We May Be Doing Satan's Work!

Mat 16:22-23  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
 
It was Peter's love for Christ which made him so rebel at the thought of such a dire fate for Him. In his love he sought to hold the Master back from so throwing away His life. But in doing this, he was acting the part of Satan in seeking to tempt Jesus away from His great work of atonement. This way of the cross was not an accident; it was the way marked out for Christ; to swerve from it, would be to fail in His mission.

Our best friends may become our tempters in the same way. 

In their love for us they may seek to keep us from entering paths of duty which will lead us to great sacrifice. 

Mothers may seek to restrain their children from going to foreign mission fields.

Any of us, in the warmth of our affection for our friends, may seek to dissuade them from perilous or costly service which it may be their duty to undertake. We need to guard ourselves at this point.
 
The path of true success does not always lie along the sunny hillside! 

Sometimes it goes down into the dark valley of self-sacrifice! 

And if we try to hinder any from entering upon hard duties, urging them to choose easier ways we may be doing Satan's work! 

We may be plucking the crown from the brow of our friend by holding back his feet from the way of the cross.

We all need to guard, too, against the counsels of friends who would restrain us from costly or perilous service.

In matters of duty we must know only one guide, and follow the call of only one voice.

We are not put in this world to have a pleasant and easy time! We are not put here to consult our own inclinations at all.  

We are here to go where Christ leads; to follow Him to sacrifice and to death if He leads us in these paths.

We dare not allow ourselves to be turned aside by any tenderness of human love.

It is the way of duty, however hard, that takes us home to Heavenly glory!

~J. R. Miller~

Here Then, Is The Picture

Luk 15:13  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

It is not long after a man has shaken off his subjection to God before he begins his departure from Him. 

He first gets the reins into his own hands and then the old paths are too straight and narrow for him.

He has taken "his substance" into his own keeping---that is, he has assumed charge and control of all his own abilities, possessions, and energies; and now he will go out and try life in his own way the way of sin and self-gratification. 

Everyone who is not at home with God, who is not living as a child in the Father's house has actually departed from God and gone into the far country.

The "far country" is a costly place to live in. When the prodigal got there his substance soon began to dwindle; and it was not very long until it was all gone-wasted in wild living.

This story is the literal history of a great many young men. There are thousands of them who are wasting large fortunes every year in this same loose living-in drinking and all kinds of debauchery.

But how must we interpret this, in its spiritual application? The substance of the sinner consists in his possessions, talents, abilities, opportunities, and possibilities. He "squanders his substance"---whenever he does not use it for God and for the good of the world which are the uses for which God bestowed it. He wastes it also, when he squanders it in sin.

Here then, is the picture: a man endowed with abilities fitting him for nobleness and usefulness rushing into evil courses; spending his strength in sin; destroying his body, mind, and soul in revelry and sensual pleasure.

The man with one talent, who only hid it away and did not use it at all, keeping it as it was, to be returned in the end---was condemned to outer darkness!

How much severe will be the doom of those who squander their many talents in sin, and use them to curse the world and drag down other souls to eternal destruction!

~J. R. Miller~

The Eye Of The LORD Is On HIS Children

                                                                            
In the midst of this worldwide “shaking of all things,” what is God’s great concern? Is it the events in the Middle East? No! 

The Bible tells us God’s vision is trained on His children: Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy (Psalm 33:18).
 
Our Lord is aware of every move by every living thing on Earth. And yet His gaze is focused primarily on the well-being of His children.

He fixes His eyes on the pain and needs of each member of His spiritual body. Simply put, whatever hurts us concerns Him.
 
To prove this to us, Jesus said, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). 

Even in the midst of great world wars, God’s primary focus is not on the tyrants. His focus is on every circumstance in His children’s lives.

Christ says in the very next verse: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father” (Matthew 10:29).

In Christ’s day, sparrows were the meat of the poor and sold
two for a penny. Yet, Jesus said, “Not one of these small creatures falls to the ground without your Father knowing it.”

