"There's not a craving in the mind Thou dost not meet and still; 

There's not a wish the heart can have Which thou dost not fulfill."

-Frederick William Faber

Because of JESUS

"You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9.

How little do we associate our most costly mercies, and even those which we are accustomed to esteem of a more ordinary character (although every mercy is infinitely great), with the abasement of our Lord! How seldom do we trace our happy moments, and hallowed joys, and high delights, and sacred scenes, and precious privileges, to this dark part of His eventful history! And yet all flow to us through this very channel, and, but for this, would never have been ours. When the ocean of His goodness rolls in upon me, wave on wave- when I feel the cheering warmth of creature smiles beaming sweetly and fondly- when I review, one by one, my personal, domestic, and relative mercies- when even the cup of cold water, presented by the hand of Christian kindness, moistens my lips, what is the thought that forces itself upon my mind? "All this springs from the deepest humiliation of my adorable Christ!"
And when I ascend into the higher region of grace, and survey the blessings so richly and so freely bestowed- a rebel subdued- a criminal pardoned- a child adopted- a royal priest anointed- union with Christ- covenant relationship with God- access within the Holy of Holies- conformity to the Divine image- still more deeply am I overwhelmed with the thought, "all this proceeds from the infinite abasement of the incarnate God!"
And when yet higher still I ascend, and, passing from grace to glory, contemplate the heaven of bliss that awaits me- in one moment absent from a body of sin, and present with the Lord- away from a world, beautiful though it is, because God has made it, yet the throne of Satan, the empire of sin, the scene of sorrow, pollution, suffering, and death; and eternally shut in with God, where all is joy, and all is holiness- made perfectly holy, and, consequently, perfectly happy, to sin no more, to sorrow no more, to weep no more, to wander no more, to fall no more- oh, how full of glory then becomes the humiliation of my incarnate Lord! Beloved, when God exalts you, remember it is because your Savior was abased. When your cup is sweet, remember it is because His cup was bitter. When you press your mercy fondly and closely to your heart, remember it is because He pressed His heart to the spear. And when your eye of faith and hope looks forward to the coming glory, oh, do not forget that, because He endured your hell, you shall enjoy His heaven! 

From Octavius Winslow's "Morning Thoughts", February 19 

Christ's Loveliness in All of Scripture

"The object of these pages is simple, clear, holy. It is to arouse attention to the blessed truth, that Christ pervades all Scripture. Christ pervades all Scripture, as salt all waters of the sea, as light the brightest day, as fragrance the garden of choice flowers.

To see this is my prime delight. To testify it is my happiest duty. Devoted loyalty to Him who is the first and last, the sum and substance of all Scripture, impels me. Earnest zeal for the undying souls of men constrains me. I know, and am intensely persuaded, that all peace, all joy, all salvation, are in Jesus. My eyes are widely open to the fact that men are blessed, and are blessings, just in proportion as they live, ever gazing on Christ, ever listening to His voice."

Henry Law, Preface to the Gospel in Genesis

Christ. . . Most Fair

"Behold, thou art fair, my Beloved."

Song of Solomon 1:16

From every point our Well-beloved is most fair. Our various experiences are meant by our heavenly Father to furnish fresh standpoints from which we may view the loveliness of Jesus; how amiable are our trials when they carry us aloft where we may gain clearer views of Jesus than ordinary life could afford us! We have seen him from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, and he has shone upon us as the sun in his strength; but we have seen him also "from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards," and he has lost none of his loveliness. From the languishing of a sick bed, from the borders of the grave, have we turned our eyes to our soul's spouse, and he has never been otherwise than "all fair." Many of his saints have looked upon him from the gloom of dungeons, and from the red flames of the stake, yet have they never uttered an ill word of him, but have died extolling his surpassing charms. Oh, noble and pleasant employment to be forever gazing at our sweet Lord Jesus! Is it not unspeakably delightful to view the Saviour in all his offices, and to perceive him matchless in each?--to shift the kaleidoscope, as it were, and to find fresh combinations of peerless graces? In the manger and in eternity, on the cross and on his throne, in the garden and in his kingdom, among thieves or in the midst of cherubim, he is everywhere "altogether lovely." Examine carefully every little act of his life, and every trait of his character, and he is as lovely in the minute as in the majestic. Judge him as you will, you cannot censure; weigh him as you please, and he will not be found wanting. Eternity shall not discover the shadow of a spot in our Beloved, but rather, as ages revolve, his hidden glories shall shine forth with yet more inconceivable splendour, and his unutterable loveliness shall more and more ravish all celestial minds.

Charles Spurgeon, Evening (May 22) 

Christ, the Joy of Souls and the Giver of Life's Best Bliss

As ye have received Christ really, so keep on realising and finding substance in him. And that day, beloved, Christ became to us the joy of our souls. Home, friends, health, wealth, comforts—all lost their lustre that day when He appeared, just as stars are hidden by the light of the sun. He was the only Lord and giver of life's best bliss, the one well of living water springing up unto everlasting life.

Charles Spurgeon, Life and Walk of Faith 

To Live Upon Christ All the Time

It is natural to the soul to rest upon everything below Christ; to rest upon creatures, to rest upon graces, to rest upon duties, to rest upon divine manifestations, to rest upon celestial consolations, to rest upon gracious evidences, and to rest upon sweet assurances. Now the Lord, to cure His people of this weakness, and to bring them to live wholly and solely upon Jesus Christ, denies comfort, and denies assurance, etc., and for a time leaves His children of light to walk in darkness. Christians, this you are always to remember, that though the enjoyment of assurance makes most for your consolation, yet the living purely upon Christ in the absence of assurance, makes most for Christ's exaltation. He is happy that believes upon seeing, upon feeling, but thrice happy are those souls that believe when they do not see; that love when they do not know that they are beloved; and that in the want of all comfort and assurance, can live upon Christ as their only all. He that hath learned this holy art, cannot be miserable; he that is ignorant of this art cannot be happy.
~Thomas Brooks

Jesus Satisfies!

 "When Christ reveals Himself there is satisfaction in the slenderest portion, and without Christ there is emptiness in the greatest fulness." ~Alexander Grosse

All my life long I had panted for a drink from some cool spring
That I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within
Hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies all my longings, through his blood I now am saved

Feeding on the filth around me, ‘till my strength was almost gone
Longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on
Hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies all my longings, through his blood I now am saved

Poor I was and sought for riches, something that would satisfy
But the dust I gathered ‘round me only mocked my soul’s sad cry
Hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies all my longings, through his blood I now am saved

Well of water ever springing, Bread of Life so rich and free
Untold wealth that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me
Hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies all my longings, through his blood I now am saved

Oh, to be Glad and to Hope in Christ Above All Else!

 A precious letter written by Mary Love to her husband Christopher Love, before his execution.

