spira, are fearful illustrations of our Lord's meaning. In each of these cases there was a combination of clear knowledge and deliberate rejection of Christ. In each there was light in the head, but hatred of truth in the heart. And the end of each seems to have been blackness of darkness forever.

May God give us a will to use our knowledge, whether it be little or great! May we beware of neglecting our opportunities, and leaving our privileges unimproved! Have we light? Then let us live fully up to our light. Do we know the truth? Then let us walk in the truth. This is the best safeguard against the unpardonable sin.

In the last place, let us gather from these verses the immense importance of carefulness about our daily words. Our Lord tells us, that "every idle word that men speak, they will give account of in the day of judgment." And He adds, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

There are few of our Lord's sayings which are so heart-searching as this. There is nothing, perhaps, to which most men pay less attention than their words. They go through their daily work, speaking and talking without thought or reflection, and seem to imagine that if they do what is right, it matters but little what they say.

But is it so? Are our words so utterly trifling and unimportant? We dare not say so, with such a passage of Scripture as this before our eyes. Our words are the evidence of the state of our hearts, as surely as the taste of the water is an evidence of the state of the spring. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." The lips only utter what the mind conceives. Our words will form one subject of inquiry at the day of judgment. We shall have to give account of our sayings, as well as our doings. Truly these are very solemn considerations. If there were no other text in the Bible, this passage ought to convince us, that we are all "guilty before God," and need a righteousness better than our own, even the righteousness of Christ. (Phil. 3:9.)

Let us be humble as we read this passage, in the recollection of time past. How many idle, foolish, vain, light, frivolous, sinful, and unprofitable things we have all said! How many words we have used, which, like thistle-down, have flown far and wide, and sown mischief in the hearts of others that will never die! How often when we have met our friends, "our conversation," to use an old saint's expression, "has only made work for repentance." There is deep truth in the remark of Burkitt, "A profane scoff or atheistical jest may stick in the minds of those that hear it, after the tongue that spoke it is dead. A word spoken is physically transient, but morally permanent." "Death and life," says Solomon, "are in the power of the tongue." (Prov. 18:21.)

Let us be watchful as we read this passage about words, when we look forward to our days yet to come. Let us resolve, by God's grace, to be more careful over our tongues, and more particular about our use of them. Let us pray daily that our "speech may be always with grace." (Coloss. 4:6.) Let us say every morning with holy David, "I will take heed to my ways, that I offend not in my tongue." Let us cry with him to the Strong for strength, and say, "Set a watch over my mouth, and keep the door of my lips." Well indeed might James say, "If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man." (Psalm. 39:1, 141:3; James 3:2.)" ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 12:22-37

Read online, buy the Matthew book or purchase this superb series of commentaries by J.C. Ryle.

Christian believers executed in N. Korea, Pakistani Christian Released

Christian believers executed in North Korea
'Refusal to worship Kim Jong-il, being caught worshipping God' brings harsh

Posted: January 21, 2007

Reports about four Christians being executed for their faith in North Korea are circulating in the Christian media.

According to Mark Kelly of Baptist Press: "The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea is well-known as a country where Christians are persecuted for their faith. Because the government there keeps a tight lid on communication, however, only rarely does specific information leak out."

Quoting the World Bible Translation Center's Gary Bishop in a conversation with Mission Network News, Kelly reports that one man who worked as an evangelist was executed after being caught with two Korean New Testaments in his possession.

He said: "A man that's known to be an evangelist. He's probably not an evangelist to anyone other than his family members, but he was caught with two of our Korean New Testaments in his possession and he was executed for that."

Kelly writes that Bishop also told Mission Network News: "A woman and her grandmother were washing clothes when a New Testament fell out of the woman's clothing. Somebody reported it, and both she and her grandmother were quickly executed. And an army general who had become a believer was caught evangelizing men in his unit and was executed by a fellow officer."

CLICK HERE to Read Entire Article - wnd.com

Pakistani Christian Released from Prison after Six Years - January 19, 2007

On Friday, January 19, 2007, Shahbaz Kaka, was released from prison after serving six years of a life sentence. According to a statement issued by justice Ejah Ahmad Chaudry (High Court Lahore) Shahbaz will spend a month under medical care and then return home.