Jesus’ use of the word “fall” in this verse signifies more than the
bird’s death. The Aramaic meaning is “to light on the ground.” In other words, “fall” here indicates every little hop a tiny bird makes.

Christ is telling us, “Your Father’s eye is on the sparrow not just when it dies but even when it lights on the ground.

As a sparrow learns to fly, it falls from the nest and begins to hop along the ground. God sees every little struggle it has and He is concerned over every detail of its life.

Jesus then adds, “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).

Indeed, He says, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Simply put, the One who made and counted all the stars who monitored every action of the Roman Empire and who keeps all the galaxies in the orbits has His eye fixed on you.

And, Jesus asks, “Are you not worth much more to Him?”


~David Wilkerson~

Post Mortem Kindnesses

Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your affection sealed and laid away until your friends are dead. Fill their present days with tenderness. Speak your words of commendation, while their ears can hear them!

The things you mean to say when they are dead and gone say before they go! The flowers you mean to send for their coffins send beforehand to brighten and sweeten their homes, before they leave them forever!

I have often said and I know I speak for thousands of other weary, plodding toilers...that if my friends have vases laid away, filled with the perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body...I would far rather they would bring them out now along my toilsome days and open them when I can enjoy them and be refreshed by them!

Post-mortem kindnesses do not cheer the burdened spirit. Tears falling on the icy brow of death, make poor and too tardy atonement for coldness, neglect, and cruel selfishness in life's long, struggling years.

Appreciation, after the heart is stilled in death has no inspiration for the departed one; it comes too late, when it is pronounced only in funeral eulogies. Flowers piled on the coffin cast no fragrance backward over weary days.

~J. R. Miller~

The Divine Eye!

Zechariah and Elizabeth were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.

This is a beautiful thing to have said of them. Yet, after all, that is the test which every life must endure. It is not enough to have human commendation. The question is how do we stand before God? How does our life appear to Him?

It does not matter how men praise and commend us if God sees that we are living wrong. The Pharisees were righteous before men; but if you would see how they stood in God's eye, read the twenty-third chapter of Matthew.

We are in reality just what we are before God nothing less, nothing more. 

The question we should always ask ourselves is, "What does God think of me?" If we would meet His approval, we must first have our hearts right, and then we must be blameless and true in every part of our life.

We should live just as purely and beautifully in secret as in the glare of the world's gaze.

There really is no such thing as secrecy in this world. We imagine that no eye is looking when we are not in the presence of men. But really, we always have a spectator; we are living all our life in the presence of God Himself!

We should train ourselves, therefore, to work for the Divine eye in all that we do, that our work may stand the Divine inspection, and that we may have the approval and commendation of God Himself.

~J. R. Miller~

 

He Giveth Quietness

When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?
 
He gives quietness in the midst of the raging storm.

As we sail the lake with Him, reaching deep water and far from land, suddenly, under the midnight sky, a mighty storm sweeps down.
 
Earth and hell seem mobilized against us, and each wave threatens to overwhelm our boat.

Then He rises from His sleep and rebukes the wind and the waves. He waves His hand, signaling the end of the raging tempest and the beginning of the restful calm. 

Mar 4:39  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  

His voice is heard above the screaming of the wind through the ropes and rigging, and over the thrashing of the waves.“Quiet! Be still!” Can you not hear it? 

And instantly there is a great calm.“He giveth quietness” Quietness even in the midst of losing our inner strength and comforts.

Sometimes He removes these because we make too much of them.
 
We are tempted to look at our joys, pleasures, passions, or our
dreams, with too much self-satisfaction.

Then through His gracious love He withdraws them, leading us to distinguish between them and Himself. 

He draws near and whispers the assurance of His presence, bringing an infinite calm to keep our hearts and minds.“He giveth quietness.” 

O Elder Brother, Whose homeless feet have pressed our path of pain, Whose hands have borne the burden of our sorrow, That in our losses we might find our gain.
 
