Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 13, 2011

The Dew of Heaven

His heavens shall also drop dew.

                                                                                     ~Deuteronomy 33:28

  "How greatly do I need the dew of the Spirit! Without the Spirit of God I am a dry and withered thing. How sweetly does this dew refresh me! when once favored with it, I feel happy, lively, vigorous, elevated. I want nothing more. The Holy Spirit brings me life and all that life requires. When He bedews me, every means of grace is sweet and profitable.

  What a promise is this for me! "His heavens shall also drop dew." I shall be visited with grace. May I, at this very hour, feel the gentle, silent, saturating dew of the Lord! He who has made me to live as the grass lives in the meadow will treat me as He treats the grass; He will refresh me from above. Grass cannot call for dew as I do. Surely the Lord who visits the unpraying plant will answer to His pleading child."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions) 

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 12, 2011

What of My House?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.

~ Acts 16:31

  "This verse would suit me if I was dying, and it is all that I need while I am living. I look away from self, and I trust the Lord Jesus. I believe in Him; I rest on Him; I accept Him to be my all.

  Lord, I would not run away with half a promise when You give a whole one. I implore You, save all my "household." Save the nearest and dearest. Be gracious to all who dwell under my roof or work for me. You make this promise to me personally if I believe in the Lord Jesus; I ask You, do as You have said.
  I would go over in my prayer every day the names of all my brothers and sisters, parents, children, friends, relatives, and servants and give You no rest till that word is fulfilled, "and your household."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 11, 2011

Sufferers Make Strong Believers

It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

                                                                           ~ Lamentations 3:27

  "This is as good as a promise. It has been good, it is good, and it will be good for me to bear the yoke.
  the yoke of censure is an irksome one, but it prepares a man for future honor. He is not fit to be a leader who has not run the gauntlet of contempt. Praise intoxicates if it be not preceded by abuse. Men who rise to eminence without a struggle usually fall into dishonor.

  The yoke of affliction, disappointment, and excessive labor is by no means to be sought for; but when the Lord lays it on us in our youth, it frequently develops a character that glorifies God and blesses the Church.
  Come my soul, bow your neck; take up your cross. It was good for you when young; it will not harm you now. For Jesus' sake, shoulder it cheerfully."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 10, 2011

Coming In, Going Out

"Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out."

~ Deuteronomy 28:6

  "If I keep the commands of my Lord, I may appropriate this promise without question.
  This day I will come into my closet expecting to hear good news from my Lord. I will not be afraid to come in unto myself by self-examination, not to come into my affairs by a diligent inspection of my business. Oh, for the blessings of the Lord Jesus, who has promised to abide with me.
  I must also go out. Timidity makes me wish that I could stay within doors and never go into the sinful world. But I must go out in my calling; I must be a defender of the faith and an assailant of evil. Oh, for a blessing upon my going out this day!
  Lord, let me go where You lead, on Your errands, under Your command, and in the power of Your Spirit."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 9, 2011

Fear Has Its Place

Happy is the man that feareth always.

                                                                           ~ Proverbs 28:14 KJV

  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning and the foundation of all true religion. He is happy who  feels a jealous fear of doing wrong. Holy fear looks not only before it leaps, but even before it moves. It is afraid of error, of neglecting duty, of committing sin. It fears ill company, loose talk, and questionable policy. He who foresees evil and escapes it is destroyed.

   When you finally accept Jesus

   into your heart, the fear of the

  Lord is automatically there. It

  is something that the Lord has

 instilled upon your heart, to not

 want to sin.

  Fear of God is a quiet grace that leads a man along a choice road, of which it is written, "No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it" (Isa. 35:9). In both senses he that "feareth always" is made happy. Solomon had tried both worldliness and holy fear: in the one he found vanity, in the other happiness. Let us not repeat his trial, but abide by his verdict."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 8, 2011

Broken and Smoking

A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench.

