Encouragement
“Fear not, little flock; it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” —Luke 12:32
How does He quiet their fears and misgivings?
As they stand panting on the bleak mountain side, He points His crook upwards to the bright and shining gates of glory, and says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you these!”
What gentle words! what a blessed consummation! Gracious Savior, Your gentleness has made me great!
That kingdom is the believer’s by irreversible and inalienable charter-right—“I appoint unto you” (by covenant), says Jesus in another place, “a kingdom, as my Father has appointed unto me.”
It is as sure as everlasting love and almighty power can make it.
Satan, the great foe of the kingdom, may be injecting foul misgivings, and doubts, and fears as to your security; but he cannot divest you of your purchased immunities. He must first pluck the crown from the ‘brow upon the throne’, before he can weaken or impair this sure word of promise. If “it pleased the Lord” to bruise the Shepherd, it will surely please Him to make happy the purchased flock. If He “smote” His “Fellow” when the sheep were scattered, surely it will rejoice Him, for the Shepherd’s sake, “to turn His hand upon the little ones.”
Believers, think of this!
“It is your Father’s good pleasure.” The Good Shepherd, in leading you across the intervening mountains, shows you signals and memorials of paternal grace studding all the way. He may “lead you about” in your way there. He led the children of Israel of old out of Egypt to their promised kingdom—how! By forty years’ wilderness-discipline and privations. But trust Him; dishonor Him not with guilty doubts and fears.
Look not back on your dark, stumbling paths, nor within on your fitful and vacillating heart; but forwards to the land that is far off. How earnestly God desires your salvation! What a heaping together of similar tender “words” with that which is here addressed to us! The Gospel seems like a palace full of opened windows, from each of which He issues an invitation, declaring that He has no pleasure in our death—but rather that we would turn and live.
Let the melody of the Shepherd’s voice fall gently on your ear—“It is your Father’s good pleasure.”
I have given you, He seems to say, the best proof that it is mine. In order to purchase that kingdom, I died for you. But it is also His:
“As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so,” says God, “will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.”
Fear not then, little flock!
Though yours for a while should be the bleak mountain and sterile wasteland, seeking your way Zionward, it may be “with torn fleeces and bleeding feet;” for, “It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”
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(Arthur Pink, “God’s Jewels“)“And they shall be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in
that day when I make up My jewels.” Malachi 3:17It almost surprises one to learn that the great and self-sufficient God has ‘jewels,’ but our surprise increases to astonishment when we learn that these ‘jewels’ are living creatures. And astonishment gives place to overwhelming amazement when we discover that these living creatures are fallen and depraved sinners redeemed from among men! Truly, nothing but Divine grace would ever liken such wretched worms of the dust, unto precious jewels! Yet that is the very thing which we find God doing in our text. It is not the unfallen angels, nor the holy seraphim and exalted cherubim who are spoken of as Jehovah’s valued treasure–but lost and ruined sinners saved by amazing grace!
The Lord has likened His people to ‘jewels’ because of their inestimable value in His sight. This is an exceedingly hard thing for the Christian to really grasp, for he feels such a wretched and worthless creature in himself. That the Lord of Glory should deem him of great worth, is difficult to conceive. Yet so it is!
From the earliest times, men have thought much of precious gems, and fabulous prices have been paid for them. With great ardor and toil, do men hunt after gold; but with even greater eagerness and labor will they seek the diamond. Hundreds of men will labor for a whole year in one of the diamond mines of Africa, and the entire result of their efforts may be held in the palm of your hand. Princes have been known to barter their estates in order to obtain some gem of peculiar brilliance and rare excellence.
Yet more desirable still, are His saints in the esteem of the Lord Jesus. The value of a thing in the eyes of its possessor, may be gauged by the price he was willing to pay for it. So valuable was the Church unto Christ that He gave Himself for it, and shed His precious blood to purchase it for Himself. Thus, the saints are likened unto ‘jewels’ because of the great value which the Lord places upon them.
“You will be a glorious crown in the Lord’s hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.” (Isaiah 62:3) What marvelous words are these for faith and hope to lay hold of! Our feeble intellects cannot grasp them! Wondrous is it to think of rough stones, which first look like small pebbles, being found in the mud and mire of earth; then cut and polished until they scintillate with a brilliancy surpassing any earthly object, and being given an honored place in the diadem of a monarch. But infinitely more wonderful is it, that poor lost sinners, saved by sovereign grace, should be among the crown-jewels of the Son of God!
