This brought such encouragement to my heart this morning that I wanted to share it with you. Just imagine…

Morning & Evening by Spurgeon

The earnest of our inheritance.”
— Ephesians 1:14

Oh! what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart is experienced by that man who has learned to feed on Jesus, and on Jesus alone. Yet the realization which we have of Christ’s preciousness is, in this life, imperfect at the best. As an old writer says, “‘Tis but a taste!” We have tasted “that the Lord is gracious,” but we do not yet know howgood and gracious He is, although what we know of His sweetness makes us long for more. We have enjoyed the first fruits of the Spirit, and they have set us hungering and thirsting for the fullness of the heavenly vintage. We groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption. Herewe are like Israel in the wilderness, who had but one cluster from Eshcol, therewe shall be in the vineyard. Here we see the manna falling small, like coriander seed, but there shall we eat the bread of heaven and the old corn of the kingdom. We are but beginners now in spiritual education; for although we have learned the first letters of the alphabet, we cannot read words yet, much less can we put sentences together; but as one says, “He that has been in heaven but five minutes, knows more than the general assembly of divines on earth.” We have many ungratified desires at present, but soon every wish shall be satisfied; and all our powers shall find the sweetest employment in that eternal world of joy. O Christian, antedate heaven for a few years. Within a very little time thou shalt be rid of all thy trials and thy troubles. Thine eyes now suffused with tears shall weep no longer. Thou shalt gaze in ineffable rapture upon the splendour of Him who sits upon the throne. Nay, more, upon His throne shalt thou sit. The triumph of His glory shall be shared by thee; His crown, His joy, His paradise, these shall be thine, and thou shalt be co-heir with Him who is the heir of all things.

I wondered as I watched the anger spew out of those watching the verdict of the Casey Anthony trial if they realized a greater Judge would one day hold them accountable for their actions.  I do not know if the verdict was right.. only God will know what happened to that precious child. But, I do know that someday (for those who have not made peace with God through Jesus Christ) they (the mother’s accusers) will stand before the Judge of all mankind who says that not only those have murdered are guilty before him but even those who have hated someone in their heart. No one will stand justified before God because ALL of us have sinned at one time or another and fallen short of God’s perfect standard of holiness. Christ fulfilled the law by living the perfect life we could not live, died on a cross taking the punishment we deserved, was buried and rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession. The only one who will stand righteous before the righteous Judge are those who have trusted in what Christ did.. not what they have done on this earth.

 I continue to pray for the soul of this young mother and that God will send believers to share the Good News that though her (& our) sins are as scarlet His blood washes us white as snow.

Mt 5:21-22  You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before athe court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
(NAS)

2 Corinthians 5:21  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)

Philippians 3:9 ESV And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (ESV)

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

Sometimes there are situations in our lives that .. may… feel hopeless.  It may be financial or a marriage that is unstable or perhaps a long established habit of sin. Our first inclination as sinners is that we must pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps to make things right and while we do have a responsibility to obey God’s Word… we must learn that we have no resource.. no hope..no strength…outside of our great God!  Pastor Smith is right.. it’s not ‘fun’ to come to the end of ourselves but that is where we find help in the time of need.

A Prayer for Hoping in God’s Steadfast Love

     The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love. Ps. 33:16–18

     Dear heavenly Father, though it’s not fun, it’s a good thing to come to the end of ourselves—to be in situations where all of our resources, all of our “goodness” and all of our idols begin to fail us. Indeed, it’s a gospel thing to feel the pain of knowing whatever worked in the past is not working in the present; to feel the confusion of not knowing what to do next; to feel the helplessness of being out of control. It hurts, but it hurts real good and for our good.

     For only in those moments do we abandon ourselves to the God who alone can part Red Seas when our enemies are pursuing us; serve fresh quail in the wilderness to his hungry thankless children (Exodus 16); overthrow whole Midianite armies with three hundred gun-less soldiers (Judges 7); take down Goliaths by young shepherds armed with pebbles (1 Samuel 17); deliver his people from the fire or through the fire (Daniel 3); feed multitudes with a few fish and pieces of bread (Matthew 14); raise a dead man for the salvation of his people and the transformation of the cosmos.

     Lord Jesus, you are that dead man who now lives and we abandon ourselves to you today. You are the One who is redeeming his bride and making all things new. It is your steadfast love that we can and must hope in today. There is no other supply sufficient to the need. There is no other strength sufficient for the task. There is no other balm sufficient for the pain. There is no other rest sufficient for the exhaustion. There is no other hope sufficient for our cries and crises. Hoping in you alone holds the promise of the end of all disappointment and shame (Romans 5:1-5 ESV), for you were shamed for us on the cross, and raised for our salvation and deliverance (Hebrews 12:1-3).

     So we bring our wounded and broken hearts to you. We bring our struggling marriages to you. We bring our jobless families to you. We bring our chronic pain to you. We bring our divided churches to you. We bring our ever besetting sins and addictions to you. We bring our conflicted relationships to you. We bring our wayward children to you. We bring our unbelieving friends to you. We bring the needs of our community to you. We bring it all to you, Jesus. We will trust in you and your steadfast love. Where else can we go? Astonish us by bringing much glory to yourself in the coming hours, days and months. So very Amen we pray, in your merciful and mighty name.

Scotty Smith

http://www.facebook.com/notes/scotty-smith/a-prayer-for-hoping-in-gods-steadfast-love/10150680916670212