Shahbaz was arrested in June 2001 after he used the bathroom at a mosque. “Qari Rafique, the head of the mosque, asked him why he was using the toilet that was adjacent to the mosque. He quizzed Shahbaz on whether he was a Christian because he was wearing a cross around his neck,” a VOM source said. The source added that after the conversation, Rafique initiated false allegations against Shahbaz. A complaint was made to the authorities stating Shahbaz disgraced the Quran by tearing pages out, cutting them into pieces and trampling them under his feet. Shahbaz was arrested and later charged with blasphemy. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2004.

For the first 18 months of his imprisonment, Shahbaz’s mother was not informed of the charges against her son or his whereabouts. She eventually learned that he was still alive and of his arrest from VOM workers.

The Voice of the Martyrs learned of Shahbaz’s case in 2003 and has helped him and his family. In addition, VOM workers have met with and encouraged Shahbaz’s family during this time of hardship and grief.

“We rejoice with Shahbaz Kaka and his family at his release,” said Todd Nettleton, VOM’s Director of Media Development. ”Yet we wonder about the injustice of his arrest and the six years he spent in prison. We are concerned for other Christians who still face persecution in Pakistan, and encourage the Pakistani government to provide true religious freedom in their country."

The Voice of the Martyrs, founded in 1967, provides Christian literature, humanitarian aid and other assistance to Christians in Pakistan and 40 other nations where Christians suffer for their faith.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ~ Matthew 5:10-12, ESV

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ~ Hebrews 13:3, ESV

EVENING

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

Evening, January 25

“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” ~ Romans 3:31

When the believer is adopted into the Lord’s family, his relationship to old Adam and the law ceases at once; but then he is under a new rule, and a new covenant. Believer, you are God’s child; it is your first duty to obey your heavenly Father. A servile spirit you have nothing to do with: you are not a slave, but a child; and now, inasmuch as you are a beloved child, you are bound to obey your Father’s faintest wish, the least intimation of his will. Does he bid you fulfil a sacred ordinance? It is at your peril that you neglect it, for you will be disobeying your Father. Does he command you to seek the image of Jesus? Is it not your joy to do so? Does Jesus tell you, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”? Then not because the law commands, but because your Saviour enjoins, you will labour to be perfect in holiness. Does he bid his saints love one another? Do it, not because the law says, “Love thy neighbour,” but because Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments;” and this is the commandment that he has given unto you, “that ye love one another.” Are you told to distribute to the poor? Do it, not because charity is a burden which you dare not shirk, but because Jesus teaches, “Give to him that asketh of thee.” Does the Word say, “Love God with all your heart”? Look at the commandment and reply, “Ah! commandment, Christ hath fulfilled thee already—I have no need, therefore, to fulfil thee for my salvation, but I rejoice to yield obedience to thee because God is my Father now and he has a claim upon me, which I would not dispute.” May the Holy Ghost make your heart obedient to the constraining power of Christ’s love, that your prayer may be, “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.” Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin.

J.C. Ryle's Expository thoughts on Matthew 12:1-13

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ~ Matthew 12:1-13, ESV

"The one great subject which stands out prominently in this passage of Scripture, is the SABBATH DAY. It is a subject on which strange opinions prevailed among the Jews in our Lord's time. The Pharisees had added to the teaching of Scripture about it, and overlaid the true character of the day with the traditions of men. It is a subject on which diverse opinions have often been held in the Churches of Christ, and wide differences exist among men at the present time. Let us see what we may learn about it from our Lord's teaching in these verses.

Let us, in the first place, settle it in our minds as an established principle, that our Lord Jesus Christ does not do away with the observance of a weekly Sabbath day. He neither does so here, nor elsewhere in the four Gospels. We often find His opinion expressed about the Jewish errors on the subject of the Sabbath. But we do not find a word to teach us that His disciples were not to keep a Sabbath at all.