~ Isaiah 42:3

  "Then I may reckon upon tender treatment from my Lord. Indeed, I feel myself to be at best as weak, as pliant, as worthless as a reed. Alas! I am worse than a reed when it grows by the river, for that at least can hold up its head. I am bruised; sorely, sadly bruised. There is no music in me now. Yet Jesus will not break me; and if He will not, then I mind little what others try to do. Compassionate Lord, I nestle down beneath Your protection and forget my bruises!

    A smoking flax He

    will not quench.

  Truly I am also fit to be likened to the "smoking flax," whose light is gone, and only its smoke remains. I fear I am rather a nuisance than a benefit. Yet Jesus will not quench me; therefore, I am hopeful. Lord, kindle me anew and cause me to shine forth to Your glory, and to the extolling of Your tenderness."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 7, 2011

The Reach of Almighty Grace

And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, "You are not My people," there it shall be said to them, "You are sons of the living God."

~ Hosea 1:10

  Joined together in hands

  and heart praising our

 Sovereign Grace.

  "Sovereign grace can make strangers into sons, and the Lord here declares His purpose to deal thus with rebels. Let us join hands and hearts in praising Him.
  Some of us were so ungodly that the Lord's Word said to our conscience and heart, "You are not My people." Truly a sad, condemning voice it was.

  God tending to our hearts,

  changing our every thought

  and action.

  But now, in the same places from the same ministry and Scripture, we hear a voice saying, "You are the sons of the living God." Does it not give us hope for others? who is beyond the reach of almighty grace? How can we despair of any, since the Lord has wrought so marvelous a change in us?

    Our Sovereign King,

   God Jehovah watching

   Over His Children.

  He who has kept this one great promise will keep every other; therefore, let us go forward with songs of adoration and confidence."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 6, 2011

A Strong Heart

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

~ Psalm 27:14

  "Wait! Wait! Let your waiting be on the Lord! He is worth waiting for. He never disappoints the waiting soul.

  While waiting, keep up your spirits. Expect a great deliverance, and be ready to praise God for it. "He shall strengthen your heart." This goes at once to the place where you need help. If the heart be sound, all the rest of the system will work well. The heart wants calming and cheering, and both of these will come if it be strengthened. A forceful heart rests and rejoices and throbs force into the whole man.

  God is full of strength, and therefore, He can impart it to those who need it. Be brave; for the Lord will impart His strength to you, and you shall be calm in tempest and glad in sorrow.
  Wait on the Lord. I know by long and deep experience that it is good to wait upon the Lord."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 5, 2011

With Me Wherever I Am

The Lord is with you.

                                                                   ~ 2 Chronicles 20:17

When you are weak

and cannot walk The

 Lord is with you.

  "If the Lord be with me, it matters little who may desert me. If the Lord be with me, I shall conquer in the battle of life. How can I be sure that the Lord is with me?

In times of trouble

and you feel like

your are drowning,

The Lord is with you.

  For certain He is with me if I am with Him. If I trust in His faithfulness, believe His words, and obey His commands, He is assuredly with me. If I live to honor God, I may be sure that He will honor me.
  If I have placed my soul in the hands of God's only-begotten Son, then I may be sure that the Father will put forth all His power to preserve me, that His Son may not be dishonored.

When you are feeling lonely

The Lord is there with you.

  Lord, fulfill this word to me! Be with me in the house, in the street, in the field, in the shop, in the company, and alone. Be with all Your people."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 4, 2011

Victory without Battle

"Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword or battle, by horses or horsemen."

~ Hosea 1:7

  God sent His messenger to

  warn His people of the

  things that are to come.

  "Jehovah Himself will deliver His people, but He will not do it by the ordinary means. Men are slow to render to God the glory due unto His name. If they go to battle with sword and bow, and win, they magnify their own right arm and glory in their horses and horsemen. For this reason our Jehovah often determines to save His people without second means, that all the honor may be to Himself alone.

God reaches out of Heaven

to deliver His people.

  Look to the Lord alone, and not to man. Expect to see God all the more clearly when there is no one else to look to. If I have no one at my back, let me be confident it I can feel that the Lord is on my side. Why do I ask for horses and horsemen if Jehovah Himself lifts up His arm for my defense? Let me trust and not be afraid from this day forth."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 3, 2011

Out of Spiritual Death

"Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves."