July 14, 1651

Before I write a word further, I beseech thee think not that it is thy wife but a friend now that writes  to thee.  I hope though hast freely given up thy wife and children to God, who hath said in Jeremiah 49:11, "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and let thy widow trust in me."  Thy Maker will be my husband, and a Father to thy children.  O that the Lord would keep thee from having one troubled thought for thy relations.  I desire freely to give thee up into they Father's hands, and not only look upon it as a crown of glory for thee to die for Christ, but as an honor to me that I should have a husband to leave for Christ.
I dare not speak to thee, nor have a thought within my own heart of my unspeakable loss,but wholly keep my eye fixed upon they inexpressible and inconceivable gain.  Thou leavest but a sinful, mortal wife to be everlastingly married to the Lord of glory.  Thou leavest but children, brothers, and sisters to go to the Lord Jesus, they eldest Brother.  Thou leavest friends on earth to go to the enjoyment of saints and angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect in glory.  Thou does but leave earth for heaven and changest a prison for a palace.  And if natural affections should begin to arise, I hope that spirit of grace that is within thee will quell them, knowing that all thinks here below are but dung and dross in comparison of those things that are above.  I know thou keepest thine eye fixed on the hope of glory, which makes they feet trample on the loss of earth.
My dear, I know God hath not only prepared glory for thee, and thee for it, but I am persuaded that He will sweeten the way for thee to come to the enjoyment of it.  When thou are putting on they clothes that morning, O think, "I am putting on my wedding garments to go to be everlastingly married to my Redeemer."
When the messenger of death comes to thee, let him not seem dreadful to thee, but look on him as a messenger that brings thee tidings of eternal life.  When thou goest up the scaffold, think (as thou saidst to me) that it is but thy fiery chariot to carry thee up to thy Father's house.
And when thou layest down they precious head to receive thy Father's stroke, remember what thou saidst to me: Though thy head was severed from thy body, yet in a moment thy soul should be united to they Head, the Lord Jesus, in heaven.  And though it may seem something bitter, that by hands of men we are parted a little sooner than otherwise we might have been, yet let us consider that it is the decree and will of our Father, and it will not be long ere we shall enjoy one another in heaven again.
Let us comfort one another with these sayings.  Be comforted, my dear heart.  It is but a little stroke and thou shalt be there where the weary shall be at rest and where the wicked shall cease from troubling.  Remember that thou mayest eat thy dinner with bitter herbs, yet thou shalt have a sweet supper with Christ that night.  My dear, by what I write unto thee, I do not hereby undertake to teach thee; for these comforts I have received from the Lord by thee.  I will write no more, nor trouble thee any further, but commit thee into the arms of God with whom ere long thee and I shall be.
Farewell, my dear, I shall never see thy face more till we both behold the face of the Lord Jesus at that great day.
Mary Love

Jesus Only

When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but

Jesus only.

Matthew 17:8

I do desire for my fellow Christians and for myself, that more and more the great object of our thoughts, motives, and acts may be "Jesus only." I believe that whenever our religion is most vital, it is most full of Christ. Moreover, when it is most practical, downright, and common sense, it always gets nearest to Jesus. I can bear witness that whenever I am in deeps of sorrow, nothing will do for me but "Jesus only." I can rest in some degree in the externals of religion, its outward escarpments and bulwarks, when I am in health; but I retreat to the innermost citadel of our holy faith, namely, to the very heart of Christ, when my spirit is assailed by temptation, or besieged with sorrow and anguish. What is more, my witness is that whenever I have high spiritual enjoyments, enjoyments right, rare, celestial, they are always connected with Jesus only. Other religious things may give some kind of joy, and joy that is healthy too, but the sublimest, the most inebriating, the most divine of all joys, must be found in Jesus only. In fine, I find if I want to labor much, I must live on Jesus only; if I desire to suffer patiently, I must feed on Jesus only; if I wish to wrestle with God successfully, I must plead Jesus only; if I aspire to conquer sin, I must use the blood of Jesus only; if I pant to learn the mysteries of heaven, I must seek the teachings of Jesus only. I believe that any thing which we add to Christ lowers our position, and that the more elevated our soul becomes, the more nearly like what it is to be when it shall enter into the religion of the perfect, the more completely every thing else will sink, die out, and Jesus, Jesus, Jesus only, will be first and last, and midst and without end, the Alpha and Omega of every thought of head and pulse of heart. May it be so with every Christian. 

Charles Spurgeon, Jesus Only

A Dear, Dear Savior

"...Now I saw that the grief of Christ—was the grief of my Maker; that His wounds—were the wounds of the Almighty God; and the least drop of His blood—now appeared to me more valuable than ten thousand worlds! As I had before thought His sufferings too little—they now appeared to me to be too great; and I often cried out in transports of blissful astonishment, "Lord, 'tis too much, 'tis too much; surely my soul was not worth so great a price!"

I had also such a spirit of sympathetic love to the Lord Jesus given me—that after I had left off to sorrow for myself, for some months I grieved and mourned bitterly for Him. I looked on Him whom I had pierced, and felt such sharp compunction, mixed at the same time with so much compassion, that the pain and the pleasure I experienced, are much better felt—than expressed.

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, is now the only thing I desire to know. In that incarnate mystery are contained all the rich treasures of divine wisdom. This is the mark towards which I am still pressing forward. This is the cup of salvation, of which I wish to drink deeper and deeper. This is the knowledge in which I long to grow; and desire at the same time a daily increase in all true grace and godliness. All duties, works, ordinances, etc. are to me then only rich—when they are enriched with the blood of the Lamb, in comparison of which all things else are but chaff and husks!"

Joseph Hart, from his Spiritual Autobiography

Christ's Righteousness Is of Infinite Worthiness and Merit

"The wounded soul is sensible that he has affronted the majesty of God, and looks upon God as a vindicator of his honor; as a jealous God that will not be mocked, an infinitely great God that will not bear to be affronted, that will not suffer his authority and majesty to be trampled on, that will not bear that his kindness should be abused.

A view of God in this light terrifies awakened souls. They think how exceedingly they have sinned, how they have sinned against light, against frequent and long-continued calls and warnings; and how they have slighted mercy, and been guilty of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, taking encouragement from God's mercy to go on in sin against him; and they fear that God is so affronted at the contempt and slight which they have cast upon him, that he, being careful of his honor, will never forgive them, but will punish them.

But if they go to Christ, the honor of God's majesty and authority will not be in the least hurt by their being freed and made happy. For what Christ has done has repaired God's honor to the full. It is a greater honor to God's authority and majesty, that, rather than it should be wronged, so glorious a person would suffer what the law required. It is surely a wonderful display of the honor of God's majesty, to see an infinite and eternal person dying for its being wronged.

And then Christ by his obedience, by that obedience which he undertook for our sakes, has honored God abundantly more than the sins of any of us have dishonored him, how many soever, and how great soever. How great an honor is it to God's law that so great a person is willing to submit to it, and to obey it! God hates our sins, but not more than he delights in Christ's obedience which he performed on account. This is a sweet savor to him, a savor of rest. God is abundantly compensated, he desires no more; Christ's righteousness is of infinite worthiness and merit."

Jonathan Edwards, "Safety, Fullness, and Sweet Refreshment in Christ"

In the Bible JESUS Is the Alpha and the Omega, the Substance, the Sweetness, the Glory, the One, Precious, All Absorbing Theme!

The Word of God must ever be transcendently precious to the believer.

The Bible is, from its commencement to its close, a record of the Lord Jesus. Around Him the divine and glorious Word centers; all its wondrous types, prophecies, and facts gather.

His Promise and Foreshadowing, His holy Incarnation, Nativity, and Baptism, His Obedience and Passion, His Death, Burial, and Resurrection, His Ascension to heaven, His Second Coming to judge the world, are the grand and touching, the sublime and tender, the priceless and precious truths interwoven with the whole texture of the Bible, to which the Two Witnesses of Revelation, the Old and the New Testaments bear their harmonious and solemn testimony.

Beloved, let this be the one and chief object in your study of the Bible- the knowledge of Jesus.

The Bible is not a history, a book of science, or a poem; it is a record of Christ.

Study it to know more of Him, His nature, His love, His work. With the magnanimous Paul, "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord."

Then will God's Word become increasingly precious to your soul, and its truths unfold.

In every page you will trace the history of Jesus, see the glory of Jesus, admire the work of Jesus, learn the love of Jesus, and hear the voice of Jesus.

The whole volume will be redolent of His name, and luminous with His beauty.