It is of much importance to observe this. The mistakes that have arisen from a superficial consideration of our Lord's sayings on the Sabbath question, are neither few nor small. Thousands have rushed to the hasty conclusion, that Christians have nothing to do with the fourth commandment, and that it is no more binding on us than the Mosaic law about sacrifices. There is nothing in the New Testament to justify any such conclusion.

The plain truth is, that our Lord did not abolish the law of the weekly Sabbath. He only freed it from incorrect interpretations, and purified it from man-made additions. He did not tear out of the decalogue the fourth commandment. He only stripped off the miserable traditions with which the Pharisees had incrusted the day, and by which they had made it, not a blessing, but a burden. He left the fourth commandment where he found it, a part of the eternal law of God, of which no jot or tittle was ever to pass away. May we never forget this!

Let us, in the second place, settle it in our minds, that our Lord Jesus Christ allows all works of real necessity and mercy to be done on the Sabbath day.

This is a principle which is abundantly established in the passage of Scripture we are now considering. We find our Lord justifying His disciples for plucking the ears of corn on a Sabbath. It was an act permitted in Scripture. (Deut. 23:25.) They "were hungry," and in need of food. Therefore they were not to blame. We find Him maintaining the lawfulness of healing a sick man on the Sabbath day. The man was suffering from disease and pain. In such a case it was no breach of God's commandment to afford relief. We ought never to rest from doing good.

The arguments by which our Lord supports the lawfulness of any work of necessity and mercy on the Sabbath, are striking and unanswerable. He reminds the Pharisees, who charged Him and His disciples with breaking the law, how David and his men, for lack of other food, had eaten the holy show-bread out of the tabernacle. He reminds them how the priests in the temple are obliged to do work on the Sabbath, by slaying animals and offering sacrifices. He reminds them how even a sheep would be helped out of a pit on the Sabbath, rather than allowed to suffer and die, by any one of themselves. Above all, He lays down the great principle, that no ordinance of God is to be pressed so far as to make us neglect the plain duties of charity. "I will have mercy and not sacrifice." The first table of the law is not to be so interpreted as to make us break the second. The fourth commandment is not to be so explained, as to make us unkind and unmerciful to our neighbor. There is deep wisdom in all this. We are reminded of the saying, "Never a man spoke like this man."

In leaving the subject, let us beware that we are never tempted to take low views of the sanctity of the Christian Sabbath. Let us take care that we do not make our gracious Lord's teaching an excuse for Sabbath profanation. Let us not abuse the liberty which He has so clearly marked out for us, and pretend that we do things on the Sabbath from "necessity and mercy," which in reality we do for our own selfish gratification.

There is great reason for warning people on this point. The mistakes of the Pharisee about the Sabbath were in one direction. The mistakes of the Christian are in another. The Pharisee pretended to add to the holiness of the day. The Christian is too often disposed to take away from that holiness, and to keep the day in an idle, profane, irreverent manner. May we all watch our own conduct on this subject. Saving Christianity is closely bound up with Sabbath observance. May we never forget that our great aim should be to "keep the Sabbath holy." Works of necessity may be done. "It is lawful to do well," and show mercy. But to give the Sabbath to idleness, pleasure-seeking, or the world, is utterly unlawful. It is contrary to the example of Christ, and a sin against a plain commandment of God." ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, Chapter 12:1-13

Reformed Worship, Part 17

Pastor Tom Chantry of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Milwaukee, WI continues his excellent series on Reformed Worship. Here is an excerpt from Part 17.

"The second category of distractions is made up of those necessities of life which we might have dealt with during the six days, but which instead eat away at our Sabbath. Christians sometimes refer to Christ’s words about pulling an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, arguing that the work they are doing is necessary. It is true that sometimes circumstances conspire against our Sabbath, requiring emergency measures. How often, though, have we placed ourselves in such a circumstance by failing to do “all our work” in the six days God gave us? A pastor friend of mine once said that it was fine to pull your ox out of a ditch on Sunday, provided you had not pushed him in on Saturday. When the week is spent in procrastination, we are without excuse for failing to honor the Lord’s Day.

