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For Whom Should We Pray?
Private prayer is by definition a personal activity. It is the soul speaking with God. It is coming into a spiritual communication, through the mediation of the Holy Spirit, with our heavenly Father. A believer approaches God upon the ground of Christ’s cleansing blood and justifying righteousness. No other acceptance is possible. No other qualification is necessary. Holiness must meet holiness (1 Corinthians 2:14). When we come to God in private prayer there need be no constraints, procedures or predefined pattern for our approach. We do not have to pray in a special place, kneel, stand or sit down, to be heard. There are no special words that must be used or formulas to follow. Vain repetition is not prayer, we do not need beads.…
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Precious Death
It is strange to think of death as something precious. Death is our enemy, the wages of sin, the harbinger of sorrow (1 Corinthians 15:26, Romans 6:23, Psalms 166:3). Yet, the Psalmist tells us that the death of a Christian is a precious matter to the Lord. What strength this must give every child of God as they anticipate their own death and what comfort to those who lose a loved one in the Lord. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15). Spurgeon points out that Jehovah himself, views the triumphant deaths of his people with sacred delight. ‘They shall not die prematurely’, he says, ‘they shall be immortal till their work is done; and when their…
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The Lord Thinks About Me
The Lord’s people are a poor people. God keeps us poor out of mercy and love for He knows if we become rich in the riches of this world our confidence will rest not upon Him and His lovingkindness, but upon our mistaken estimation of our own self-worth. The Lord’s people are a needy people. True, He supplies all our needs, according to His riches, yet manna-like His supplies are sufficient only for the day and must be refreshed, restored and renewed every morning. So the Lord would have His people return to Him frequently, call upon Him often, and forget not all His benefits. Poor and needy as His little ones are, here, too, is a marvellous truth. The Lord thinks upon us. David…
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Faces In The Congregation
The woman with the thin face was captivated by the sermon. Her attention was fixed and her eyes widened with each new section introduced. She’d never heard the End Times preached so plainly. The speaker flitted expertly from Daniel to Revelation and back again. She heard how the great bear of communism would stumble and collapse, how Islam was rising to persecute the church and what personal qualities would allow early identification of the Beast and the Man of Sin. It was heady stuff and she lapped it up. Next week it would be ‘Creation’, next month, ‘The Role of Women in the Church’. She could hardly wait. The young man with short hair sits bolt upright with almost military poise. For him the best…
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Only A Handful? Look Again.
These few comments are for you who worship with only a handful of believers or are forced, by reason of conscience or convenience, to worship alone in your own home. It has long been an encouragement to the saints that where two or three are gathered in God’s name, the Lord Jesus has promised to be there in their midst. Remember those who gathered on the hillsides of Scotland during the covenanting years, or met in forests of the Soviet Union for fear of the authorities. They did not meet without the presence of their Saviour. Even where one worships alone the pledge of the Lord is, ‘Lo, I am with you always’ Matthew 28:20. Those who are housebound, or hospitalised, or even the prisoner…
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Enjoy The Righteousness Of Christ
Our standing as Christians is founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We say it, we hear it, and nodding affirmatively we agree that it is true. Yet, all too often we fail to grasp the implications of this fact. All too often our actions and our attitudes, our feelings, our hopes and fears are motivated by something quite different. Instead of looking to Christ we look to ourselves. We imagine that if we could better overcome temptation we would be happier, if we could subdue our sin we would find more peace. We suspect that our interest in God’s love is hindered by our lack of faith and wonder if our conviction for sin has been deeply enough felt. So we become pre-occupied with…
