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And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no
room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to
my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of
thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Luke 12: 16-21
It is recorded one of Americas richest men, that before he
died he said to a friend: "I dont see what good it does me all this
money that you say is mine. I cant eat it , cant spend it; in fact, I never
saw it, and never had it in my hand for a moment. I dress no better than my private
secretary, and I cannot eat as much as my coachman. I live in a big servants
boarding house, have dyspepsia, cannot drink champagne, and most of my money is in the
hands of others, who use it mainly for their own benefit." This is the testimony of
one who put his treasure in " a bag with holes.
Gospel Herald
If your riches are yours, why dont you take them with you to tother world.
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanac, 1732
January 17
"Speak, for your servant is listening" 1 Samuel 3:10; "I will
listen to what God the Lord will say: he promises peace to his people, his saints"
Psalm 85:8; "Two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O
Lord, are loving" Psalm 62:11,12.
There is a philosophical question that if a tree falls and no one is there to hear it,
then does it make a sound? The same can be said for our spiritual experiences. God calls
us by name but, if we don't listen and respond, then we lose the interest and the
principleand the Principal.
What is so touching in the third chapter of 1 Samuel is that Samuel ran into Eli's room
three times, thinking that it was the elderly Eli who had called him. The voice was so
humanlike that Samuel was sure it was Eli. Sometimes we receive calls and rebukes in the
familiar voices of relatives and friends. We would do well to be able to distinguish them
as messages from God. God often uses human instruments to bring about Divine results.
"Now get up and go...and you will be told what to do" Acts 9:6. God no longer
speaks directly to us as He did to Samuel, but He does speak in His providence through the
various people, events and actions in our lives, the new opportunities we have each day to
renew our covenant with Him and the new responsibilities of each day that afford us the
chance to serve Him and others. God speaks to us consistently and insistently in nature,
in history, and in the gift of reasoning powers. He speaks to us as individuals: "I
have called you by name; you are mine" Isaiah 43:1b. Yes, Lord, I will listen and I
will learn that You are a strong and loving God who wants us to be not just hearers but
listeners who learn well what You want for us in our lives. Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness for they will pray for the Lord to speak, and they will hear
Him.
Pat Nordman ©
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Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions |
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Spurgeon's Morning for January 17 |
Spurgeon's Evening January 17 |
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion.." -Revelation 14:1 |
"And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house." - 2 Samuel 11:2
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Christian, here is joy for thee; thou hast looked, and thou hast seen the Lamb. Through thy tears thine eyes have seen the Lamb of God taking away thy sins. Rejoice, then. In a little while, when thine eyes shall have been wiped from tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb exalted on his throne. |
We are never out of the reach of temptation. Both at home and abroad we
are liable to meet with allurements to evil; the morning opens with peril, and the shades
of evening find us still in jeopardy. ... Those who think themselves secure are more
exposed to danger than any others. The armour-bearer of Sin is Self-confidence. |
T |
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... by Pat Nordman 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Shall we accept good from God
and not trouble?" Job 2:10b Religion
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January 17 Genesis 49:1 - Exodus 1:22
Linked to Bible Gaitway TM
Today's Devotion
In
All Circumstances
"Give thanks in
all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
What faith it takes to give thanks in ALL circumstances, especially the circumscribed
ones! God's will becomes ours when we can accept divine providence as our confidence of
His divine love, as well. The seemingly unbearable yoke that presses on our neck becomes
lined with down when we can say, "Thank You, Father, for this, too!"
"Then Jesus looked up and said, `Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew
that you always hear me. . .'" John 11:41. What a perfect prayer of faith! We, too,
can look up and thank Him and know that our Father hears our prayers. "Before they
call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear" Isaiah 65:24. What
comfort to know that we are heard and our anguished prayer answered, even before we
present our petitions!
Again Jesus is our example. He said this at the grave of one of His dearest friends,
Lazarus. He wept for Lazarus, as we weep for our loved ones when we stand beside the
grave. In His intense humanity at His friend's grave, Jesus gave us faith that God
understands our brokenness and hope that our anguish will be turned into joy.
Thanksgiving is a mark of the Christian; an unthankful heart is a mark of the wicked.
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to
him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" Romans
1:21. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be.
. .ungrateful. . ." 2 Timothy 3:1,2. Gratitude is the umbrella that covers nobility.
God's
will becomes ours when we can accept divine providence as our confidence of His divine
love, as well.Today's Religion News
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