The Christian Journey. Life is a journey, often a short\none, and always uncertain. But there is another journey. The believer is\ntraveling through a waste howling wilderness, to another and a glorious region,\nwhere ineffable delight and happiness await us. The road is narrow, the entrance\nstrait, so strait that thousands miss it and perish in the wilderness. But true\nbelievers, under the teaching and convoy of the Holy Spirit, find it and walk\nin it. The King, in His infinite love and compassion, has made a hedge about\nthem, separating and defending them from the many beasts of prey that lurk\naround them; and although they hear their howlings and behold their\nthreatenings, they are safe from their power. But their strongest foe is within\nthemselves; a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. From\nthis there is no escape but by constant watchfulness, and earnest cries to\ntheir best Friend and Guide for protection. Were it not for this faithful\nGuide, how often, discouraged by reason of the way, would they turn back! But He\nwatches over them by night and by day, strengthens them when weak, upholds them\nwhen falling, encourages them when cast down, defends them when attacked,\nprovides for them when in need, leads them by living streams, and causes them\nthere to lie down in pleasant pastures, and on sunny banks. And as they advance\nthey obtain brighter views of the good land they are nearing, and they long to\nsee the King in His beauty, and the land that is yet very far off, and to meet\nthose that have already arrived on that happy shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n
————<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The eternal God is your refuge.” Deuteronomy\n33:27<\/p>\n\n\n\n
J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is, to my mind, much sweetness in the contrast\nbetween the eternal God being the refuge of his people, and the lying refuges\nthat most hide their heads in. God’s people need an eternal refuge. They have a\nnever-dying soul; and unless they have a never-dying refuge, it is not\nsufficient for a never-dying soul. Works! these are for time; the never-dying\nsoul needs something to stand when works and wonders cease. Doctrines,\nopinions, sentiments, ordinances, the good opinion of men, the applause and\nflattery of the creature–these are of the earth, earthy; they fail when a man\ngives up the spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But a child of God needs a refuge, not merely that his\nsoul may anchor in it in time, but that when time is ended, when the angel\nproclaims, “There shall be time no longer,” and his liberated soul\nescapes its prison-house, and is wafted into the presence of the eternal God,\nit may find in Him at that solemn moment a refuge. No, all through eternity, in\nthe rolling circle of its never-ending ages, the soul will still need a refuge.\nFor could it even in eternity exist for a moment out of Christ–in a word, were\nthe refuge of the elect anything but eternal, the moment the limited time of\ntheir shelter closed, the frowns of God would hurl them into perdition; so that\nnothing but an eternal God can ever be a refuge for a never-dying soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It does not say, “His grace is your refuge.”\nNo; because grace will end in glory. Nor does it say, “His mercy is your\nrefuge,” for his mercy will end in blessing and praise. Nor does it say,\n“His attributes or his perfections are a refuge.” It drops the gifts,\nand leads the soul up to the Giver, as though God’s own gifts and mercies were\nnot sufficient, but that the immortal soul must have the immortal God, and the\nnever-dying spirit is only safe in the bosom of an eternal Jehovah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
———<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The happiest Christians<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(John Newton’s Letters)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are the happiest Christians, who have the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
lowest thoughts of themselves, and in whose eyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is most glorious and precious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Unto you who believe He is precious.” 1 Peter\n2:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n
————<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weaned from feeding on husks and ashes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(J. C. Philpot, “Zion’s Blessings” 1843)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I will satisfy her poor with bread.” Psalm\n132:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord has given a special promise to Zion’s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
poor\u2014”I will satisfy her poor with bread.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nothing else? Bread? Is that all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes! That is all God has promised\u2014bread,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the staff of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what does He mean by “bread”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord Himself explains what bread is. He says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I am the Bread of life. He who comes to Me will<\/p>\n\n\n\n
never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will<\/p>\n\n\n\n
never be thirsty. I am the living Bread who came<\/p>\n\n\n\n
down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
he will live forever.” John 6:35,51<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bread, then, that God gives to Zion’s poor is<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His own dear Son\u2014fed upon by living faith, under<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the special operations of the Holy Spirit in the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I will satisfy her poor with bread.” Psalm\n132:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But must not we have an appetite before we can<\/p>\n\n\n\n
feed upon bread? The rich man who feasts continually<\/p>\n\n\n\n
upon juicy meat and savory sauces, would not live upon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
bread. To come down to live on such simple food as bread<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014why, one must be really hungry to be satisfied with\nthat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it is spiritually. A man fed upon ‘mere notions’ and a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
