| Devotional | The disciple whom Jesus loved . . . leaned on his breast
An American gentleman once visited the saintly Albert Bengel. He was very desirous to hear him pray. So one night he lingered at his door, hoping to overhear his closing devotions. The rooms were adjoining and the doors ajar. The good man finished his studies, closed his books, knelt down for a moment and simply said, "Dear Lord Jesus, things are ...read |
| Devotional | The earnest of the Spirit in our hearts
Life in earnest-what a rare, what a glorious spectacle! We see it in the Son of God; we see it in His apostle; we see it in every noble, consecrated and truly successful life. Without it there may be a thousand good things, but they lack the golden thread that binds them all into a chain of power and permanence. They are like costly and beautiful ...read |
| Devotional | The faith of the Son of God
Let us learn the secret of our faith. It is the faith of Christ, springing in our hearts and trusting in our trials. So shall we always sing, The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). If we keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebre ...read |
| Devotional | The fruit of the Spirit is . . . goodness
Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit. Goodness is just "Godness." it is being like God. And godlike goodness has special reference to the active benevolence of God. The apostle Paul gave us the difference between goodness and righteousness in Romans 5:7: Scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare ...read |
| Devotional | The fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ
Many Christians fail to see all the blessings that are centered in Christ. They want to get the blessing of salvation, but that is not the Christ. They want to get the blessing of His grace to help, but that is not Him. They want to get answered prayer from Him in order to work for Him. You might have all that and not have the blessing of Christ Hi ...read |
| Devotional | The furnace for gold; but the Lord trieth the hearts
Remember that temptation is not sin unless it is accompanied with the consent of your will. There may seem to be even the inclination, and yet the real choice of your spirit is fixed immovably against it, and God regards it simply as a solicitation and credits you with an obedience all the more pleasing to Him because the temptation was so strong. ...read |
| Devotional | The glorious, liberty of the children of God
Are you above self and self-pleasing in every way? Have you risen above circumstances so that you are not influenced by them? Are you above sickness and the evil forces around that would drag down your physical life into the quicksands? These forces are all around and if yielded to would quickly swamp us. God does not destroy sickness or its power ...read |
| Devotional | The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward
He comes by our side as our helper. More than that, He comes to dwell within us, to be the life in our blood, the fire in our thought, the faith within us, both in inception and consummation. Thus He becomes not only the recompense of the victor, but the resources of the victory. He is the Captain, the Overcomer and the Rear Guard in our lives. The ...read |
| Devotional | The God of Israel hath separated you
The little plant may grow out of a pile of refuse and be surrounded by filth and covered with the dust that floats on the breeze, but its white roots are separated from the unclean soil, and it leaves and flowers have no affinity with the dust that settles upon them. After a show of summer rain they throw off every particle of defilement and look ...read |
| Devotional | The government shall be upon his shoulder
You cannot make the heart restful by stopping its beating. Certain drugs will do that, but that is not really rest. Let the breath of life come-God's life and strength-and there will be sweet rest. Home ties and family affection will not bring it. Deliverance from trouble will not bring it. Many a tried heart has said: "if this great trouble were ...read |
| Sermon | The Joy of the Lord
"The joy of the Lord is your strength." Neh. viii:10.
There is no more pointed difference between Christianity and all other religions than the element of joyfulness.
The natural countenance of heathenism is gloomy, and often profoundly sad. The true expression of a consecrated face is radiance and gladness. True, this is not always realize ...read |
| Sermon | The Larger Life
"Be ye also enlarged." 2 Cor. vi: 11.
The law of growth is a fundamental principle of all nature and redemption. Whatever ceases to grow begins to die; stagnancy brings corruption; the corpse belongs to the worm; a self-contained pool becomes a malarious swamp. Vegetation springs from a seed, the seed grows into a tree, and the tree into a fore ...read |
| Devotional | The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free
The life of Jesus Christ brought into our heart s by the Holy Spirit operates there as a new law of divine strength and vitality. it counteracts, overcomes and lifts us above the old law of sin and death. Let us illustrate these two laws by a simple comparison. By the law of gravity my hand naturally falls upon the desk and lies there, attracted do ...read |
| Devotional | The little foxes, that spoil the vines
There are some things good without being perfect. You do not need to have a whole regiment firing outside your room to wake you. It is quite enough that your alarm clock rings. it is not necessary to fret about everything; it is quite enough if the devil gets your mind rasped with one little worry, one little thought which destroys your perfect pea ...read |
| Devotional | the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance
The procedure was very significant. God gave the land to the other tribes of Israel, but He gave Himself to the Levites. There is such a thing in the Christian life as an inheritance from the Lord, and there is such a thing as having the Lord Himself for our inheritance. Some people receive a sanctification from the Lord that is of much value, but ...read |
| Devotional | The Lord will give grace and glory
This word glory is a very difficult one to translate, define or explain. But there is something in the spiritual consciousness of the quickened Christian that interprets it. it is the overflow of grace; it is the wine of life; it is the foretaste of heaven; it is a flash from the Throne and an inspiration from the heart of God which we may have and ...read |
| Devotional | The peace of God, which passeth all understanding
It is not peace with God, but the peace of God that [keeps our] hearts and minds. The peace which passeth all understanding is the very breath of God in the soul. He alone is able to keep it, and He can so keep it that "nothing shall offend us." Is this your experience? God's rest did not come until His work was finished. Nor will ours. We begin ...read |
| Devotional | The people shall be [a freewill offering]
This is what the term consecration properly means. It is the voluntary or self-offering of the heart, by the constraint of love, to be the Lord's. Its glad expression is, I am my beloved's (Song of Solomon 6:3). Surrender must spring, of course, from faith. There must be the full confidence that we are safe in this abandonment, that we are not fa ...read |
| Sermon | The Possibilities of Faith
"If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. "-Mark ix: 23.
These are bold and stupendous words. They open the treasure house of the Eternal King to sinful worms, and offer to the children of clay the privilege of God's own omnipotence and all the possibilities of His infinite resources. Side by side these two astounding ...read |
| Devotional | The righteousness of the law
Do you know the mistake you may be making? You may be saying: "It is not possible for me to be good; no one ever was perfect, and it is no use for me to try." I agree with the first sentence, "No one ever was perfect." But I cannot agree with the second, "There is no use in trying." There is a divine righteousness available to you. I don't m ...read |
A.B. Simpson