Oh, what is the Bible to us apart from its revelation of a Savior! Is there not great danger of studying it merely intellectually and scientifically, of reveling among its literary beauties and its grandeur, blind to its true value, and without any desire to know that precious Savior who died for sinners, that Divine Redeemer who purchased the ransom of His Church with His own blood; that Friend who loves us; that Brother who sympathizes with us, that enthroned High Priest who intercedes for us within the veil?

Do we study the "Word of Christ" spiritually and honestly, as those whose souls hunger and thirst for this the bread and water of life?

Do we search it diligently and earnestly as for hidden treasure; treasure beyond all price?

Can we say with David, "O how love I your law! it is my meditation all the day."

Do we read it with a child like mind, receive it with a believing heart, bow to its teaching with reverence of soul, and receive its decisions in all questions of faith and practice as decisive and ultimate?

In a word, do we search the Scriptures humbly, prayerfully, depending upon the guidance of the Spirit, to find Jesus in them?

Of these Scriptures He is the Alpha and the Omega, the substance, the sweetness, the glory, the one, precious, all absorbing theme.

Yes, Lord! Your word is precious to our souls, because it reveals to us Your glory, and tells us of Your love!

Octavius Winslow, "The Precious Things of God"

The Bridegroom Himself Is Better

"I would fain learn not to idolize comfort, sense, joy, and sweet felt presence. All these are but creatures and nothing but the kingly robe, the gold ring, and the bracelets of the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom himself is better than all the ornaments that are about him." 

-Samuel Rutherford

God Is a Crown of Glory

Consider Isaiah 28:5: "In the day of the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, for his remnant." What will it mean that he will be a crown of glory? Whose head will it be on? He's the crown. He is not the head. It's going to be on your head. Take a deep breath. He will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty. In other words, he will satisfy every longing for glory and beauty. Everything good that you ever longed for will be satisfied in him.

Therefore, it is loving for him to lift himself up and say, Here I am, world! Admire! If you did that, you would be unloving, because you are not all-satisfying. He is. You should simply go all over the world, pointing to him. Say: World, look! Look at Christ especially, because there, when Christ died, the glory of the grace of God was magnified, which is the apex of all his glory, which is why Christ is the center of everything.

John Piper, "A Holy Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Has Not Been Named"

Live Upon the Atoning Blood of Jesus!

"No real good can come to thee, no healing to thy spirit, no fruitfulness to thy soul, from a perpetual living upon convictions of sin, legal fears, or transient joys: the Divine life can derive no aliment from these. But live upon the atoning blood of Jesus. Here is the fatness of thy soul found; this it is that heals the wound…It is the blood of Jesus, applied by the Spirit, that moistens each fibre of the root of holiness in the soul, and is productive of its fruitfulness; this it is that sends the warm current of life through every part of the regenerate man, quickening the pulse of love, and imparting a healthy and vigorous power to every act of obedience. And when the spiritual seasons change--for it is not always spring-time with the soul of a child of God--when the summer's sun withers, or the autumnal blast scatters the leaves, and the winter's fiercer storm beats upon the smitten bough, the blood and righteousness of Christ, lived upon, loved, and cherished, will yet sustain the Divine life in the soul…" 

-O. Winslow, Personal Declension and Revival, p.165.

Look on Christ

If you would have your heart removed from the things of the world, behold the crucified and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Set Christ crucified often before your eyes, and look on Him with the eye of faith. "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14). That is, "I look on Christ crucified, and by the eye of faith I can see Him hanging there, and all the glory of the world stained there. Is all the world comparable to Christ? There is the King, the High Priest, the Mediator, the great Prophet. There is the Heir of the world crucified. There is His blood running down. He has laid down His life for sinners, and to take my heart off from the world." If you look on a dead man, it deadens your spirit. What will looking on Christ do then? It will deaden your heart toward the world if you look on Jesus Christ crucified. "I am crucified to the world," said Paul.

Then look on Christ glorified, and your heart will be raised above the world. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:1-2). Christ has died, risen, and gone to glory. If now you are risen out of the state of sin, transferred from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, you will have your heart where Christ is. Consider Christ in this way: "There is my Head, my King, my Husband. There is my Redeemer, the one who is a thousand times better than the world. Therefore, I will not set my heart on things of the earth, but on things above. How glorious it is to see the King in His glory!" Look much, and consider much of Christ crucified and glorified.

William Greenhill, Stop Loving the World

Something to ponder. . .

“Will you take Him for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer? Though your Lord be a King, yet His kingdom is not of this world. He came not to minister to, but to minister. He came to serve and to suffer, and all those that will follow Him must suffer with Him. He did not come to divide lands and spoils and crowns and temporal dignities and honors among His disciples, but crosses and prisons and scourges and wants. You will join yourself to the Lord, but will you take up your lot with Him? You will live with Him and abide with Him, but do you know where He dwells, and what His entertainment is? Sometimes He has bread, and sometimes He is hungry; sometimes He has clothes, and sometimes is naked; sometimes He has a house, and sometimes He has none; sometimes He has friends, and sometimes He has none; He is sometimes used kindly, and sometimes used coarsely; sometimes it is Hosanna, and sometimes it is Crucify. Sometimes He is cried up as a King, sometimes cried out against as a devil. And as it is with the Master, so will it be with the scholar; as with the Lord, so with the disciple; where He is, you must be also. Can you say Where you go, I will go with You; where you feed, I will feed with You; where my Lord dwells, if in a tent, if in a cave, if in a dungeon, let me dwell with Him? Consider what you say, and be not overhasty”

(Richard Alleine, Heaven Opened, p.338-39).

This Is That Jesus Who Is Given to Us. . . .

"Christian, do you feel as if you are nothing?  It matters not, for you are enough in your Jesus.
Are you dark?  He is a fountain of light. 
Are you dead?  He is a fountain of life. 
Are you poor and low, weak in knowledge, in faith, in love, in patience?  He is a treasure of all grace. 
And whatever He is, He is for you! 
Is He wise?  He is wise for you. 
Is He holy?  He is holy for you. 
He is meek, He is merciful, humble, patient for you. 
He is strong, rich, and full for you. 
Bewail your own poverty and weakness, but bless yourself in your Lord, for He is rich, righteous, and all powerful.....
As the head and the body, as the husband and wife, so Christ and His saints are mutually concerned.  They are rich or poor, stand and fall, live and die together. 
The husband conveys to the wife a title to what he has; as the wife holds of the husband, so it is between Christ and His church.  They have nothing but through Him.  Their whole tenure is in Him as the Head.  Whatever is His is theirs.  Whatever is theirs is His. 
His God is their God, His Father is their Father, His blood, His merits, His Spirit, His victories, all the spoils He has captured, all the revenue and income of His life and death--ALL IS THEIRS! 
He obeyed for them, He suffered for them, He lived for them, He died for them, He rose for them, He ascended for them, and He has set down on the right hand of God to act for them.
This is that Jesus who is given to us.  This is He who by covenant is made over to all His saints." 

Richard Alleine, Heaven Opened.

Not Another Such A Beauty. . . .