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Jeremiah 2:2
Let us note that Christ delights to think upon his Church, and to look upon her beauty. As the bird returneth often to its nest, and as the wayfarer hastens to his home, so doth the mind continually pursue the object of its choice. We cannot look too often upon that face which we love; we desire always to have our precious things in our sight. It is even so with our Lord Jesus. From all eternity “His delights were with the sons of men”; his thoughts rolled onward to the time when his elect should be born into the world; he viewed them in the mirror of his foreknowledge. “In thy book,” he says, “all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:16). When the world was set upon its pillars, he was there, and he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. Many a time before his incarnation, he descended to this lower earth in the similitude of a man; on the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18), by the brook of Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30), beneath the walls of Jericho (Jos. 5:13), and in the fiery furnace of Babylon (Dan. 3:19, 25), the Son of Man visited his people. Because his soul delighted in them, he could not rest away from them, for his heart longed after them. Never were they absent from his heart, for he had written their names upon his hands, and graven them upon his side. As the breastplate containing the names of the tribes of Israel was the most brilliant ornament worn by the high priest, so the names of Christ’s elect were his most precious jewels, and glittered on his heart. We may often forget to meditate upon the perfections of our Lord, but he never ceases to remember us. Let us chide ourselves for past forgetfulness, and pray for grace ever to bear him in fondest remembrance. Lord, paint upon the eyeballs of my soul the image of thy Son.
–Charles Spurgeon
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And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21–Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. John 16:13–And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16
When God seems silent could it be
That this is how He draws me near
And teaches me and trains my ear
To shut out the world and all it’s noise
And listen closely for His voice
When He speaks with thunderous sound
He has my attention then
But oh to hear Him when
He whispers
Be silent oh my soul and learn
In quiet and obscurity
To hear the Voice that speaks to me
For that sound my heart so yearns
Towards that Voice my ear does turn
Though waiting endlessly it seems
When just one word
From Him is heard
What joy!
His whispers – a delight to me
My God oh may it ever be
That I may hear Your whispers
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you. If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139
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‘A man greatly beloved.’-Daniel 10:11
Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Ah! has your unbelief made you forget that you are greatly beloved too? Must you not have been greatly beloved, to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot? When God smote His only begotten Son for you, what was this but being greatly beloved? You lived in sin, and rioted in it, must you not have been greatly beloved for God to have borne so patiently with you?
You were called by grace and led to a Saviour, and made a child of God and an heir of heaven. All this proves, does it not, a very great and superabounding love?
Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles, or smooth with mercies, it has been full of proofs that you are a man greatly beloved. If the Lord has chastened you, yet not in anger; if He has made you poor, yet in grace you have been rich. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be, the more evidence have you that nothing but unspeakable love could have led the Lord Jesus to save such a soul as yours. The more demerit you feel, the clearer is the display of the abounding love of God in having chosen you, and called you, and made you an heir of bliss. Now, if there be such love between God and us let us live in the influence and sweetness of it, and use the privilege of our position.
Do not let us approach our Lord as though we were strangers, or as though He were unwilling to hear us-for we are greatly beloved by our loving Father. ‘He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’
Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of Satan and the doubtings of thine own heart, thou art greatly beloved. Meditate on the exceeding greatness and faithfulness of divine love this evening, and so go to thy bed in peace.
Spurgeon
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The Brief Gospel
“Only believe.” —Mark 5:36
The briefest of the “words of Jesus,” but one of the most comforting. They contain the essence and epitome of all saving truth.
Reader, is Satan assailing you with tormenting fears? Is the thought of your sins—the guilty past—coming up in terrible memorial before you, almost tempting you to give way to hopeless despondency? Fear not! A gentle voice whispers in your ear—“Only believe. Your sins are great, but My grace and merits are greater. ‘Only believe’ that I died for you—that I am living for you and pleading for you, and that ‘the faithful saying’ is as ‘faithful’ as ever, and as ‘worthy of all acceptance’ as ever.”—
Are you a backslider? Did you once run well? Has your own guilty apostasy alienated and estranged you from that face which was once all love, and that service which was once all delight? Are you breathing in broken-hearted sorrow over the holy memories of a close walk with God—”Oh that it were with me as in months past, when the candle of the Lord did shine?” “Only believe.” Take this your mournful soliloquy, and convert it into a prayer. “Only believe” the word of Him whose ways are not as man’s ways—“Return O backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding.”
