Satan:His Motives and Methods by Lewis Sperry Chafer

I just finally finished reading this book about Satan. I love sports and am competitive. When a team prepares for a game, they get to know their enemy as much as possible. Our ultimate enemy in Satan, knowing what the Word of God says about him is very helpful. My favorite part of this book came in chapter 10 where Chafer points out that "it was necessary for Satan to rob the church, to a great extent, of her 'blessed hope' of Christ's return, before he could attract attention to his own attempts at world improvement, and establish his own authority as ruler over this age." He goes on to say that many Christians today do not look forward to Christ's coming again. This is exactly what Satan wants because if he can take away our greatest hope, no other lost soul will want what we have and we will never be asked to give the reason for the hope that lies within us. Time and time again we see in scripture that the only way that the early church was able to endure such persecution was because they were looking for the day that they would see Christ face to face. We need to be more like the early church, especially in the culture that we live in today. I echo what John said at the end of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Suffering with Joy

Psalm 62:5 "My Soul wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."

"Affliction and suffering are the lot of all men, the privelege of all believers. There are joys that can come to us only throgh sorrow." -Miles Stanford

COME THOU FOUNT

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Circumstances

I was reminded today in my devotions that we should not get caught up in our circumstances, but continue to abide in Christ alone. "The unbelieving heart looks at the circumstances, and leaves God out. Faith, on the contrary, looks only at God, and leaves circumstances out."

In my circumstances, good or bad, may God be glorified.

John 14:1-3

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

ESV

Come quickly Lord Jesus!

I Need Thee Every Hour

This hymn has been in my head and my heart for a few days now. The words are so powerful and so true.

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

Refrain

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.

The Lamb is our Shepherd

"For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." -Revelation 7:17; ESV

What an amazing thing to consider; Jesus Christ is not only the Lamb that was crucified for us on the cross, but because of that He is now our Shepherd, who gives us every good thing that we need for life. Praise the Lord that He is BIG enough to do both!! Praise the Lord for His sufficient grace!! One day we will no longer have to go through pain or have tears. I can't wait, come quickly Lord Jesus.