"You see, Madam, how precarious and uncertain all things here are! Live beside the creatures while you have them—let Christ be the all of your enjoyment in them—and then, when they fail, and your own heart and flesh too, Christ will be your all in Himself—the strength of your heart, and your portion forever—an all of bliss and glory, ineffable and eternal. Value your own Lord Jesus. Let His price (His worth in your esteem) be far above rubies, and all creatures and things, desirable and desired. The all-beauteous Godhead is in Him. He is the mighty God, as well as the Man Jesus, for you. Emanuel is His wonderful, glorious name. His personal and relative glories are, and shall be, the wonder and praise of men and angels unto ages without end. Look upon His lovely face—there is not another such a beauty in both worlds! See, Madam, this is your Beloved, and this is your Friend. This is He who has loved you, and given Himself for you; that laid aside His glory and joy, who was the adoration of angels, and the darling of the Father's bosom, to clothe Himself, His matchless Self, with your sin, shame, and sorrow, that He might raise you from the ash-heap of sinful nature to inherit with Him the joys and glories of the upper world; yes, to set you with Him upon His own throne! Oh, dear Madam, you are the Lamb's bride, even you, who come unto God, as the God of peace, only by and through the sacrificed Lamb. Admire the Lamb's love—the Lamb who was slain for you, that has wooed and won and betrothed you to Himself forever. Live upon Him, live to Him, and long to live with Him."

From a letter written by Anne Dutton

Think About This:

"The deepest untapped joys in this world are in Christ." ~JB

Enough in Christ Jesus to Satisfy!

The Lord is my all-sufficient portion. God fills himself. And as Manton says, in his exposition of the 119th Psalm, "If God is all-sufficient in Himself, He must be all-sufficient for us." And then he uses this figure—"That which fills an ocean will fill a bucket. That which will fill a gallon will fill a pint. Those revenues that will defray an emperor’s expenses, are enough for a beggar or a poor man—so when the Lord Himself is satisfied with Himself, and it is His happiness to enjoy Himself, there needs no more—there is enough in God to satisfy." This is clear reasoning, Brethren, and surely if the expenses of Heaven’s court never did affect God’s riches, all the expenses of our trial and affliction while we are here, never can diminish the unsearchable riches of God which are in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Charles Spurgeon, Choice Portions

There is Enough in Jesus. . .

Above all, contemplate your blessed Redeemer, seated on his great white throne, encircled with heavenly glory. Look at the King in his beauty! It is the sight of a glorified Savior that will make the heaven of the believer. Endeavor now, by the eye of faith, to behold the Lord Jesus in all his matchless beauty and excellence. Contemplate his glorious character; his infinite mercy; his unparalleled condescension, and his boundless love. There is enough in Jesus to employ the soul in rapturous meditation through a vast eternity– his excellence, his goodness, and his love can never be fathomed. O, then, keep your eye fixed on this adorable Savior, while you sojourn in this valley of tears; and in a little while you shall see him as he is- face to face, and ascribe to him unceasing praise.

David Harsha, The Christian On Pisgah's Mount

Fear not! Flee to Christ!

To know that there is corruption left in our hearts and that our feeble affections dishonor the God who loved us does not mean we lie still, wallowing in the mud of guilt. It means we flee to Christ and cling to the cross and take refuge like little chicks under the wings of divine mercy. And there we gain courage to love, not because we regard ourselves highly, but because we regard grace as our all-sufficient supply. The word to worms who will admit their corruption, humble themselves, and take refuge in Jesus is, "Fear not, you worm Jacob."

John Piper, Fear Not, You Worm Jacob!

The Glory of Jesus Christ!

 Isaiah 9:6 

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called 

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John Piper, talking about the glory of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9:6 (Three Meditations on "The Messiah")-

". . . Isaiah 9:6 describes the glory of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. What we find here is a combination of excellencies that correspond perfectly to needs of our souls.
Consider these four things:

1. The Lord is a counselor. And that corresponds to my need for wisdom and guidance.
2. The Lord is mighty. And that corresponds to my need for strength and power to live my life pleasing to the Lord.
3. The Lord is Father. And that corresponds to my need for firm and gentle care and provision. Especially if I've never known it here.
4. The Lord is peaceful. And that corresponds to my need for quietness and rest and freedom from trouble and agitation.

But that's not all. What makes the Lord exceedingly glorious is that

1. His counsel is wonderful. The Lord has better advice for your life than anyone. It is amazingly and wonderfully different from the advice of the world.
2. His might is divine. (Mighty God!) There is no greater power in all the universe than his. It will prevail over all his enemies. It is full of hope.
3. His Fatherhood is everlasting. You will never attend this Father's funeral. He will never get old and senile and leave you like an orphan on your own.
4. His peace is maintained by his princely authority. (Prince of Peace!) The government shall be upon his shoulders as a great prince, and his kingdom will be everlasting peace.

The glory of the Lord has risen upon us. The noonday is not yet. But given what we know now, it will come. And we can live and wait in hope."

Come soon, Lord Jesus. . . come soon!!! 

Thou Art Enough

There is joy, joy found nowhere else, when we look up into Christ's face when He says to us, "Am I not enough for thee, Mine own?" with a true, "Yes, Lord, Thou art enough." 
~Amy Carmichael

Please, Lord, please, enable your children to declare "Yes, Lord, Thou art enough." 

Jesus, thank you. . . .

Yearning for Christ

"I am a faint, dead-hearted, cowardly man, oft borne down, and hungry in waiting for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Nevertheless I think it the Lord's wise love that feeds us with hunger, and makes us fat with wants and desertions."..."Hunger in me runneth to fair and sweet promises; but when I come, I am like a hungry man that wanteth teeth, or a weak stomach having a sharp appetite that is filled with the very sight of meat, or like one stupefied with cold under the water, that would fain come to land but cannot grip anything casten to him. I can let Christ grip me, but I cannot grip him. I love to be kissed, and to sit on Christ's knee, but I cannot set my feet to the ground, for afflictions bring the cramp upon my faith. All that I can do is to hold out a lame faith to Christ like a beggar holding out a stump, instead of an arm or leg, and cry, "Lord Jesus, work a miracle!' O what would I give to have hands and arms to grip strongly and fold handsomely about Christ's neck, and to have my claim made good with real possession!"

~Samuel Rutherford

Christ. . . Peace, Life, True Blessedness

These things saith thy Beloved, "I am thy Salvation, I am thy peace and thy life. Keep thee unto Me, and thou shalt find peace." Put away thee all transitory things, seek those things that are eternal. For what are all temporal things but deceits, and what shall all created things help thee if thou be forsaken by the Creator? Therefore put all things else away, and give thyself to the Creator, to be well pleasing and faithful to Him, that thou mayest be able to attain true blessedness.
~Thomas a Kempis 

O My Soul, Nestle Once More Within the Very Heart of Jesus!

My soul, rest not until you rest in Jesus. Let nothing come between your returning heart and your advancing, loving, forgiving Father. There is no true return of a backsliding believer but that which takes him past his repentance, past his tears, past his confessions, past his amendments, past his minister, and brings him at once close to Christ. There is no healing of the hurt, no binding up of the wound, no cleansing, no peace, no comfort, no joy, but as the soul comes to the blood, and nestles once more within the very heart of Jesus.

Octavius Winslow, The Backslider

Oh, Rest in Christ!

Rest in Christ’s atoning Sacrifice! Trust Him only! Come to your God and be His servant from this day and forever, and you shall see how He will break your bonds, open your eyes, cheer your spirit, indulge you with His love and preserve you even to the end! ~Spurgeon

Give me Christ. . . . or else I die.

Gracious Lord, incline thy ear;
My requests vouchsafe to hear;
Hear my never-ceasing cry;
Give me Christ, or else I die.

Wealth and honor I disdain,
Earthly comforts, Lord are vain;
These can never satisfy:
Give me Christ, or else I die.

Thou dost freely save the lost;
In thy grace alone I trust.
With my earnest suit comply;
Give me Christ, or else I die.

Thou dost promise to forgive
All who in thy Son believe;
Lord, I know thou canst not lie;
Give me Christ, or else I die.

All unholy and unclean,
I am nothing but sin;
On thy mercy I rely;
Give me Christ, or else I die.