Are you beaten down with some heavy trial? Have your fondest schemes been blown upon—your fairest blossoms been withered in the bud? has wave after wave been rolling upon you? has the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Hear the “word of Jesus” resounding amid the thickest midnight of gloom—penetrating even through the vaults of the dead—“Believe, only believe.” There is an infinite reason for the trial—a lurking thorn that required removal, a gracious lesson that required teaching. The dreadful severing blow was dealt in love. God will be glorified in it, and your own soul made the better for it. Patiently wait until the light of immortality be reflected on a receding world. Here you must take His dealings on trust. The word of Jesus to you now is, “Only believe.” The word of Jesus in eternity (every inner meaning and undeveloped purpose being unfolded), “Didn’t I tell you that you will see God’s glory if you believe?”
Are you fearful and agitated in the prospect of death? Through fear of the last enemy, have you been all your lifetime subject to bondage?—“Only believe.” “As your day is, so shall your strength be.” Dying grace will be given when a dying hour comes. In the dark river a sustaining arm will be underneath you, deeper than the deepest and darkest wave. Before you know it, the darkness will be past, the true Light shining—the whisper of faith in the nether valley. “Believe! Believe!” will be exchanged for angel-voices exclaiming, as you enter the portals of glory, “No longer through a glass darkly, but now face to face!”
Yes! Jesus Himself had no higher remedy for sin, for sorrow, and for suffering, than those two words convey. At the utmost extremity of His own distress, and of His disciples’ wretchedness, He could only say “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me.” Believe, only believe.
“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
John MacDuff
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You Are Dearly Loved By God,
by Paul Washer
*this is a beautiful word of encouragement
“Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
“My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.” (Song of Solomon 6:2)
An indepth look into the passages in the Song of Solomon. Paul explores the richness of the Bridegroom’s love for His Bride and gives us the challenge of what our response should be… Listen Here
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The way to Zion is through the Valley of Baca
Robert Murray McCheyne
“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” Rev.7:14
Every one that gets to the throne must put their foot upon the thorn. The way to the crown is by the cross. We must taste the gall if we are to taste the glory. When justified by faith, God brought Israel through the Red Sea, He led them into the wilderness; so, when God saves a soul, He tries it.
He never gives faith without trying it. The way to Zion is through the Valley of Baca.
You must go through the wilderness of Jordan if you are to come to the Land of Promise. Some believers are much surprised when they are called to suffer. They thought they would do some great thing for God; but all that God permits them to do is to suffer. Go round every one in glory: every one has a different story, yet every one has a tale of suffering.
One was persecuted in his family, by his friends and companions; another was visited by sore pains and humbling disease, neglected by the world; another was bereaved of children; another had all these afflictions meeting in one: deep called unto deep.
But mark this: all are brought out of them.
It was a dark cloud, but it passed away; the water was deep, but they have reached the other side. Not one of them blames God for the road He led them: “Salvation” is their only cry.
Is there any of you, dear children, murmuring at your lot? Do not sin against God. This is the way God leads all His redeemed ones. You must have a palm as well as a white robe. No pain, no palm; no cross, no crown; no thorn, no throne; no gall, no glory.
Learn to glory in tribulations also.
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
Christians has more denominations/churches ( but follows same bible ) than the Hindu Gods . How it can claim from true God/true religion. Is there any hope of merger of all sects/cults/denominations of Christianity. For a faithful person, which sect you recommend to follow among the many. Else is it waste of time in searching for God/Truth or read Bible. Christians seems to promise so many things from bible but results are vanity. Any remedy !
Hi r…
yes i sadly agree with you, there are many denominations. The splitting up into denominations has done harm to the unity Jesus prayed for in John chapter 17…but something i’ve learned through the years is it doesn’t matter what denomination or Church real Christians attend, there will always be a real connection between true believers when they meet. Why? Because they have the same Spirit (God’s Holy Spirit) living within them.
I call myself a Christian r…..and do not embrace any one denomination.
Perhaps you might like to read this, click here, Simply Christian.
You will find God within the pages of the Bible my friend–He is there in/through his written words.