Isaiah 64

From Isaiah 64. This morning I felt the great power of these verses.

1  Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,

2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

Time to Come

Precious Things

Beholding Him

  

     Beholding Him 

     "But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord".  2 Cor. 3:18.

     Let us stand before Him directly, to be with Him where he is, and that we might behold His glory, that was His prayer (John. 17), and let us believe that the Father and the Son will come to us and dwell in us, fully, directly in fellowship one-on-one with us in the inner man. ("We will come to him and make our abode with him", John 14:23.) And again from Rev. 3, "Behold I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hear my voice I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me."

     We stand by faith directly in His presence, that is what the true life is all about, this direct presence to presence relationship with Him.  Let us not have anything or anyone that comes between that direct communion, indeed we need nothing or anyone in between us.  "....and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.  And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full. I John 1:3, 4.

     Let us come boldly to the throne of Grace, let us not doubt that as believers we can have that direct communion with Him, our heart and sight directly to His heart and sight. "We look at Him and He looks at us" as this quote from early tradition tells us. Take the Holy Name of Jesus into your heart. Hold it there in your constant focus. The Name of Jesus will become that well of living water in you through the Presence of the Holy Spirit (no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit), and will guard you from many onslaughts. Be bold to take your place standing in His presence, He will reward your dedication to this with an abundance of His Personal communion dwelling with you.--------------

 (…This is taken from some of my notes I found in some of my older writings.)

 

Scriptures

This morning's prayer

I Love Old Hymns

A favorite hymn. Painting is one I did many years ago. 

The Love of Christ

This verse spoke to me this morning. It speaks of of the great love of Christ for His church.

These are my own orchids. 

Spurgeon's Evening Reading

 Why go I mourning?

— Psalm 42:9

"Canst thou answer this, believer? Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why yield to gloomy anticipations? Who told thee that the night would never end in day? Who told thee that the sea of circumstances would ebb out till there should be nothing left but long leagues of the mud of horrible poverty? Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow, and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair? Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter? Hope thou then! Hope thou ever! For God fails thee not. Dost thou not know that thy God loves thee in the midst of all this? Mountains, when in darkness hidden, are as real as in day, and God's love is as true to thee now as it was in thy brightest moments. No father chastens always: thy Lord hates the rod as much as thou dost; He only cares to use it for that reason which should make thee willing to receive it, namely, that it works thy lasting good. Thou shalt yet climb Jacob's ladder with the angels, and behold Him who sits at the top of it--thy covenant God. Thou shalt yet, amidst the splendours of eternity, forget the trials of time, or only remember them to bless the God who led thee through them, and wrought thy lasting good by them. Come, sing in the midst of tribulation. Rejoice even while passing through the furnace. Make the wilderness to blossom like the rose! Cause the desert to ring with thine exulting joys, for these light afflictions will soon be over, and then "for ever with the Lord," thy bliss shall never wane.

"Faint not nor fear, His arms are near, He changeth not, and thou art dear; Only believe and thou shalt see, That Christ is all in all to thee."

Matthew 12

 

Seeking

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face;
my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.  

Psalm 27:8

Journaling

September 15, 2021

 

CH Spurgeon Quote

"The other day I was reading the Sept. 3 morning reading from CH Spurgeon, the whole thing really spoke to me, here is a portion: "Get positive knowledge of your love of Jesus, and be not satisfied till you can speak of your interest in Him as a reality, which you have made sure by having received the witness of the Holy Spirit, and His seal upon your soul by faith."

A New Year

JANUARY 2021 Friday, Jan. 15 -- We have come to a new year, a time that seems to be shaking everything. I am hoping to start up again with more frequent posting. I have been thinking about three hymns, Great is Thy Faithfulness, In the Name of Jesus, and Holy, Holy, Holy. I heard someone singing them and had a great sense of being lifted up. It says in Isaiah ch. 30 that in the day of judgment we (his people) shall have a song. This is really something to think about.

Wonderful Devotional

I have been following the Charles Spurgeon Morning and Daily Readings for a good while now and they are excellent and deeply profound. The readings for the week of April 15 - 21 are particularly edifying (although they all are), this week speaks about the deep thirst for Him alone and also the power of the Blood of Christ, so wonderful on the topic of the scarlet cord and other things. They are widely available online since they are public domain, and also available in audio recordings.

This Morning, reading Psalm 25

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New Creation

A new one today.

Poetry

Recently, my mind has turned to poetry.  The Lord is wanting to speak to me in a different way these days. Its funny though, this goes back decades.

The End of the Search

There is no finding of Him in books

Written in vain, though they vastly cover

Realms of thought; but as my heart looks

And accepts Him unknown, it shall discover

Peace unsurpassed, because the Only Lover

Of my soul, becomes known in the myriad nooks

Of inner writings imprinted in His image;

Though I never knew when, or how He did manage

To unite our hearts and intentions so near,

That the division between becomes unclear.

And not in thoughts does my heart end its care,

But in purposeful union of will, so dear. 

        -SJS, 1983

     

Contentment

Was reading in the wonderful old book "Daily Strength for Daily Needs".  I wanted to share this days devotion on contentment:
MAY 23
Be content with such things as ye have.—HEB. xiii. 5.

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.—PHIL. iv. 11 ( R. V.).

  No longer forward nor behind
    I look in hope or fear;
  But, grateful, take the good I find,
    The best of now and here.  J. G. WHITTIER.

If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:—

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."    E. B. PUSEY.