Of all Your gifts and infinite consolings, I ask but this: in every troubled hour To hear Your voice through all the tumults stealing, And rest serene beneath its tranquil power.
 
Cares cannot fret me if my soul be dwelling In the still air of faith’s untroubled day; Grief cannot shake me if I walk beside you, My hand in Yours along the darkening way.
 
Content to know there comes a radiant morning When from all shadows I will find release; Serene to wait its dawning
 
Who can make trouble when You send me peace?

My Heavenly Friend

The precious Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. Oh, let us seek to realize this! 

It is not merely a religious phrase or statement, but truly He is our friend. 

He is the Brother " born for adversity," the one who sticks closer than a brother." Who will never leave and never forsake us.   

How precious even on earth to have a heavenly friend, for this brings the joys of heaven in a little degree into our hearts now. 

This is just what our heavenly Father desires regarding His children, that they might be as happy as they are capable of being while here in the body.

Have we entered into this, that the One who is altogether lovely is ready hour by hour, to be our Friend?

When we cannot sleep at night, say to Christ, "My precious heavenly Friend, wilt Thou give me a little sleep?" 

When in pain, say, "My precious heavenly Friend, if it may please Thee, wilt Thou take away this pain? But if not, if Thou sees better that it should continue, sustain, help, and strengthen me, my precious heavenly friend!"

When we feel lonely and tired, turn to the precious Lord Jesus; He is willing to be our friend in our loneliness. 

For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to my precious Lord Jesus as I walk up and down in my room, and say, My precious Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone, Thou art with me; Thou art my friend; now Lord, comfort me and strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou sees he needs."      

Oh, this is a reality, not a fable, that the Lord Jesus Christ is our friend.  

We should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experientially to be our friend and habitually to be our friend. Just ponder this.

Habitually, never leaving, never forsaking us, at all times and under all circumstances ready to prove Himself to be our friend.   

He is willing not merely to grant this for a few months, or a year or two, but to the very end of our earthly pilgrimage. 

David, in Psalm 23 says: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." Oh, how precious this is. For this "Lovely One" is coming again, and soon.

Soon He will come again; and then He will take us home and there we shall be forever with Him. 

Oh, how precious is that bright and glorious prospect. Here again the practical point is to appropriate this to ourselves. "He is coming to take me-poor, guilty, worthless, hell-deserving me-He is coming to take me to Himself." 

And to the degree in which we enter into these glorious things, the joys of heaven have already commenced!

~George Mueller~

One Wrong Step And Down We Go!

In some sense, the path to heaven is very safe***but in other respects, there is no road so dangerous! It is beset with difficulties. One wrong step and down we go! And how easy it is to take that treacherous step***if grace is absent!

What a slippery path is that***which some of us have to tread! How many times have we to exclaim with the Psalmist,"But as for me, my feet were slipping and I was almost gone!"

If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but in ourselves, how weak we are!

Even in the best roads we soon falter! In the smoothest paths we quickly stumble! These feeble knees of ours can scarcely support our tottering weight!

A straw may trip us up and a pebble can wound us! We are mere infants, tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith. 

Our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we would soon tumble down!

Oh, if we are kept from falling, how must we bless the patience, power and wisdom of God who watches over us moment by moment and day by day!

Think—how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose dangerous paths, how strong our tendency to cast ourselves down.

And these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, "Glory to Him, who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy!" Jude 24

We have many foes who try to push us down, and destroy us! The road is rough and we are weak!

But in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and labor to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest deadly precipice!

Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us at every step! Such an arm is engaged for our defense.

He is faithful, who has promised, and He is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety!

~Charles Spurgeon~

Breakthrough Is Coming!

Dan 10:12-13  Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

This passage is a wonderful teaching on prayer and shows us
the direct hindrance Satan can be in our lives. 

Daniel had fasted and prayed for twenty-one difficult days. As far as we can tell from the biblical account, the difficulty came not because Daniel was not a good person nor because his prayer was not right but because of a special attack from Satan.
 
