God's Covenant With You

I've recently signed up to receive the Morning/Evening devotionals of Charles Spurgeon from www.blueletterbible.org. I thought I'd share this one with you all because it so blessed me.

Morning and Evening
Charles H. Spurgeon
December 21, 2011
Morning Reading
Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant.
—2 Samuel 23:5

This covenant is divine in its origin. “HE hath made with me an everlasting covenant.” Oh that great word HE! Stop, my soul. God, the everlasting Father, has positively made a covenant with thee; yes, that God who spake the world into existence by a word; He, stooping from His majesty, takes hold of thy hand and makes a covenant with thee. Is it not a deed, the stupendous condescension of which might ravish our hearts for ever if we could really understand it? “HE hath made with me a covenant.” A king has not made a covenant with me—that were somewhat; but the Prince of the kings of the earth, Shaddai, the Lord All‐sufficient, the Jehovah of ages, the everlasting Elohim, “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant.” But notice, it is particular in its application. “Yet hath He made with ME an everlasting covenant.” Here lies the sweetness of it to each believer. It is nought for me that He made peace for the world; I want to know whether He made peace for me! It is little that He hath made a covenant, I want to know whether He has made a covenant with me. Blessed is the assurance that He hath made a covenant with me! If God the Holy Ghost gives me assurance of this, then His salvation is mine, His heart is mine, He Himself is mine—He is my God.

This covenant is everlasting in its duration. An everlasting covenant means a covenant which had no beginning, and which shall never, never end. How sweet amidst all the uncertainties of life, to know that “the foundation of the Lord standeth sure,” and to have God’s own promise, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Like dying David, I will sing of this, even though my house be not so with God as my heart desireth.

What Is A Saint?

Romans 1:7 "...who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." (NIV Bible)

In my quiet time this morning, I began reading in Romans, and as I thought about verse 7, I wondered what the word "saint" meant. I've heard this word almost all my life, and it's mentioned in the Bible several times both in Old and New Testaments. I had a pretty good idea what it meant--those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. But still I wondered what the difference was between a believer and a saint, if any. This morning I looked it up in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

The dictionary had much to say, but what really struck me were these words: "To be a saint is a present reality when a believer seeks to let the Spirit form Christ within."

I've been thinking about that ever since I read it. Especially the words, "let the Spirit form Christ within." Shouldn't this be the goal of all believers? I have really felt convicted about this. Am I letting the Spirit form Christ within me? I want to. I need to. And this morning I prayed for God to help me let the Spirit do His job. My life, my well-being, depends on my letting go of how I think life should be or how I think I should be treated. And after I let go, I need to grab onto Jesus and not let go, trusting in the Lord's will and in His love for me. He is faithful, ever-present, His love is unfailing, and His will for me is good, pleasing, and perfect.

Let the Spirit form Christ within....

A Prayer for Stress and Anxiety

Found this prayer that I thought might help someone.

Bible Studies and Books: A List

In response to an email recently, I listed some Bible studies and some books that I have read that speak to anxiety and I thought I would list as many of them as I can remember here on my blog in case someone else might be interested. Although Bible study, an active prayer life, and my Scriptures were my first line of defense against panic, I began reading Christian nonfiction books to encourage myself in my walk with the Lord and also to learn all I could about staying out of the pit of panic and depression. If you would like to share books that have helped you, please feel free to list them in a comment. :)



1. Bible studies by Beth Moore: Believing God, Breaking Free, Living Beyond Yourself, A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place; Bible study by Jennifer Rothschild: Me, Myself, & Lies

2. Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George

3. The Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer

4. The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye

5. The Spirit-Filled Temperament by Tim LaHaye

6. The Psychology of Jesus

7. Boundaries by Cloud/Townsend

8. The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane

9. Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hurnard (This is a fiction book and a Christian classic whose main character is called, “Much-Afraid”. I identified with her very much.)

10. The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

11. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

12. Who Switched Off My Brain?

13. Ruthless Trust, by Brennan Manning

14. The Celebration of Discipline by Foster

15. Fearless by Max Lucado

Sunday

God is continuing to strengthen me so that even though I didn't get a full night's sleep, I was still able to get up and go to church yesterday. The rash on my hands is almost gone and I had a good hair day so I was feeling pretty good yesterday morning. :) I usually am running late, but Sunday morning my hair behaved and I was ahead of schedule. Being a shy person in my human nature, I did something I haven't done in a long time. I grabbed my spiral of Scriptures from 2009 and put them in my tote bag. My intention was that if there were not many people I knew in my Sunday School department because of the cold, damp weather we're having, I could refresh my memory of these verses while I waited for S.S. to start. Well....our department was full and I sat beside a friend and chatted awhile, and then she leaned in and confided in me that a loved one was experiencing anxiety and it was pretty serious. I told her how focusing on Scripture verses that speak to my heart and my circumstances help break the cycle of anxious thinking. I'm able to take my thoughts captive to Christ Jesus. Whenever I meditate on Scripture, my heart rate slows down, my thoughts turn to God and His love for me, His trustworthiness, and His power, and I have confidence and peace.  I pulled out my spiral of verses to show her how I write them on 3x5s to carry with me. She was excited and said she would share what I said with her loved one.

Isn't God amazing? He arranged for me to get ready early, caused me to grab my Scripture spiral, and to sit by this friend so I could talk to her before Sunday School started and share how God calms us when we are worried or locked into negative thinking.

Solis Deo Gloria--To God alone be the glory!!

God's Promises for 2011

Twelve Promises God Wants You to Remember in 2011

God is for you.

God loves you.

God will guide you.

God will not fail you.

God will be with you.

God will provide for you.

God will bless you.

God will give you rest.

God will strengthen you.

God will answer you.

God will uphold you.

God will keep you.



(Published in an email from www.dayspring.com)