-William Hammond  (1719-1783)

What a Dear Savior to Come to!

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let anyone who hears this say, "Come." Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. 

Revelation 22:17

Lo! Glad I come; and Thou, blest Lamb,
Shalt take me to Thee, as I am;
Nothing but sin have I to give;
Nothing but love shall I receive.
Then will I tell to sinners round,
What a dear Savior I have found;
I’ll point to Thy redeeming blood,
And say, “Behold the way to God.”

~John Cennick 

Christ Jesus

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return;

when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

(1 Peter 2:22-24 ESV)

Jesus. . . The Most Everything That Is Altogether Lovely

What were Jesus' strong points? He did not have any--not a one! To have a strong point, you must have a weak point and Jesus did not have any weak points. Other men are noted for some one faculty or talent. Moses was the meekest of all men. Job was the patient one, but Jesus was altogether lovely in every way-- the meekest, most humble, most patient, most loving, most gracious, most courageous, firmest, wisest, everything--the incomparable symmetry of the perfections of Jesus Christ.

D. James Kennedy, "Truths That Transform"

No Matter What. . . Jesus Can More Than Meet Your Need!

What, can Jesus meet my need? Yes, and more than meet it. No matter how intricate my path, how difficult my service no matter how sad my bereavement, how far away my loved ones, no matter how helpless I am, how hopeless I am, how deep are my soul-yearnings-JESUS can meet all, all, and more than meet.

Hudson Taylor, "The Growth of a Work of God"

Tender, Great, Undeserved, Rich, Manifold, Abounding, Unfailing. . .

From Charles Spurgeon's Morning Devotional for August 17: 

"The mercy of God."
Psalm 52:8

Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord.

It is tender mercy. With gentle, loving touch, he healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of his mercy as in the matter of it.

It is great mercy. There is nothing little in God; his mercy is like himself--it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God.

It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice. There was no right on the sinner's part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself.

It is rich mercy. Some things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden ointment to your bleeding wounds; a heavenly bandage to your broken bones; a royal chariot for your weary feet; a bosom of love for your trembling heart.

It is manifold mercy. As Bunyan says, "All the flowers in God's garden are double." There is no single mercy. You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies.

It is abounding mercy. Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever.

It is unfailing mercy. It will never leave thee. If mercy be thy friend, mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from yielding; with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking; with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance; and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.

Jesus, the Most Excellent Object for My Love

Can you find a more excellent object for your love than Jesus? If you search through the whole creation, could you find any like him? Are riches, honors, pleasures, or other relationships comparable to Jesus, whom you ought to love supremely? Should not the highest good be the best object of your love? Can you love lesser things, and not the greatest good? Is not all the goodness in the creature but as a drop to the sea, as a candle to the sun, as a speck of sand to a mountain—when compared to the goodness that is in Jesus? If David were worth ten thousand other men, is not Jesus, David's Lord, better than all the world. . . .
 
What shall I say to advance Jesus in your esteem, that you might love him? Is he not a 'comprehensive' good? Eminently all? There is no goodness in the creature, but it is formally, or virtually, in Jesus. Is there wisdom in the creature? There is more in Jesus. Is there beauty or power in the creature? There is much more in Jesus. "For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fullness dwell" (Col. 5:19). Jesus is "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). This is the One whom I beg you to love. This is he who is altogether lovely and desirable. Consider now, I plead with you—can you ever imagine a better offer than Jesus? Can you find a better match for your soul? Can you say all this, the one half of this, any one of all these things, concerning the objects you have loved previous to Jesus? Oh then say, 'I never understood the loveliness of Christ before this!' How has sin fooled me! How has the world bewitched me! And how has my foolish wicked heart deceived me, that I have lavished my love upon the creature, and sin, when there was a Christ to love! Such a Christ to love! Such a good as is not to be found in all the world! Now he alone shall have my love, my heart—my all!

Thomas Doolittle, Motives to Love Jesus

His Lovely Pleasure

"It is a precious thing beyond all words--especially in the hour of death--that we have a God whose nature is such that what pleases him is not our work for him but our need of him."
~John Piper

Christ. . . More Lovely, More Precious Than a Daughter

North Korea: The Villages of GokSan

The young, brown-eyed girl looked up at her mother. What would her mom decide?

Earlier that morning, the young girl's mother, their pastor, and twenty-six others in her North Korean village of GokSan were bound and taken before a screaming crowd of Communists. One of the guards ordered Pastor Kim and the other Christians, "Deny Christ, or you will die."

The words chilled her.

How could they ask her to deny Jesus? She knew in her heart he was real.

They all quietly refused. Then the Communist guard shouted directly at the adult Christians, "Deny Christ, or we will hang your children."

The young girl looked up at her mother. She gripped her hand knowing how much her mom loved her.

Her mother then leaned down. With confidence and peace she whispered, "Today, my love, I will see you in heaven."

All of the children were hanged.

The remaining believers were then brought out onto the pavement and forced to lie down in front of a large steamroller. The communists gave them one last chance. "Deny this Jesus or you will be crushed."

The Christians had already given up their children; there was no turning back. As the driver started the heavy piece of equipment, the singing from the villagers started softly. "More love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee."

from Extreme Devotion

Dear Jesus, is it even possible for anybody to read this story with dry eyes? I'm not even a mommy -- I know I don't understand the extent of this. . . Deny Christ, or we will hang your children? The pain of watching any child die would far surpass the pain of being crushed by a steamroller. . . and to have it be your own child? Crush me first so I don't have to watch! But such mercy and such grace You showed this woman in this hour, for You caused her to see that You are far worthier than anything! Oh, to have such confidence and peace in You, Jesus, and in Your promises. . . how far I have to go!  Thank you for this woman's example. . .  and thank you, Father,  for helping me understand more and more through it the sacrifice of Your precious Child -- the Perfect One whom You sent to die.  The Altogether Lovely One who endured far more pain in his death than I could ever comprehend so that a mother could even say "Today, my love, I will see you in heaven." Give me a heart that loves you like this, Jesus. . . More Love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee! It's for Your precious, precious Name that I ask this. Amen.

Christ. . . Satisfying. . . Unutterably Sufficient

 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! 

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 

They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. 

Psalm 36:7-9

Helen Roseveare, a medical missionary in Africa, describing how God worked in her heart in a special way when she was taken captive and abused by rebel soldiers:

It was an unforgettable experience. God was so vitally real, so totally understanding. His comfort was so complete, so entirely without condemnation. I really knew that His love was unutterably sufficient. His love was wholly able to meet my deepest need: He was not even judging me for my unwillingness to believe and accept His love through the previous years. A great peace took possession of my whole being, not just a peace in my feelings, but a tangible fact of peace even apart from feelings, even in the midst of physical fear and suffering.

As He began to take control of my emotions, I began to realize the truth of Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." It was true on all levels, not just for financial issues, nor yet only for spiritual mysteries on an exalted plane, but also for everyday, down-to-earth emotional needs of soul and body. As I began to move out of "feelings" and onto "facts," I realized that He was satisfying me, not only with an inner assurance of salvation and forgiveness, but also with a reality of love and depth of companionship that actually took from me, at that time, any sense of need or loneliness. Christ was truly becoming my "sufficiency". . .

Helen Roseveare, Living Sacrifice

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you. . . . (v. 10)

Pull Me Hard, Lord, to Yourself

The world and the gifts it prizes can be bought with money. Christ and His gifts are priceless. Everything that happens is meant, in the loving purpose of Him who paid for us with blood, to wean us away from the world and to Himself, to disenchant us with temporal things and enchant us with heavenly, to feed us with Living Bread, not with stones. As soon as we attach our ambitions to things that will let us down He calls us in some specific way to let go of such handholds and take hold of Him. He and He alone is able to keep us from falling, able to fill the empty places the world is always clamoring to fill.

