When Peter walked on the water and saw the\nboisterous waves, the howling wind and began to sink, he simply prayed, \u201cLord\nsave me.\u201d A certain woman of Canaan, whom the Lord referred to as a Gentile\ndog, had a possessed daughter, and in seeking mercy for her she prayed, \u201cLord\nhelp me.\u201d The thief on the cross who had been touched by the grace of God\nsimply uttered, \u201cLord remember me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the enlightened sinner\nsees that they are drowning in their sin, and that they are nothing but a dog\nand a convicted criminal, they won’t make a long discourse of words showing how\nmuch they know about sin, they will simply beg to be delivered from it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n David Eddmenson<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I could live a\nthousand lives!<\/strong> “Who loved me, and gave\nHimself for me!” Galatians 2:20<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Yes, He is altogether\nlovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!” Song of\nSongs 5:16<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus is the chief among ten\nthousand, and the altogether lovely One! I could not live without Him. To enjoy\nHis company is bliss to me – for Him to hide His face from me is my midnight of\nsorrow. Oh, for the power to live, to die, to labor, to suffer as unto Him, and\nunto Him alone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I feel that, if I could\nlive a thousand lives<\/strong>, I would like to live them all for Christ; and I\nshould even then feel that they were all too little a return for His great love\nto me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is God a Beggar?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n False preachers today have made a\nbeggar of the LORD of Lords. No, my proud religionist, you are the beggar. God\nis not obligated to do anything but damn you to the eternal praise of His\njustice. If you keep listening to the wrong voices, your end shall be with\nthose before you of whom Christ said, \u201cI am come in my Father\u2019s name and ye\nreceive me not, let another come in his own name and him ye will receive (John\n5:43) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Living Bread<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In that \u201csmall round\nthing\u201d called Manna was everything necessary to sustain the lives of the\nchildren of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. The only true \u201cWhole Food\u201d\nthere has ever been. So it is with the Living Bread that came down from heaven.\nEating the Bread of Life (trusting Christ alone for all my salvation) will\nsustain my immortal soul now and for all eternity. I need nothing more and\ncannot survive on anything less. Lord, give us our daily\nBread. \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo will is\npresent with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.\u201d –\nRomans 7:18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I would never sin\nagain! I would be generous, quick to forgive, forget all past injustices toward\nme, and take the lowest seat in the room. I would be rid of all pride, all bad\nmotives, all sinful and selfish desires. I would never harbour a judgmental thought\nto anyone again. I would love and pray for those who wish me ill. I would be\njust like my Lord! To will<\/strong> is present with me. But it is\nequally true that to perform<\/strong> what I desire I find not! Not one\ntime have I ever performed the good that I would! The will is the will of the\nnew man! The inability to perform what I would is because of the old man that I\nstill possess. As frustrating as this is, the blessed day is coming when\nI will no longer have the old man to contend with! That will be when we see Him\nas He is, and be just like Him! (I John\n3:2). \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n My relationship with the eternal God (in\nChrist) does in great measure determine what I do. But what I do (good or bad),\nin no way determines my relationship with the eternal God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is utterly impossible!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius Winslow, 1852) Love flowing from a\nsight of the cross!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We are not flogged into\nloving Him!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (J.C.Philpot) Do you love Me?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If anyone man love not\nthe Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Meranatha!” 1 Corinthians 16:22<\/p>\n\n\n\n True love to Christ!<\/strong> “LOVE\nONE ANOTHER”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nJohn 4:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nwhole law of God is summed up in this one word – LOVE<\/strong>. Love is the\nreflection of God’s character. Love is the reflection of God’s mercy. Love is\nthe reflection of Christ’s substitutionary work as our Redeemer. And love is\nthe reflection of saving grace in the heart. If I have truly experienced grace\nin my heart, there will be a manifest love in my heart for the children of God.\nThis love reveals itself in many practical ways. Love is FORGIVING.<\/strong> Love\nis not easily OFFENDED<\/strong>. Love is PATIENT,<\/strong> LONGSUFFERING,<\/strong> and KIND<\/strong>.\nLove is THOUGHTFUL<\/strong> and MERCIFUL<\/strong>. Love will cause a\nman to PRAY FOR HIS BRETHREN<\/strong>. Love will cause a person to SEEK\nTHE COMPANY AND FELLOWSHIP OF HIS BRETHREN.<\/strong> Love will cause us\nto CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER, <\/strong>sharing each other’s joys and\nsorrows, bearing each other’s burdens, seeking each other’s welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do I\nhave this LOVE?<\/strong> Do you? It matters not what else we have, or\nwhat else we may experience – IF LOVE IS ABSENT, CHRIST IS ABSENT,\nGRACE IS ABSENT, SALVATION IS ABSENT!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Peter walked on the water and saw the boisterous waves, the howling wind and began to sink, he simply prayed, \u201cLord save me.\u201d A certain woman of Canaan, whom the Lord referred to as a Gentile dog, had a possessed daughter, and in seeking mercy for her she prayed, \u201cLord help me.\u201d The thief […]<\/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-6884","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\/6884","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=6884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6885,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6884\/revisions\/6885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\n(C.H.Spurgeon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nIt has been the distinctive aim, and the sincere desire of my ministry-to\nmake known and to endear the Saviour to your hearts.<\/em>
\n
\nOh, how worthy is He . . .