The Lord had sent His angelic messenger to tell Daniel that his prayer was answered the moment he began to pray, but the good angel was hindered by an evil angel who met him along the way and wrestled with him.

This conflict occurred in the heavens, yet Daniel experienced the same kind of conflict here on earth as he agonized in prayer.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Satan’s attack and the ensuing struggle delayed the answer three full weeks.

Daniel was nearly defeated, and Satan would have been glad to kill him, but God would not allow anything to come upon Daniel beyond what he could bear. (See 1 Cor. 10:13.)
 
Many prayers of believers are hindered by Satan.Yet you do not need to fear when your unanswered prayers are piling up, for soon they will break through like a flood.

When that happens, not only will your answers flow through but they will also be accompanied by new blessings.

The most worthy souls will be tested with the most pressure and the highest heat, but heaven will not desert them. 

~William L.Watkinson~

Peace Through Conflict

We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

It may seem paradoxical, but the only person who is at rest has achieved it through conflict.

This peace, born of conflict, is not like the ominous lull before the storm but like the serenity and the quietness following the storm, with its fresh, purified air.
 
The person who may appear to be blessed, having been untouched by sorrow, is typically not one who is strong and at
peace.

His qualities have never been tested, and he does not know how he would handle even a mild setback.

The safest sailor is certainly not one who has never weathered a storm. 

He may be right for fair-weather sailing, but when a storm arises, wouldn’t you want an experienced sailor at the critical post?

Wouldn’t you want one at the helm who has fought through a gale and who knows the strength of the ship’s hull and rigging, and how the anchor may be used to grasp the rocks of the ocean floor? 

Oh, how everything gives way when affliction first comes upon us! 

The clinging stems of our hopes are quickly snapped and our heart lies overwhelmed and prostrate, like a vine the windstorm has torn from its trellis. 

But once the initial shock is over and we are able to look up and say, “It is the Lord” (John 21:7), faith begins to lift our shattered hopes once more and securely binds them to the feet of God. 

And the final result is confidence, safety, and peace.

~Selected~
 
The adverse winds blew against my life; My little ship with grief was tossed; My plans were gone---heart full of strife, And all my hope seemed to be lost.

Then He arose---one word of peace. There was a calm---a sweet release.
 
A tempest great of doubt and fear Possessed my mind; no light was there To guide, or make my vision clear. Dark night! ’twas more than I could bear.
 
Then He arose, I saw His face---“There was a calm” filled with His grace.
 
My heart was sinking ’neath the wave Of deepening test and raging grief; All seemed as lost, and none could save, And nothing could bring me relief.
 
Then He arose and spoke one word, “There was a calm!”
IT IS THE LORD.

~L. S. P.~

The Secret Of The LORD Is With Them That Fear Him

Psa 25:14  The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

There are certain secrets of God’s providence He allows His children to learn.

Often, however, at least on the surface, His dealings with them appear to be harsh and hidden.Yet faith looks deeper and says,“This is God’s secret.You are looking only on the outside,
but I look deeper and see the hidden meaning.”
 
Remember, diamonds are found in the rough, and their true value cannot be seen. 

And when the tabernacle was built in the wilderness, there was nothing ornate about its outward appearance. In fact, the outer covering of the thick hides of sea cows gave no hint of the valuable things inside.
 
Dear friend, God may send you some valuable gifts wrapped
in unattractive paper. But do not worry about the wrappings,
for you can be sure that inside He has hidden treasures of love,
kindness,and wisdom.

If we will simply take what He sends and trust Him for the blessings inside, we will learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence, even in times of darkness.
 
~A. B. Simpson~
 
Not until each loom is silent, And the crossthreads cease to fly,
Will God unroll the pattern And explain the reason why The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver’s skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver For the pattern He has planned.  

A person who has Christ as his Master is the master of every
circumstance.

Are your circumstances pressing in on you? Do not push away, for they are the Potter’s hands. And you will learn to master them not by stopping their progress but by enduring their discipline. 