number of ‘speculative doctrines’ cannot descend to the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
simplicity of the gospel. To feed upon a crucified\nChrist,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a bleeding Jesus!\u2014he is not sufficiently brought down to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the starving point, to relish such spiritual food as\nthis!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before, then, he can feed upon this Bread of life he must<\/p>\n\n\n\n
be made spiritually poor. And when he is brought to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nothing but a mass of wretchedness, filth, guilt, and misery<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014when he feels his soul sinking under the wrath of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and has scarcely a hope to buoy up his poor tottering\nheart<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014when he finds the world embittered to him, and he has no<\/p>\n\n\n\n
one object from which he can reap any abiding consolation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014then the Lord is pleased to open up in his conscience,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and bring the sweet savor of the love of His dear Son<\/p>\n\n\n\n
into his heart\u2014and he begins to taste gospel bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being weaned from feeding on husks and ashes, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sick “of the vines of Sodom and the fields of\nGomorrah,”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and being brought to relish simple gospel food, he begins<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to taste a sweetness in ‘Christ crucified’ which he never<\/p>\n\n\n\n
could know\u2014until he was made experimentally poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord has promised to satisfy such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I will satisfy her poor with bread.” Psalm\n132:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cross has not become obsolete!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Horatius Bonar, “The Surety’s Cross”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to\nthose<\/p>\n\n\n\n
who are perishing; but to us who are being saved it is<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The whole world looked with contempt\u2014indignant at the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
audacity of a few humble Christians, thus affronting and <\/p>\n\n\n\n
defying the “public opinion” of nations and\nages; assailing <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the religions of earth with the cross as their only\nsword; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
striking down their idols with this as their only hammer;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and with this, as their one lever, proposing to turn the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
world upside down! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From that day the cross became “a power” in the\nearth;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a power which went forth, like the light\u2014noiselessly yet <\/p>\n\n\n\n
irresistibly\u2014smiting down all religions alike, all\nshrines <\/p>\n\n\n\n
alike, all altars alike\u2014sparing no superstition nor\nphilosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This power remains\u2014in its mystery, its silence, its\ninfluence,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
it remains. The cross has not become obsolete! The <\/p>\n\n\n\n
preaching of the cross has not ceased to be powerful and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
effectual!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are those who would persuade us that, in this\nmodern <\/p>\n\n\n\n
age\u2014the cross is out of date and out of fashion,\ntime-worn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this shakes us not. It only leads us to clasp the\ncross more <\/p>\n\n\n\n
fervently, and to study it more profoundly, as embodying\nin <\/p>\n\n\n\n
itself that gospel which is at once the wisdom and the\npower <\/p>\n\n\n\n
of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the cross is not without its mysteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It illuminates\u2014yet it darkens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is life\u2014yet it is death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is honor\u2014yet it is shame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is wisdom\u2014but also foolishness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
both pardon and condemnation; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
both strength and weakness; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
both joy and sorrow; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
both love and hatred; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
both medicine and poison; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
both hope and despair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is Christ’s humiliation\u2014yet it is His exaltation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is Satan’s victory\u2014yet it is Satan’s defeat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the gate of heaven\u2014and the gate of hell!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cross is the key to God’s character, His word, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His ways, His purposes. It is the summary of all <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the Bible\u2014the epitome of Revelation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IT IS I<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.”