\n of your most exalted conceptions,
\n of your most implicit confidence,
\n of your most self-denying service,
\n of your most fervent love!
\n
\nWhen He could give you no more<\/em>, and the fathomless depths of His love\nand the boundless resources of His grace would not be satisfied by giving you\nless-He gave you Himself!
\n
\nRobed in your nature,
\nladen with your curse,
\noppressed with your sorrows,
\nwounded for your transgressions,
\nand slain for your sins-
\nHe gave His entire self for you!
\n
\nHis redeeming work now finished, He is perpetually engaged in meting out\nblessings to His people from the exhaustless treasures of His love! He\nconstantly woos your affection, invites your grief, and bids you flee with\nyour daily trials<\/em> to His sympathy; and with your hourly\nguilt<\/em> to His blood. You cannot be too covetous in your drafts upon\nChrist’s fullness! Nor can you be too extravagant in your expectations of\nsupply! You may fail, as, alas! the most of us do, in making too\nlittle <\/em>of Christ-but you cannot fail in making too much <\/em>of\nHim!
\n
\nIt is utterly impossible<\/strong> to know Christ, and not become inspired with\na desire . . .
\n to love <\/em>Him supremely,
\n to serve <\/em>Him devotedly,
\n to resemble <\/em>Him closely,
\n to glorify <\/em>Him faithfully here,
\n and to enjoy <\/em>Him fully hereafter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWinslow, “The Disciple Washing Christ’s Feet”
\n<\/em>
\n“<\/strong>And, behold, a woman in the\ncity, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus<\/em> sat at meat\nin the Pharisee\u2019s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, <\/strong>38 <\/sup><\/strong>and\nstood at his feet behind him<\/em> weeping, and began to wash his\nfeet with tears, and did wipe them<\/em> with the hairs of her head,\nand kissed his feet, and anointed them<\/em> with the ointment.<\/strong>”\nLuke 7:37-38<\/strong>
\n
\nShe washed Christ’s feet with the tears of grateful
\nlove. Jesus had pardoned all her sins, had absolved
\nher from their guilt, and had released her from their
\npower. How natural was the feeling of gratitude,
\nhow appropriate this service of love!
\n
\nThe most genuine contrition for sin flows from a
\nsense of its forgiveness. Nothing breaks the heart
\nso thoroughly as the experience of God’s pardoning
\nlove, love flowing from a sight of the cross!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n“Set your affections on things above, not on things on the\nearth.” Colossians 3:2
\nWhere are your affections to be set?
\n
\nAre they to be set on “things on the earth” . . .
\n those perishing toys,
\n those polluting vanities,
\n those carking cares,
\nwhich must ever dampen the life of God in the soul?
\n
\nThe expression, “things on the earth,” takes in a wide scope. It\nembraces not only the vain toys, the ambitious hopes, the perishing pleasures\nin which a gay unthinking world is sunk and lost\u2014but even the legitimate calls\nof business, the claims of wife and home, family and friends, with every social\ntie that binds to earth. Thus . . .
\n every object on which the eye can rest;
\n every thought or desire that may spring up in the mind;
\n every secret idol that lurks in the bosom;
\n every care and anxiety that is not of grace;
\n every fond anticipation of pleasure or profit that the world may hold\nout, or the worldly heart embrace\u2014all, with a million pursuits in which man’s\nfallen nature seeks employment or happiness, are “things on the\nearth” on which the affections are not to be set.
\n
\nWe may love our wives and children. We should pursue our lawful callings with\ndiligence and industry. We must provide for our families according to the good\nprovidence of God. But we may not so set our affections on these things, that\nthey pull us down from heaven to earth. He who is worthy of all our affections\nclaims them all for Himself. He who is the Bridegroom of the soul<\/em> demands,\nas He has fairly won, the unrivalled love of His bride.