Lord, by all Your dealings with me today, may I be drawn a little father from the love of things which are seen and a little nearer to the love of things which are not seen, things which can never be corrupted. Pull me hard, Lord, to Yourself.

Elisabeth Elliot, The Music of His Promises

Jesus, the Object of Love-Sickness

The soul may be as sick as it will, without rebuke, when it is sick to be with Jesus. You may indulge this carry it to its utmost extent without either sin or folly. What am I sick with love for? For the pearly gates?—No; but for the pearls that are in his wounds. What am I sick for? For the streets of gold?—No; but for his head which is as much fine gold. For the melody of the harps and angelic songs?—No, but for the melodious notes that come from his dear mouth. What am I sick for? For the nectar that angels drink?—No; but for the kisses of his lips. For the manna on which heavenly souls do feed?—No; but for himself, who is the meat and drink of his saints himself, himself—my soul pines to see him. Oh, what a heaven to gaze upon! What bliss to talk with the man, the God, crucified for me; to weep my heart out before him; to tell him how I love him, for he loved me and gave himself for me; to read my name written on his hands and on his side—yea, and to let him see that his name is written on my heart in indelible lines; to embrace him, oh! what an embrace when the creature shall embrace his God—to be for ever so close to him, that not a doubt, nor a fear, nor a wandering thought can come between my soul and him for ever—

"For ever to behold him shine,
For evermore to call him mine,
And see him still before me;
For ever on his face to gaze,
And meet his full assembled rays,
While all the Father he displays
To all the saints in glory."

What else can there be that our spirit longeth for? This seems an empty thing to worldlings, but to the Christian this is heaven summed up in a word—"To be with Christ, which is far better" than all the joys of earth. This is the object, then, of this love-sickness.

Charles Spurgeon, Heavenly Love-Sickness 

God Himself, The Loveliest Part and Inheritance

The son feared for some who had not any part or inheritance in the natural joys of life. He feared loneliness for them.

But his Father said, Fear not to trust them to Me. I am their Part and their Inheritance. Would I be a wilderness unto them, a land of darkness? Have I ever been a liar to the heart that trusted Me? Have I ever been as waters that fail? Thou hast heard their unspoken word, "My flesh and my heart faileth," and thy flesh and thy heart faileth too as thou thinkest of them. Fear not, grieve not. They will not end on that minor note. They shall not wear the spirit of heaviness; they shall wear the garment of praise. As the flowers of roses in the spring of the year, as lilies by the rivers of waters, so shall their gladness be. "But God is the Strength of my heart and my Portion for ever"-that will be their abiding word and their ever­lasting song.

And the son knew that not one would be disappointed who had chosen loss for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. And he was comforted as he thought of those lovers of his Lord caught up into Paradise, and hearing words which, could they be heard now, would not be lawful for a man to utter.

by Amy Carmichael, from "His Thoughts Said... His Father Said..."   

Coming to Jesus Because of Jesus!

"Is it not enough to come to Jesus because of Jesus?  That even if you lose everything in this world because of Christ, Christ is enough?  I don’t need to be wealthy, I don’t need to be healed, I don’t need anything!  I’d rather have Christ!”
-Paul Washer

Transcendent Glory. . . Ineffable Sweetness. . . the Substance. . . Sufficient. . . Christ Jesus

But Christ Jesus has true excellency, and so great excellency, that when they come to see it they look no further, but the mind rests there. It sees a transcendent glory and an ineffable sweetness in him; it sees that till now it has been pursuing shadows, but that now it has found the substance; that before it had been seeking happiness in the stream, but that now it has found the ocean. The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural cravings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill the capacity. It is an infinite excellency, such an one as the mind desires, in which it can find no bounds; and the more the mind is used to it, the more excellent it appears. Every new discovery makes this beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind sees no end; here is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom. The soul is exceedingly ravished when it first looks on this beauty, and it is never weary of it. The mind never has any satiety, but Christ's excellency is always fresh and new, and tends as much to delight, after it has been seen a thousand or ten thousand years, as when it was seen the first moment. The excellency of Christ is an object suited to the superior faculties of man, it is suited to entertain the faculty of reason and understanding, and there is nothing so worthy about which the understanding can be employed as this excellency; no other object is so great, noble, and exalted.

Jonathan Edwards, Safety, Fullness, and Sweet Refreshment in Christ 

Christ, the Ever-flowing Fountain

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

John 4:13-14

It is said that Christ is a river of water, because there is such a fullness in him, so plentiful a provision for the satisfaction of the needy and longing soul. When one is extremely thirsty, though it is not a small draught of water will satisfy him, yet when he comes to a river, he finds a fullness, there he may drink full draughts. Christ is like a river, in that he has a sufficiency not only for one thirsty soul, but by supplying him the fountain is not lessened; there is not the less afforded to those who come afterwards. A thirsty man does not sensibly lessen a river by quenching his thirst.

Christ is like a river in another respect. A river is continually flowing, there are fresh supplies of water coming from the fountain-head continually, so that a man may live by it, and be supplied with water all his life. So Christ is an ever-flowing fountain; he is continually supplying his people, and the fountain is not spent. They who live upon Christ, may have fresh supplies from him to all eternity; they may have an increase of blessedness that is new, and new still, and which will never come to an end. 

Jonathan Edwards, Safety, Fullness, and Sweet Refreshment in Christ

Oh! Christ He is the Fountain, The deep sweet well of love!

~Samuel Rutherford

Jesus. . .the Lovely Name

 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. Proverbs 18:10

Talk or argue about what you will, I shall not relish it if you exclude the name of Jesus. Jesus to me is honey in the mouth, music in the ear, a song in the heart.  ~Bernard of Clarvaux

Truly, no name can banish fear like the name of Jesus! It is the beginning of hope and the end of despair! Let but the sinner hear of “the Savior” and he forgets to die! He hopes to live! He rises out of the deadly lethargy of his hopelessness and, looking upward, he sees a reconciled God and no longer fears. Especially, Brothers and Sisters, this name is full of rare delights when we meditate upon the infinite preciousness of the Person to whom it was assigned. Ah, here is a Jonathan’s wood dripping with honey from every bough and he that tastes it shall have his eyes enlightened! We have no common Savior, for neither earth nor Heaven could produce His equal! ~Charles Spurgeon

So inexpressibly fragrant is the name of Jesus that it imparts delicious perfume to everything which comes in connection with it.  ~Charles Spurgeon 

John Newton wrote:

How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.

Dear Name, the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding Place,
My never failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace!

By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.

Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
O Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath,
And may the music of Thy Name
Refresh my soul in death!

Christ Jesus, the Gift of Gifts

God's children are enriched with the gift of gifts--the largest and the best, which heaven could grant. God gives His co-eternal and co-equal Son, Christ Jesus the Lord. If worlds upon worlds with all their treasures, beauties, glories, had been piled into one pyramid, it would have been as the small dust of the balance, when weighed against this portion. Each one can truly say, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine."--Song 6:3. Christ--all that Christ is--all that Christ has--is granted as an inalienable possession.

~Henry Law

No Separation from Christ!