\nMark 6:50<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen, then, to the voice of Jesus in the storm. It is I\nwho raised the tempest in your soul, and will control it. It is I who sent your\naffliction, and will be with you in it. It is I who kindled the furnace, and\nwill watch the flames, and bring you through it. It is I who formed your\nburden, who carved your cross, and who will strengthen you to bear it. It is I\nwho mixed your cup of grief, and will enable you to drink it with meek\nsubmission to your Father’s will. It is I who took from you worldly substance,\nwho bereft you of your child, of the wife of your bosom, of the husband of your\nyouth, and will be infinitely better to you than husband, wife, or child. It is\nI who have done it ALL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I make the clouds my chariot, and clothe myself with the\ntempest as with a garment. The night hour is my time of coming, and the dark,\nsurging waves are the pavement upon which I walk. Take courage! It is I. Don’t\nbe afraid. It is I\u2014your Friend, your Brother, your Savior! I am causing all the\ncircumstances of your life to work together for your good. It is I who\npermitted the enemy to assail you, the slander to blast you, the unkindness to\nwound you, the need to press you! Your affliction did not spring out of the\nground, but came down from above\u2014a heaven sent blessing disguised as an angel\nof light clad in a robe of ebony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have sent all in love! This sickness is not unto death,\nbut for the glory of God. This bereavement shall not always bow you to the\nearth, nor drape in changeless gloom your life. It is I who ordered, arranged,\nand controlled it all! In every stormy wind, in every darksome night, in every\nlonesome hour, in every rising fear, the voice of Jesus shall be heard, saying,\n“Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year before our eyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(J. C. Philpot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“As your days\u2014so shall your strength be.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deuteronomy 33:25<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year before our eyes may hold in its bosom <\/p>\n\n\n\n
events which may deeply concern and affect us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We do not know what is to come. What personal <\/p>\n\n\n\n
trials, what family trials, what providential trials <\/p>\n\n\n\n
may await us\u2014we do not know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sickness may attack our bodies, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
death enter our families, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
difficulties beset our circumstances, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
trials and temptations exercise our minds, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
snares entangle our feet, and <\/p>\n\n\n\n
many dark and gloomy clouds, make our path <\/p>\n\n\n\n
one of heaviness and sorrow. Every year hitherto <\/p>\n\n\n\n
has brought its trials in its train; and how can we <\/p>\n\n\n\n
expect the coming year to be exempt?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If, indeed, we are His, whatever our trials <\/p>\n\n\n\n
may be, His grace will be sufficient for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He who has delivered, can and will deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And He who has brought us thus far on the road, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
who has so borne with our crooked manners in the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
wilderness and never yet forsaken us\u2014though we <\/p>\n\n\n\n
have so often forsaken Him\u2014will still lead us along; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
will still guide and guard us, and be our God, our <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Father and our Friend\u2014not only to the end of the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
next year, if spared to see it, but the end of our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blessed with His presence, we need fear no evil; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
favored with His smile, we need dread no foe;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
upheld by His power, we need shrink from no trial; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
strengthened by His grace, we need panic at no suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing what we are and have been when left to <\/p>\n\n\n\n
ourselves\u2014the slips that we have made, the snares <\/p>\n\n\n\n
that we have been entangled in, the shame and sorrow <\/p>\n\n\n\n
that we have procured to ourselves\u2014well may we dread <\/p>\n\n\n\n
to go forth in the coming year alone. Well may we say, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If Your Presence does not go with us\u2014do not send us\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
up from here!” Exodus 33:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eternally repose your weary <\/p>\n\n\n\n
soul in the bosom of Jesus! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(from “Go and Tell Jesus” by Octavius Winslow) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forward, believer in Christ, to the toils, duties, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
and trials of another stage of life’s journey! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is enough for them all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus will be with you in them all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus will triumphantly conduct you through them all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beloved one, live in the constant expectation <\/p>\n\n\n\n
of soon seeing Jesus face to face; conversing <\/p>\n\n\n\n
with He whom here below, cheered, comforted, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
and sweetened many a weary step of your <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christian pilgrimage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That moment is speeding on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a little while and all that now wounds and <\/p>\n\n\n\n
ruffles, tempts and pollutes, will have disappeared <\/p>\n\n\n\n
like the foam upon the billow, and you shall eternally <\/p>\n\n\n\n
repose your weary soul in the bosom of Jesus! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Christian Journey. Life is a journey, often a short one, and always uncertain. But there is another journey. The believer is traveling through a waste howling wilderness, to another and a glorious region, where ineffable delight and happiness await us. The road is narrow, the entrance strait, so strait that thousands miss it and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5666,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5665\/revisions\/5666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}