\n
\nBut how are we to do this?<\/em>
\n
\nCan we do this great work by ourselves? No! it is only the Lord Himself,\nmanifesting His beauty and blessedness to our soul, and letting down the golden\ncord of His love into our bosom\u2014that draws up our affections, and fixes them on\nHimself. In order to do this, He captivates the heart<\/em>by\n. . .some look of love,
\n some word of His grace,
\n some sweet promise, or
\n some divine truth spiritually applied.
\n
\nWhen He thus captivates the soul<\/em>, and draws it up\u2014then the affections\nflow unto Him as the source and fountain of all blessings.
\n
\nWe are not flogged into loving Him<\/strong>, but are drawn by love into\nlove.<\/em> Love cannot be bought or sold. It is an inward affection that\nflows naturally and necessarily towards its object and all connected with it.\nAnd thus, as love flows out to Jesus, the affections instinctively and\nnecessarily set themselves “on things above, and not on things on the\nearth.”
\n
\nJesus must be revealed to our soul by the power of God, before we can see His beauty\nand blessedness\u2014and so fall in love with Him as “the chief among ten\nthousand, and the altogether lovely One.” Then everything that . . .
\n speaks of Christ,
\n savours of Christ,
\n breathes of Christ,
\nbecomes inexpressibly sweet and precious!
\n
\nIn no other way can our affections be lifted up from earth to heaven. We cannot\ncontrol our affections\u2014they will run out, of their own accord. If then our\naffections are earthly<\/em>\u2014they will run towards earthly objects. If\nthey are carnal<\/em>and sensual\u2014they will flow towards\ncarnal and sensual objects.
\n
\nBut when the Lord Jesus Christ, by some manifestation of His glory and\nblessedness; or the Holy Spirit, by taking of the things of Christ and\nrevealing them to the soul, sets Him before our eyes as the only object worthy\nof, and claiming every affection of our heart\u2014then the affections flow out, I\nwas going to say naturally, but most certainly spiritually, towards Him. And\nwhen this is the case, the affections are set on things above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“Simon son of Jonah, lovest thou Me more than these these?” John\n21:15
\n
\nDo you love Me<\/strong> . . .
\n more than these creature claimants?
\n more than these earthly honours?
\n more than these worldly riches?
\n more than these domestic comforts?
\n more than parent, child, brother, sister, friend?
\n
\nDo you love Me<\/strong> supremely, and\nabove all the ten thousand suitors for your heart?
\n
\nDo you love Me?<\/strong>
\n Does My beauty charm you?
\n Does My love enthral you?
\n Does My grace draw you?
\n Does My cross attract you?
\nHave My sufferings and My death subdued you to penitence, faith, and love?
\nAm I dearer to you than earth’s dearest attractions?
\nAm I more precious than the heart’s most precious treasure?
\nCan you part with all, for Me?
\n
\n
\n“Do I love You, O my Lord?
\n Behold my heart and see;
\n Gently oust each idol<\/em> thence,
\n That seeks to rival Thee.”
\n
\n“You know I love You, dearest Lord;
\n But, oh, I long to soar;
\n Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
\n And learn to love You more!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nby Spurgeon-<\/em>
\n
\nThe Lord Jesus possesses all kinds of lovelinesses
\ncompacted into one perfect loveliness! all perfections
\nblended to make one perfection! every sweet concocted
\nand distilled to make one perfect sweetness!
\n
\nOh, how one longs for but a moment’s sight of Christ in glory!
\nOne might be content to have only a dry crust, and to lie in
\nan underground dungeon for the rest of one’s life, if one might
\nbut gaze on his blessed face for once, and hear him say,
\n“I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
\n
\nThose who truly love the Saviour wish to
\nknow all that can be known about him.
\n
\nTrue love<\/strong> likes to become familiar with the object of its
\naffection; its heart is set upon that object, it studies it,
\nand can never know it too well or too closely.
\n
\nTrue love to Christ<\/strong> thinks of him from morning till night;
\nit is glad to be released from other thoughts that it may
\nfollow only its one darling pursuit.
\n
\nTrue love to Christ<\/strong> seeks to get to him, to live with him,
\nto live upon him, and thus to know him so intimately
\nthat things which were unobserved and passed over at
\nthe first, stand out in clear light to the increased
\njoy and delight of the contemplative mind.
\n
\nIf you have but a ‘spark’ of love for Jesus in your heart,
\nJesus has a ‘furnace’ of love for you in his heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n