Diligence during the week is the prerequisite to whole-hearted worship on the Sabbath. It is wise to ask oneself a series of questions before the Sabbath arrives. Is my work done, at least as far as it needs to be done before Monday? Is there food in the house? Is there gas in the car? Am I ready to do nothing tomorrow but focus on the God of Glory? If so, I have used my six days wisely, and my Sabbath should be a blessing." ~ Pastor Tom Chantry, Reformed Worship, Part 17

It's A Sad Day...

Speaker Pelosi's daughter documents Christian right
Reuters - Jan. 21, 2007 (Click on the link above to read the full article)

Alexandra Pelosi, a former TV news producer who documented Bush's 2000 presidential campaign in her award-winning "Journeys with George," said she traveled through 16 states and conducted some 800 interviews to profile evangelicals who believe the Holy Bible is the word of God and should be strictly followed.

"If you live in Los Angeles or New York, you don't realize there's this whole group out there rejecting your culture," she said. "All I was trying to do was introduce blue staters to all the people who live in between New York and L.A.," she said.

In "Friends of God," audiences are taken on a road trip across the southern, midwestern and western United States, meeting parishioners in churches, kids at Christian concerts, a comedian for Jesus, a man who builds Holy crosses, and even audiences at a Christian professional wrestling match.

What emerges is an outsider's look at people who deeply believe abortion is wrong, gay marriage is bad and teaching evolution in public schools goes against the word of God.

Pelosi is a writer, director, camera operator and producer, which was her style on "Journeys with George" and her 2004 "Diary of a Political Tourist," which looked at that year's Democratic presidential candidates.

In 2004, of course, Bush was re-elected, again with overwhelming support of the evangelical movement.

"You can say what you want about the evangelicals, but in the end you have to respect these people because they are so (politically) organized and so mobilized," she said. "I did come away with a profound respect for that."

"Friends of God" debuts on HBO on January 25.

Beloved,

It's a sad day when the American evangelical church is known more for its faith in President Bush instead of the God who revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. It is a sad day when the church is known more for its political organization instead of its bold proclamation of the Holy Word of God. It is a sad day indeed when the church is engaged in wrestling matches instead of wrestling "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Let us pray that God's all-consuming holiness would ignite in us an ever burning zeal for our beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His blood bought church!

In Christ,

Des

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

146:1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;

7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;

8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The Lord will reign forever,your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 146 ~ The Holy Bible English Standard Version

J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew 10:34-42

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

In these verses the great Head of the Church winds up His first charge to those whom He sends forth to make known His Gospel. He declares three great truths, which form a fitting conclusion to the whole discourse. ~ Matthew 10:34-42, ESV

In the first place, He bids us remember that His Gospel will not cause peace and agreement wherever it comes. "I didn't come to send peace, but a sword." The object of His first coming on earth was not to set up a millennial kingdom in which all would be of one mind, but to bring in the Gospel, which would lead to strifes and divisions. We have no right to be surprised, if we see this continually fulfilled. We are not to think it strange, if the Gospel rends asunder families, and causes estrangement between the nearest relations. It is sure to do so in many cases, because of the deep corruption of man's heart. So long as one man believes, and another remains unbelieving--so long as one is resolved to keep his sins, and another desirous to give them up, the result of the preaching of the Gospel must needs be division. For this the Gospel is not to blame, but the heart of man.

There is a deep truth in all this, which is constantly forgotten and overlooked. Many talk vaguely about unity, and harmony, and peace in the Church of Christ, as if they were things that we ought always to expect, and for the sake of which everything ought to be sacrificed. Such people would do well to remember the words of our Lord. No doubt unity and peace are mighty blessings. We ought to seek them, pray for them, and give up everything in order to obtain them, excepting truth and a good conscience. But it is an idle dream to suppose that the churches of Christ will enjoy much of unity and peace before the millennium comes.

In the second place, our Lord tells us that true Christians must make up their minds to trouble in this world. Whether we are ministers or hearers, whether we teach or are taught, it makes little difference. We must carry "a cross." We must be content to lose even life itself for Christ's sake. We must submit to the loss of man's favor, we must endure hardships, we must deny ourselves in many things, or we shall never reach heaven at last. So long as the world, the devil, and our own hearts, are what they are, these things must be so.