Your circumstances are not only shaping you into a vessel of beauty and honor but also providing you with resources of great value.

Everything Is Possible For Him Who Believes

Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

The “everything” mentioned here does not always come simply
by asking, because God is always seeking to teach you the
way of faith.

Your training for a life of faith requires many areas of learning, including the trial of faith, the discipline of faith, the patience of faith, and the courage of faith. 

Often you will pass through many stages before you finally realize the result of faith—namely, the victory of faith.
 
Genuine moral fiber is developed by enduring the discipline
of faith. 

When you have made your request to God, and the answer still has not come, what are you to do? 

Keep on believing His Word! Never be swayed from it by what you may see or feel. 

Then as you stand firm, your power and experience is being developed, strengthened, and deepened. 

When you remain unswayed from your stance of faith, even in view of supposed contradictions to God’s Word, you grow stronger on every front.
 
God will often purposely delay in giving you His answer, and
in fact the delay is just as much an answer to your prayer as is
the fulfillment when it comes.

He worked this way in the lives of all the great Bible characters. Abraham, Moses, and Elijah were not great in the beginning but made great through the discipline of their faith. 

Only through that discipline were they then equipped for the work to which God had called them. 

Think, for example, of Joseph, whom the Lord was training
for the throne of Egypt. Psalm 105:19 (KJV) says, “The word
of the Lord tried him.” It was not the prison life with its hard
beds or poor food that “tried him” but “the word of the Lord.”
 
The words God spoke into his heart in his early years, concerning his elevated place of honor above his brothers,were the words that were always before him. 

He remained alone in prison, in spite of his innocence, and watched others being released who were justly incarcerated.Yet he remembered God’s words even when every step of his career made fulfillment seem more and more impossible.

These were the times that tried his soul, but they were also the times of his spiritual growth and development. 

Then when word of his release from prison finally came,he was found ready and equipped for the delicate task of dealing with his wayward brothers. 

And he was able to do so with a love and a patience only surpassed by God Himself.
 
No amount of persecution will try you as much as experiences like these---ones in which you are required to wait on God. 

Once He has spoken His promise to work, it is truly hard to wait as you see the days go by with no fulfillment. Yet it is this discipline of faith that will bring you into a knowledge of God that would otherwise be impossible.

He Could Not Defeat The Son Of God

There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born” (Revelation 12:1-4).

Satan knew an incredible church was about to be born out of the Old Testament remnant.

It would be a glorious body, so the devil declared war once again, reasoning that now he could do battle on his territory, the Earth.

This passage suggests that Satan knew he couldn’t get to the child in Mary’s womb so he determined to destroy Christ as soon as He was born.

He gathered all his demonic forces around Bethlehem, sending spirits of deception to blind the scribes, priests and Pharisees. 

Then his own spirit entered King Herod, possessing him. If Satan couldn't kill Christ Himself, he would have a man standing by, ready to do it for him.

But the Lord’s armies of heavenly angels stood guard over the child, so that Satan couldn’t touch Him. The devil would have to wait another thirty years to try to devour Christ.

His next chance came at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when the Holy Spirit declared Him to be the Messiah.

At that point, Satan led Christ into the wilderness to be tempted, yet Jesus defeated him in that battle also.

God protected His Son again, sending angels to minister to Him in His time of physical weakness.

The devil would try one last time to devour Christ. This time he moved forces into place to try to kill Jesus by crucifixion and cast Him into the grave.

He sent demonic spirits to incite a mob, entering the bodies of priests, soldiers, political leaders and false witnesses. At last, Satan thought, he had his hour of power. Now he would wage an all-out war!

Yet you know the rest of the story: Resurrection day was Satan’s most humbling defeat. 

When Jesus ascended to heaven, He was out of the devil’s reach forever. “Her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne”
(Revelation 12:5). 

All of hell was shaken because Satan had lost again. Even using all of his power, he still could not defeat the Son of God.

~David Wilkerson~