~ Ezekiel 37:13

 God Almighty, God Jehovah
 will bring them dry bones
 out of spiritual death and
 into spiritual life. A life they

 never knew.

  "This is the greatest and most remarkable of all changes - to be brought out of the grave of spiritual death, and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of spiritual life. None could work this but the living God.
  How well do I remember when I was in the valley full of dry bones! Blessed was the day when sovereign grace sent a man of God to prophesy upon me! Glory be to God for the stirring which that word of faith caused among the dry bones. More blessed still was that heavenly breath from the four winds that made me live!

Valley of dry bones being

brought from spiritual death

into spiritual life by God.

  My new life, even in its pinings and sorrowings, is clear proof to me that the Lord can kill and make alive. He is the only God, and my quickened soul adores Him as the great I AM. As long as I live I will praise Him."
(BY: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)



Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 2, 2011

Follow to Know

Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

~ Hosea 6:3

  Jesus said, "Die

  to your flesh (sin).

 Lay your burdens

 down at my feet
and I will take
care of you.

Jesus is the Potter,

and you are the clay.

Let Him mold you

into the person that

God created you to be.

  "Not all at once, but by degrees shall we attain to holy knowledge, little by little. We need not despair, though our progress may be slow, for the Lord will not give us up, however slow of understanding we may be. The Lord delights to make the simple wise.
  To know the Triune God, this is life eternal: let us keep to this, for then we shall gain complete instruction. By following on to know the Lord, we learn healing after being torn, and life after death. Experience has its perfect work when the heart follows the trackway of the Lord.

Jesus said, "Pick up your

cross and follow me daily.

  My soul, keep close to Jesus, follow on to know Him, and so you will come to the knowledge of Christ, which is the most excellent of all the sciences. The Holy Ghost will lead you into all truth. Is not this His gracious office? Rely upon Him to  fulfill it."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

September 1, 2011

Abiding in Obedience and Love

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love."

~ John 15:10

  "These things cannot be parted - abiding in obedience and abiding in the love of Jesus. We must keep our Lord's command if we would bask in His love.
  Conscious enjoyment of our Lord's love is a delicate thing. When we are tender of heart and careful in thought, mouth, and life to honor our Lord Jesus, then we receive tokens of His love without number. If  we desire to perpetuate such bliss, we must perpetuate holiness. The Lord Jesus will not hide His face from us unless we hide our face from Him.

  Sin makes the cloud that darkens our Sun: if we will be watchfully obedient and completely consecrated, we may walk in the light, as God is in the light. Here is a sweet promise with a solemn "if". Lord, let me have this "if" in my hand, for as a key it opens this casket."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

August 31, 2011

Divine, Ever-Living, Unchanging

"The word of the Lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

~ 1 Peter 1:25

Teachings of man

will pass away.

The teachings of God

will endure Forever.

  "All human teaching shall pass away; but we are assured that the Word of the Lord shall endure forever.
  We have a divine gospel; for what word can endure forever but that which is spoken by the eternal God?
  We have an ever-living gospel, as full of vitality as when it first came from the lips of God; as strong to convince and convert, console, sustain and sanctify, as ever it was in its first days.

The Holy Bible is the Living Truth

 of God which will endure Forever.

  We have an unchanging gospel, which is not today green grass and tomorrow dry hay, but always the abiding truth of God. Opinions alter, but truth certified by God can no more change than the God who uttered it.
  Here, then, we have a gospel to rejoice in. Feed on the Word today, and all the days of your life."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

August 30, 2011

Solace, Security, Satisfaction

Although my house is not so with God, yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; will He not make it increase?

~ 2 Samuel 23:5

He died for our sins.

      Jesus sent the Holy

     Spirit so that we may be

     born again in the spirit.

  "These are David's words, but they may be mine today. Here is a sigh: things are not with me as I could wish; there are trials, cares, and sins. These make the pillow hard.
  Here is a solace, "He has made with me an everlasting covenant." Jehovah has pledged Himself to me and sealed the compact with the blood of Jesus. I am bound to my God, and my God to me.