It was getting late, and the Soviet officer had beaten and tortured Paulus for many hours. “We are not going to torture you anymore,” he said, smiling brutally when the Christian looked up. “We will send you instead to Siberia, where the snow never melts. It is a place of great suffering. You and your family will fit in well.”
    Paulus, instead of being depressed, smiled. “The whole earth belongs to my Father, Captain. Wherever you send me I will be on my Father’s earth.”
    The captain looked at him sharply. “We will take away all you own.”
    “You will need a high ladder, Captain, for my treasures are stored up in heaven.” Paulus still wore a beautiful smile.
    “We will put a bullet between your eyes,” shouted the captain, now angry.
    If you take away my life in this world, my real life of joy and beauty will begin,” answered Paulus. “I am not afraid of being killed.”
    The captain grabbed Paulus by his tattered prison shirt and screamed into his face, “We will not kill you! We will keep you locked alone in a cell and allow no one to come see you!”
    “You cannot do that, Captain,” said Paulus, still smiling. “I have a Friend who can pass through locked doors and iron bars. No one can separate me from the love of Christ.”

Extreme Devotion, Voice of the Martyrs
Day 15

None But Christ!

When life's greater questions come to us, we have only one answer to give: "None but Christ." Is there another way to heaven? None but Christ -- he is the Way. Is there another priority in life that deserves one's full devotion? None but Christ -- he is supreme. Can someone else satisfy the longing of the human heart? None but Christ can satisfy. Truth has no alternative, you see. When life's greater questions come, and they will, are you prepared to testify that of all the possibilities "none but Christ" will satisfy?

from Extreme Devotion, Voice of the Martyrs

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
-Simon Peter

Everything in Christ

There is everything in Christ to encourage poor sinners to apply to him, to look for salvation in his name, and to inspire their hearts with love to his person. There are motives and arguments of every kind to excite you to choose him for your Savior, your friend, and your portion. You are guilty—his blood cleanses from all sin. You are miserable—he is rich in mercy. You are helpless—he is mighty to save. You are impoverished—his riches are unsearchable. His treasures of grace are inexhaustible. Approach unto him, be not afraid of a disappointment; he has assured you he will in no wise cast you out.
John Fawcett

Incomparable Excellency in Jesus

There is an incomparable and transcendent excellency in the person of Christ, in every respect. He is fairer than the children of men; he is altogether lovely. The excellencies which are found in any of his creatures are as nothing, when compared with his excellency. Wisdom in them is but a beam; but he is the glorious Sun of Righteousness. Goodness in them is but as the drop of a bucket; but he is the fountain, the ocean of goodness. Holiness in them is but a glimmering spark—but he is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person. He is equal in all glorious excellencies with the Father. His divine nature puts infinite dignity on his amazing condescension, gives eternal efficacy to the sacrifice which he offered up to expiate our sins, and to the righteousness which he wrought out to justify our persons.

John Fawcett, Christ Precious to Those Who Believe 

Jesus Christ Most Precious

As Jesus Christ is precious—so he is MOST precious. Oh, sirs! angels are precious, saints are precious, friends are precious, heaven is precious—but Christ is ten thousand times more precious than these! A believer had rather have Christ without heaven—than heaven without Christ! "Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none on earth that I desire besides you!" Psalm 73:25. Let a believer search heaven and earth, and yet he will find nothing comparable to Christ. To be like to him—it is our happiness; and to draw near to him—is our holiness. You will see, beloved, life is precious, freedom is precious, health is precious, peace is precious, food and clothing are precious, gold and silver are precious, kingdoms and crowns are precious. Indeed they are, in their places—but nothing is as precious as Jesus Christ.

William Dyer, Christ's Famous Titles

Jesus is Better

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" Philippians 3:8

Precious Jesus, grant your child the grace to say and to mean with all her heart, 

"Yes, I'd rather have You, dear Jesus! I'd rather have You."

I’d Rather Have Jesus 

Rhea F. Miller, 1922  

 
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.

Than to be a king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway,
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Full, Filled, and Fulfilled Only in Jesus

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

Colossians 2:9-10 

He, and he alone, is truly enough! He is all we will ever need.

The NASV makes this clear by translating the first half of v. 10 as, "in Him you have been made complete." There is fullness in only one: Jesus! In him, and therefore in no one else, you will find every resource, every truth, and all power. Look again at Colossians 2:3 where Paul declared that it is "in him" that we find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Instead of "made complete," this word has also been translated "you have been filled" or even "fulfilled." The same verb is used to describe Christians as being "filled" with the "fruit of righteousness" (Phil. 1:11), "joy" and "peace" (Rom. 15:13), as well as "goodness" and "knowledge" (Rom. 15:14), not to mention the "Spirit" himself (Eph. 5:18)! The false teachers tried to convince the Colossians that the fullness they desired was unattainable in Christ alone. Paul responds by reminding them that everything they need to be complete, full, and fulfilled is in Jesus, and Jesus alone. 

Sam Storms,  Fullness of Life

Christ the Desire of Souls

. . .when God opens the eyes of men to see their sin and danger by it, nothing but Christ can give them satisfaction: it is not the amenity, fertility, riches and pleasures, the inhabitants of any kingdom of the world do enjoy, that can satisfy the desires of their souls: when once God touches their hearts with the sense of sin and misery, then Christ, and no one but Christ, is desirable and necessary in the eyes of such persons. Many kingdoms of the world abound with riches and pleasures; the providence of God has carved liberal portions of the good things of this life to many of them, and scarcely left any thing lacking to their desires that the world can afford. Yet all this can give no satisfaction without Jesus Christ, the desire of all nations, the one thing necessary, when once they come to see the necessity and excellency of him. When this happens, give them whatever you wish of the world, nevertheless they must have Christ, the desire of their souls.

John Flavel, Christ the Desire of All Nations  

How Lovely is Jesus Christ!

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” Lamentations 3:24     

 

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

Blessed by this:

Oh, how lovely, how good-exceeding good -is Jesus Christ to unworthy me! He is enough to satisfy my soul. When disappointed in the creature, and I turn with a sickening feeling from the world to Christ, I find here no disappointment; here is fullness of joy, an ocean of love, a heart to feel and sympathize, an eye to pity, and a power, an infinite power, to supply all my wants, to comfort my drooping spirits, to refresh my fainting heart, and fill me with joy and peace in believing. Jesus is an all-satisfying portion, and He is thy portion, O my soul." (p. 98)

and this:

What a heart has Christ! Do you know what it is made of? It is an ocean of goodness. It is a sea, fathomless and shoreless, of matchless love-love to poor sinners who but look to Him or sigh for Him. It is the joy of His heart to save sinners. This was His express mission to our world. Then would I have you look, not to your evidences, or to your own goodness, or to your unworthiness, but to Jesus, with a believing heart, and you shall be saved in Christ and for Christ. By simply believing in the Lord Jesus, He becomes one with you, and you one with Him, the Holy Spirit taking possession of your souls for Himself. In a little while, and we pass away, and one thing only is needful. Come, then, to Jesus, and be saved; and give Him no rest until He manifests Himself to you, as He has promised. . . This manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ to your souls, when you experience it, will be worth more than millions of worlds to you.  (p.361)

Mary Winslow, Life in Jesus: a memoir of Mrs. Mary Winslow 

More Beautiful. . .

Do not wish to ask anything of God
except God.
Love him, desire him alone.
Leave all your desires.
He who made heaven and earth
is more beautiful than all; 
he will be to you everything you love.
Seek for him alone,
and despise everything else,
make your way to him.
Forget other things, remember him;
leave other things behind, stretch out to him.
Let him be your hope,
who is guiding you to your destination.
~St. Augustine

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.   (Ephesians 1:17)

Tell the Altogether Lovely One!