We shall find it most useful to remember this lesson ourselves, and to impress it upon others. Few things do so much harm in religion as exaggerated expectations. People look for a degree of worldly comfort in Christ's service which they have no right to expect, and not finding what they look for, are tempted to give up religion in disgust. Happy is he who thoroughly understands, that though Christianity holds out a crown in the end, it brings also a cross in the way.

In the last place, our Lord cheers us by saying that the least service done to those who work in His cause is observed and rewarded of God. He that gives a believer so little as "a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, will in no way lose his reward."

There is something very beautiful in this promise. It teaches us that the eyes of the great Master are ever upon those who labor for him, and try to do good. They seem perhaps to work on unnoticed and unregarded. The proceedings of preachers, and missionaries, and teachers, and visitors of the poor, may appear very trifling and insignificant, compared to the movements of kings and parliaments, of armies and of statesmen. But they are not insignificant in the eyes of God. He takes notice who opposes His servants, and who helps them. He observes who is kind to them, as Lydia was to Paul--and who throws difficulties in their way, as Diotrephes did to John. All their daily experience is recorded, as they labor on in His harvest. All is written down in the great book of His remembrance, and will be brought to light at the last day. The chief butler forgot Joseph, when he was restored to his place. But the Lord Jesus never forgets any of His people. He will say to many who little expect it, in the resurrection morning, "I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink." (Matt. 25:35.)

Let us ask ourselves, as we close the chapter, in what light we regard Christ's work and Christ's cause in the world? Are we helpers of it, or hinderers? Do we in anyway aid the Lord's "prophets," and "righteous men?" Do we assist His "little ones?" Do we impede His laborers, or do we cheer them on? These are serious questions. They do well and wisely who give the "cup of cold water," whenever they have opportunity. They do better still who work actively in the Lord's vineyard. May we all strive to leave the world a better world than it was when we were born! This is to have the mind of Christ. This is to find out the value of the lessons this wonderful chapter contains. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, Chapter 10:34-42

J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew 8:16-27

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” ~ Matthew 8:16-27, ESV

"In the first part of these verses we see a striking example of our Lord's wisdom in dealing with those who professed a willingness to be His disciples. The passage throws so much light on a subject frequently misunderstood in these days, that it deserves more than ordinary attention.

A certain scribe offers to follow our Lord wherever He goes. It was a remarkable offer, when we consider the class to which the man belonged, and the time at which it was made. But the offer receives a remarkable answer. It is not directly accepted, nor yet flatly rejected. Our Lord only makes the solemn reply, "the foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

Another follower of our Lord next comes forward, and asks to be allowed to "bury his father," before going any further in the path of a disciple. The request seems, at first sight, a natural and lawful one. But it draws from our Lord's lips a reply no less solemn than that already referred to, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead."

There is something deeply impressive in both these sayings. They ought to be well weighed by all professing Christians. They teach us plainly, that people who show a desire to come forward and profess themselves true disciples of Christ, should be warned plainly to "count the cost," before they begin. Are they prepared to endure hardship? Are they ready to carry the cross? If not, they are not yet fit to begin. They teach us plainly that there are times when a Christian must literally give up all for Christ's sake, and when even such duties as attending to a parent's funeral must be left to be performed by others. Such duties some will always be ready to attend to; and at no time can they be put in comparison with the greater duty of preaching the Gospel, and doing Christ's work in the world.

It would be well for the churches of Christ, if these sayings of our Lord were more remembered than they are. It may well be feared, that the lesson they contain is too often overlooked by the ministers of the Gospel, and that thousands are admitted to full communion, who are never warned to "count the cost." Nothing, in fact, has done more harm to Christianity than the practice of filling the ranks of Christ's army with every volunteer who is willing to make a little profession, and talk fluently of his experience. It has been painfully forgotten that numbers alone do not make strength, and that there may be a great quantity of mere outward religion, while there is very little real grace. Let us all remember this. Let us keep back nothing from young professors and inquirers after Christ. Let us not enlist them on false pretenses. Let us tell them plainly that there is a crown of glory at the end. But let us tell them no less plainly, that there is a daily cross in the way.

