Author: Andrew

Spurgeon: Generosity Requires Faith

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You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.
Haggai 1:9 (ESV)

Grudging souls limit their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God has a method in providence by which He can cause our endeavors to succeed beyond our expectation, or He can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of his hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the generous and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding leads to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always been the happiest, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the generous giver rise to financial levels of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous soul descend to poverty by the very stinginess by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment that the sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain. It requires faith to act toward our God with an open hand, but surely he deserves it from us; and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to his goodness.

(C.H. Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, Oct 26)

Valley of Vision: A Prayer for Renewal

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Another wonderful prayer to meditate upon and pray from The Valley of Vision. The Puritans were thorough in their study, which spilled over into their prayers. Second only to the Psalms, these prayers are a great means of stretching our own verbiage as we petition the throne of grace. Below is a personal favorite:

O MY SAVIOR,

Help me.

I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb;

I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights;

I am pained by my graceless heart,

my prayerless days,

my poverty of love,

my sloth in the heavenly race,

my sullied conscience,

my wasted hours,

my unspent opportunities.

I am blind while light shines around me:

take the scales from my eyes,

grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.

Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,

meditate on thee,

gaze on thee,

sit like Mary at thy feet,

lean like John on thy breast,

appeal like Peter to thy love,

count like Paul all things dung.

Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be

more decision in my character

more vigour in my purposes,

more elevation in my life,

more fervour in my devotion,

more constancy in my zeal.

As I have a position in the world,

keep me from making the world my position;

May I never seek in the creature

what can be found only in the creator;

Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it vanishes into sight.

Ride forth in me, thou king of kings and lord of lords,

that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

 

Valley of Vision: A Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

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I’ve been spending time recently reading, thinking and praying through a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions called The Valley of Vision. The Puritans were thorough in their study, which spilled over into their prayers. Second only to the Psalms, these prayers are a great means of stretching our own verbiage as we petition the throne of grace. Below is a personal favorite:

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

O MY GOD,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,

my heart admires, adores, loves thee,

for my little vessel is as full as it can be,

and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee

ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,

ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,

ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,

crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou has created,

for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body though has given me,

for preserving its strength and vigour,

for providing senses to enjoy delights,

for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup,

for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends,

for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

for a mind to care for my fellow-men,

for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to they creatures

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

Praying for the Soul (Yours or Another’s)

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I recently read, in John Piper’s devotional Taste and See, an entry on how to pray for the human soul (both your own soul and the souls of others). I hope to begin praying this prayer for myself and others everyday. I have summarized Piper’s points and given the primary scriptures referenced.

1. Pray for an inclination to God and his Word.

“Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain” ~Psalm 119:36

2. Pray to have the eyes of your heart opened.

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” ~Psalm 119:18

3. Pray for your heart to be enlightened with these “wonders.”

“…that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” ~Ephesians 1:18

4. Pray for your heart to be united for God.

“O LORD, I will walk in your truth: unite my heart to fear Your name.”
~Psalm 86:11

5. Pray that your heart will be satisfied with God and not with the world.

“Satisfy us in the morning with Thy steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” ~Psalm 90:14

6. Pray that you would be strong in joy, persevering during the dark seasons.

“That [God] would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.”
~Ephesians 3:16

7. Pray that you would produce good deeds and works of love for others.

“That [we] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…bearing fruit in every good work.” ~Colossians 1:10

8. Pray that the name of the Lord would be known and feared and loved and cherished and admired and praised and trusted because of your life and ministry.

“Hollowed be Thy name.” ~Matthew 6:9

The Necessity of Good Mentoring

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Few things in life can change us faster than solid mentoring. I have been blessed over the course of my life to be around several men and women, further along than I in the faith, who took interest in teaching me how to live well. It’s incalcuable how much I’ve gained from these times. I have been spared the consequences of many bad decisions by talking things over with my mentors. They always are able to see truth in the mixed bag of ideas I bring week to week.

Over time (lots and lots of time), as I’ve grown step-by-step, I see my response is not merely to be the best disciple possible. I am being discipled that I might be a discipler. I’ve been shaped, that I might in turn work to shape others into “God’s kingdom come” and “the likeness of Christ”. As we grow in faith and understanding, our response to transform our world starting with the church.

Therefore, it’s fairly clear God doesn’t give us mentors so we can go live in a cabin in the mountains all by ourselves, as nice as that sounds sometimes 🙂 As we grow in this journey, God will bring people to us who we can pour into. I was surprised with this happened this past week. A friend came up and asked me if I could mentor him. I was shocked, but then heard God’s gentle affirmation. It turns out the aspects of his life he wants most to grow in most, are things I’m most passionate about. Needless to say, God knows what He’s doing.

A great image of this is a person with one hand grasping the hand a person higher (further along) with the other hand reaching down to one lower. In this, we all need continual shaping, even while there are plenty around for us to shape. We each have much to offer as image-bearers.