"For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God. . . ."   (Daniel 9:18-19)

I love this:

And, as if to crown the encouragements accumulating around our access to Jesus, there are His own personal attractions—all-inviting and irresistible. Everything in the person of Jesus encourages our advance. Does glory charm us—does beauty attract us—does love win us—does gentleness subdue us—does sympathy soothe us—does faithfulness inspire confidence?—then, all this is in Jesus, and all invites us to draw near. He is the “altogether lovely,” and if our minds can appreciate the grand, and our hearts are sensible of the tender; if they feel the power of that which is superlatively great and exquisitely lovely, then we shall need no persuasion to arise, and go and tell Jesus every emotion of our souls, and every circumstance of our history. Take all that is tender in love—all that is faithful in friendship—all that is wise in counsel—all that is longsuffering in patience, all that is balmy, soothing, and healing in the deepest sympathy—and its embodiment, its impersonation is—JESUS. Can we, then, be insensible to all this personal attraction, and hesitate repairing to His feet—telling Him all?

Octavius Winslow
Go and Tell Jesus

The Altogether Lovely Joy, Treasure, and Absorbing All

From the diary of Ruth Bryan:

What a peculiar year! How rich in mercy, high in joy, deep in conflict, sweet in love—the love of my precious Beloved!

Your love has softened and sweetened all my trials; and here I am—a monument of love's upholding power, feeling sweetly assured that the Lord has heard my prayers, and seen my tears. All shall be well—this deep and dark  trial shall end in songs of praise. "He knows the way that I take," and though, to the flesh, it is like a long dark road, with only occasional rays of brightness; yet, "my soul, wait only upon God"—it will not be in vain. He will either release from this fettering clay, or He will carry triumphantly on. And all shall redound to His praise who lived and died for me—my Lord, my life, my all. Praise for the past, trust for the future, befits Your favored worm, O Lord. I do afresh embrace You by faith, as my joy, my treasure, and my absorbing all. I fall heavily into Your arms, with all my weights. You will sustain me in Your love, in life or death—as seems best to You. Amen.

Thirsty for the Altogether Lovely One

"The LORD is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made."

Psalm 145:9

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?
. . . . And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

"I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer.
You are yourself the answer.
Before your face questions die away.
What other answer would suffice?"
~C.S. Lewis

The Best of the Best of the Best!!

You could not better anything which you find in Jesus. Wherever you shall cast your eye it may rest with satisfaction, for the best of the best of the best is to be seen in him. He is altogether lovely at every separate point. . .

from Charles Spurgeon's sermon  The Best Beloved

The Altogether Lovely Delight

Beloved Brothers and Sisters, what a blessed and transcendent joy this joy in the Lord is! Sometimes you joy in your children, yet they die and then you sorrow. At other times you rejoice in those who are grown up and are prospering, but perhaps they treat you with ingratitude and then, again, your joy is gone. You joy in your health and that is a great blessing—but you sicken and your joy departs. Some rejoice in their riches, but wealth takes to itself wings and flies away. You may joy in a choice friend, but after a while you may be forsaken and forgotten. You may joy, perhaps, in past achievements and there may come to you a joy in your prospects for the future—but there is no joy equal to joy in God! Suppose I have nothing in the house but God? Suppose there is nothing for me to rely upon but God, nothing that I can call my own but God? Well, is that a little thing? Are not all creatures but the visions of an hour? But the Creator is the substantial All in All, so that he who has God has all that he can possibly need! God, to His people, is the fullness out of which all their needs shall be supplied. What a mercy it is that when we can joy in nothing else, we can joy in God! We can joy in His power, for He can help us. We can joy in His faithfulness, for He cannot fail us. We can joy in His Immutability, for He changes not and, therefore, we are not consumed. We can joy in every thought that we have of Him, for altogether and observed from every point of view, He is the delight of His people!

Charles Spurgeon
http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols43-45/chs2550.pdf

An Altogether Lovely Hope and Trust

A beautiful prayer:

What, Lord, is the trust which I have in this life, or what is my greatest comfort among all the things that appear under heaven? Is it not you, O Lord, my God, Whose mercies are without number? Where have I ever fared well but for You? Or how could things go badly when You were present? I had rather be poor for Your sake than rich without You. I prefer rather to wander on the earth with You than to possess heaven without You. Where You are there is heaven, and where You are not are death and hell. You are my desire and therefore I must cry after You and sigh and pray. In none can I fully trust to help me in my necessities, but in you alone, my God. You are my hope. You are my confidence. You are my consoler, most faithful in every need.

All seek their own interests. You, however, place my salvation and my profit first, and turn all things to my good. Even though exposing me to various temptations and hardships, You Who are accustomed to prove Your loved ones in a thousand ways, order all this is for my good. You ought not to be loved or praised less in this trial than if You had filled me with heavenly consolations.

In you, therefore, O Lord God, I place all my hope and my refuge. On You I cast all my troubles and anguish, because whatever I have outside of You I will find to be weak and unstable. It will not serve me to have many friends, nor will powerful helpers be able to assist me, nor prudent advisers to give useful answers, nor the books of learned men to console, nor any precious substance to win my freedom, nor any place, secret and beautiful though it be, to shelter me, if You Yourself do not assit, comfort, console, instruct and guard me. For all things which seem to be for our peace and happiness are nothing when You are absent, and truly confer no happiness.

You indeed, are the fountain of all good, the height of life, the depth of all that can be spoken. To trust in You above all things is the strongest comfort of your servants. 

My God, the Father of mercies, to You I look, in You I trust. Bless and sanctify my soul with heavenly benediction, so that it may become Your holy dwelling and the seat of Your eternal glory. And in this temple of your dignity let nothing be found that might offend Your majesty. If your great goodness, and in the multitude of Your mercies, look upon me and listen to the prayer of Your poor servant exiled from You in the region of the shadow of death. Protect and preserve the soul of Your poor servant among the many dangers of this corruptible life, and direct him by Your accompanying grace, through the ways of peace, to the land of everlasting life.  

Thomas a Kempis
Imitation of Christ, Book 3, #59

Altogether Worthy of All Affections

You men and women with large hearts, whose one desire is to have a worthy object for your affections to fix upon, turn to this Word of God, this Law of God, this Gospel of His and you will see there how God Himself becomes the Object of His creatures’ love, and how, in the Person of His Son, you have the loveliest Object upon which human eyes ever gazed! You have, in Him, One who is so lovely that a glance from His eyes is enough to set your soul on fire and to make your heart enamored of Him forever! You who have mighty founts of love welling up in your soul may come and let them flow most freely here, for here is One who is worthy of them all! And when you have loved Christ as much as you can, you have not loved Him half as much as He deserves to be loved! Here your passions may burn and blaze and glow with sacred ardor, without any fear of your being idolaters. . .

~Charles Spurgeon

An Altogether Lovely Friend

John Piper writes:

[John Paton] began his Autobiography with the words, "What I write here is for the glory of God." That is true. But God gets glory when his Son is exalted. And his Son is exalted when we cherish him above all things, especially when "all things" are about to be snatched from us, including our life on earth. That is what this story is about. Here is the story of Paton in the tree.

Being entirely at the mercy of such doubtful and vacillating friends, I, though perplexed, felt it best to obey. I climbed into the tree and was left there alone in the bush. The hours I spent there live all before me as if it were but of yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the yells of the Savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe as in the arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul, than when the moonlight flickered among those chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Savior's spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship. If thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all alone, in the midnight, in the bush, in the very embrace of earth itself, have you a Friend that will not fail you then? (Autobiography, p.21)

(Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ, p. 82)

Thank you, Jesus, for enduring rejection past understanding, so that even this undeserving, dirty sinner who puts all her hope and trust in You, can, with all confidence respond, "Yes! Yes, I do have such a friend! In Jesus I have an unfailing, Altogether Lovely Friend."  Enable me to cherish you above all things--to cherish you rightly--that You may be exalted!