In the latter part of these verses we learn, that true saving faith is often mingled with much weakness and infirmity. It is a humbling lesson, but a very wholesome one.

We are told of our Lord and His disciples crossing the sea of Galilee in a boat. A storm arises, and the boat is in danger of being filled with water, by the waves that beat over it. Meanwhile our Lord is asleep. The frightened disciples awake Him, and cry to Him for help. He hears their cry and stills the waters with a word, so that there is "a great calm." At the same time, He gently reproves the anxiety of His disciples. "Why are you fearful, oh you of little faith!"

What a vivid picture we have here of the hearts of thousands of believers! How many have faith and love enough to forsake all for Christ's sake, and follow Him wherever He goes, and yet are full of fears in the hour of trial! How many have grace enough to turn to Jesus in every trouble, crying, "Lord save us," and yet not grace enough to lie still, and believe in the darkest hour that all is well! Truly believers have reason indeed to be "clothed with humility."

Let the prayer "Lord, increase our faith," always form part of our daily petitions. We never perhaps know the weakness of our faith, until we are placed in the furnace of trial and anxiety. Blessed and happy is that person who finds by experience that his faith can stand the fire, and that he can say with Job, "though he slays me, yet will I trust in him." (Job 13:15.)

We have great reason to thank God that Jesus, our great High-priest, is very compassionate and tenderhearted. He knows our frame. He considers our infirmities. He does not cast off His people because of defects. He pities even those whom he reproves. The prayer even of "little faith" is heard, and gets an answer." ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, Chapter 8:16-27

Read online, buy the book or purchase this superb series of commentaries on the Gospels by J.C. Ryle.

J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew

I continue to be blessed by the time I invest each day in the Bible. One of my favorite heroes of the Christian faith is J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), who wrote a superb series of commentaries on the Gospels. I am currently reading Matthew and Ryle's Expository thoughts on this Gospel are extremely insightful, concise and a pleasure to read. I give it my highest recommendation and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Here is a sample from J.C. Ryle's Expository thoughts on Matthew that I found to be an excellent exhortation to every disciple of Jesus Christ. You can read online the whole series of Expository thoughts on the Gospels by J.C. Ryle from Grace Gems.

4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Matthew 4:1-11, ESV

"...Let us learn in the next place, that the chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, "it is written."

Here is one among many reasons, why we ought to be diligent readers of our Bibles. The Word is the sword of the Spirit. We shall never fight a good fight, if we do not use it as our principal weapon. The Word is the lamp for our feet. We shall never keep the king's highway to heaven, if we do not journey by its light. It may well be feared, that there is not enough Bible-reading among us. It is not sufficient to have the Book. We must actually read it, and pray over it ourselves. It will do us no good, if it only lies still in our houses. We must be actually familiar with its contents, and have its texts stored in our memories and minds. Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, attentive, wakeful reading. Do we grudge the time and trouble this will cost us? If we do, we are not yet fit for the kingdom of God." ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, Chapter 4:1-11

EVENING

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

Friday, January 19, 2007

EVENING:

“Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.” ~ Luke 24:45

He whom we viewed last evening as opening Scripture, we here perceive opening the understanding. In the first work he has many fellow-labourers, but in the second he stands alone; many can bring the Scriptures to the mind, but the Lord alone can prepare the mind to receive the Scriptures. Our Lord Jesus differs from all other teachers; they reach the ear, but he instructs the heart; they deal with the outward letter, but he imparts an inward taste for the truth, by which we perceive its savour and spirit. The most unlearned of men become ripe scholars in the school of grace when the Lord Jesus by his Holy Spirit unfolds the mysteries of the kingdom to them, and grants the divine anointing by which they are enabled to behold the invisible. Happy are we if we have had our understandings cleared and strengthened by the Master! How many men of profound learning are ignorant of eternal things! They know the killing letter of revelation, but its killing spirit they cannot discern; they have a veil upon their hearts which the eyes of carnal reason cannot penetrate. Such was our case a little time ago; we who now see were once utterly blind; truth was to us as beauty in the dark, a thing unnoticed and neglected. Had it not been for the love of Jesus we should have remained to this moment in utter ignorance, for without his gracious opening of our understanding, we could no more have attained to spiritual knowledge than an infant can climb the Pyramids, or an ostrich fly up to the stars. Jesus’ College is the only one in which God’s truth can be really learned; other schools may teach us what is to be believed, but Christ’s alone can show us how to believe it. Let us sit at the feet of Jesus, and by earnest prayer call in his blessed aid that our dull wits may grow brighter, and our feeble understandings may receive heavenly things.