       Jesus Christ is our
      Everlasting Covenant,
     through His shed Blood!

  This brings into prominence a security, since this covenant is everlasting and sure. There is nothing to fear from the lapse of time, or the natural uncertainty of things.

He goes to prepare

a place for us so that

we can be with him.

  David feels satisfaction: he wants no more for salvation; he is delivered, and he is delighted. The covenant is all a man can desire.
  Turn this day to the Lord Jesus, whom the great Lord has given to be a covenant to the people."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

August 29, 2011

Plentiful Refreshment

"Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden."

~ Jeremiah 31:12

The Holy Spirit water's

and refreshes our souls.

  "oh, to have one's soul under heavenly cultivation; no longer a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord! Walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, and guarded by divine power, one's favored soul is prepared to yield fruit unto the Lord.

The Living Water that flows from

Heaven that Cultivates our souls.

  But a garden may become parched for want of water, and then it starts to wither. How soon would this be the case, were the Lord to leave us! A garden without water ceases to be a garden at all: nothing can come to perfection, grow or even live.
  But when irrigation is kept up, the result is charming. Oh, to have one's soul watered by the Holy Spirit uniformly, every part of the garden having its own stream. Bringing not only its heat, but its refreshment; each plant receiving just what it needs.
  Lord, water me today, and cause me to yield You a full reward."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

August 28, 2011

Out of Any Circumstance

As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me.

~ Psalm 55:16

  "I must and will pray. What else can I do? What better can I do? Betrayed, forsaken, grieved, baffled, Lord, I will call upon You. I encourage my heart in the Lord, who will bear me through this trial as He has borne me through so many others.
  The Lord alone shall save me. I desire no other helper. I will cry to Him evening, morning, and noon, and I will cry to no one else, for He is All-sufficient.

  How He will save me I cannot guess, but He will do it. He will do it in the best and surest way. Out of this trouble and all future troubles, the great I AM will bring me as surely as He lives. This shall be my song all through today. Is it not as a ripe apple from the tree of life? I will feed upon it. How sweet it is to my taste!"
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

August 27, 2011

Choice Men

"I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."

~ Isaiah 48:10 KJV

In the midst of

our storm, God

is there with us.

Even in the fiery furnace

God is with us keeping

us safe from the flames.

  "It is no mean thing to be chosen of God. So eminent is this privilege, that whatever drawback may be joined to it we very joyfully accept it. We choose the furnace since God chooses us in it.
  We are chosen as an afflicted people and not as a prosperous people: chosen not in the palace, but in the furnace. In the furnace beauty is marred, strength is melted, glory is consumed, and yet here eternal love reveals its secrets and declares its choice. So has it been in our case. In times of severest trial, God has made to us our calling and election plain. We have chosen the Lord to be our God, and He has shown that we are assuredly His chosen.

When Daniel was in the lions

den, God sent an Angel to shut

the mouths of the lions so that

they could not attack Daniel.

  Therefore, if today the furnace be heated seven times hotter, we will not dread it, for the glorious Son of God will walk with us amid the glowing coals."
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)

Faith's Checkbook (By: C.H. Spurgeon)

August 26, 2011

He of Tender Conscience

"I will judge between sheep and sheep."

~ Ezekiel 34:22

  "Some are fat and flourishing, and therefore they are unkind to the feeble. This is a grievous sin and causes much sorrow. The Lord takes note of their proud and unkind deeds, and He is greatly angered by them, for He loves the weak.
  Is the reader one of the despaired? Is he a mourner in Zion and a marked man because of his tender conscience? Is he judged harshly by others? Let him not resent their conduct; above all let him not push and thrust in return. Let him leave the matter in the Lord's hands. He is the Judge. Why should we wish to intrude upon His office? He will decide much more righteously than we can. His time for judgment is the best, and we need not be in a hurry to hasten it on.
  Patience, my soul! patience! The Lord knows your grief. your Jesus has pity upon you!
(By: Charles H. Spurgeon ~ One Minute Devotions)