Sovereign Grace

Sovereign Grace
AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Before the world's creation, He chose me for His own,
and this He did without a cause, by Sovereign Grace alone.

My place He then appointed, my special work He planned,
and what He wills He'll bring to pass, by His almighty hand.

Sometimes by many trials, He works His will in me,
Sometimes in quiet pastures, He leads me tenderly.

His ways I cannot fathom, I do not need to see,
By Grace all work together, work only good for me.

And through eternal ages I still shall be His own, His loved,
Redeemed, and chosen one, by Sovereign Grace alone.

MORNING & EVENING

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

Thursday, January 18, 2007

MORNING:

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." ~ Hebrews 4:9

How different will be the state of the believer in heaven from what it is here! Here he is born to toil and suffer weariness, but in the landof the immortal, fatigue is never known. Anxious to serve his Master, he finds his strength unequal to his zeal: his constant cry is, "Help me to serve thee, O my God." If he be thoroughly active, he will have much labour; not too much for his will, but more than enough for his power, so that he will cry out, "I am not wearied of the labour, but I am wearied in it." Ah! Christian, the hot day of weariness lasts not for ever; the sun is nearing the horizon; it shall rise again with a brighter day than thou hast ever seen upon a land where they serve God day and night, and yet rest from their labours. Here, rest is but partial, there, it is perfect. Here, the Christian is always unsettled; he feels that he has not yet attained. There, all are at rest; they have attained the summit of the mountain; they have ascended to the bosom of their God. Higher they cannot go. Ah, toil-worn labourer, only think when thou shalt rest for ever! Canst thou conceive it? It is a rest eternal; a rest that "remaineth." Here, my best joys bear "mortal"on their brow; my fair flowers fade; my dainty cups are drained to dregs; my sweetest birds fall before Death's arrows; my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights; and the flood-tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow; but there, everything is immortal; the harp abides unrusted, the crown unwithered, the eye undimmed, the voice unfaltering, the heart unwavering, and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in infinite delight. Happy day! happy! when mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and the Eternal Sabbath shall begin.

EVENING:

"He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." ~ Luke 24:27

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had a most profitable journey. Their companion and teacher was the best of tutors; the interpreter one of a thousand, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Lord Jesus condescended to become a preacher of the gospel, and he was not ashamed to exercise his calling before an audience of two persons, neither does he now refuse to become the teacher of even one. Let us court the company of so excellent an Instructor, for till he is made unto us wisdom we shall never be wise unto salvation.

This unrivalled tutor used as his class-book the best of books. Although able to reveal fresh truth, he preferred to expound the old. He knew by his omniscience what was the most instructive way of teaching, and by turning at once to Moses and the prophets, he showed us that the surest road to wisdom is not speculation, reasoning, or reading human books, but meditation upon the Word of God. The readiest way to be spiritually rich in heavenly knowledge is to dig in this mine of diamonds, to gather pearls from this heavenly sea. When Jesus himself sought to enrich others, he wrought in the quarry of Holy Scripture.

The favoured pair were led to consider the best of subjects, for Jesus spake of Jesus, and expounded the things concerning himself. Here the diamond cut the diamond, and what could be more admirable? The Master of the House unlocked his own doors, conducted the guests to his table, and placed his own dainties upon it. He who hid the treasure in the field himself guided the searchers to it. Our Lord would naturally discourse upon the sweetest of topics, and he could find none sweeter than his own person and work: with an eye to these we should always search the Word. O for grace to study the Bible with Jesus as both our teacher and our lesson!