성령 안에 있는 의와 평강과 희락(롬14:17)

SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS “Come unto Me.” Matthew 11:28 God means us to live a fully-orbed life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside, and we tumble into a way of introspection which we thought had gone. Self-consciousness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of the life in God, and self-consciousness continually produces ..

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN EXPRESSIONLESS WITH SORROW? “And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.” Luke 18:23 The rich young ruler went away expressionless with sorrow; he had not a word to say. He had no doubt as to what Jesus said, no debate as to what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow that had not any words. Have you ever been there? Has God’s word come to yo..

ARE YOU DISCOURAGED IN DEVOTION? “Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast. . . and come, follow Me.” Luke 18:22 “And when he heard this. . .” Have you ever heard the Master say a hard word? If you have not, I question whether you have heard Him say anything. Jesus Christ says a great deal that we listen to, but do not hear; when we do hear, His words are amazingly hard. Jesu..

DOES HE KNOW ME— “He calleth his own ship by name, and leadeth them out.” John 10:3 When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (John 20:17.) It is possible to know all about doctrine and yet not know Jesus. The soul is in danger when knowledge of doctrine out-steps intimate touch with Jesus. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine was no more to Mary than the grass under her feet. Any Pharisee could hav..

SIGNS OF THE NEW BIRTH “Ye must be born again.” John 3:7 The answer to the question “How can a man be born when he is old?” is—When he is old enough to die—to die right out to his “rag rights,” to his virtues, to everything, and to receive into himself the life which never was there before. The new life manifests itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness. “As man..

CHASTENING “Despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him.” Hebrews 12:5 It is very easy to quench the Spirit; we do it by despising the chastening of the Lord, by fainting when we are rebuked by Him. If we have only a shallow experience of sanctification, we mistake the shadow for the reality, and when the Spirit of God begins to check, we say—“Oh, that..

QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT “Quench not the spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 The voice of the Spirit is as gentle as a zephyr, so gentle that unless you are living in perfect communion with God, you never hear it. The checks of the Spirit come in the most extraordinarily gentle ways, and if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice you will quench it, and your personal spiritual life will be ..

THE THEOLOGY OF REST “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Matthew 8:26 When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but Our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones. Our trust is in God up to a certain point, t..

THIS EXPERIENCE MUST COME “And he saw him no more.” 2 Kings 2:12 It is not wrong to depend upon Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and leader, because God does not intend he should. You say—“I cannot go on without Elijah.” God says you must. Alone at your Jordan. v. 14. Jordan is ..

THE SACRAMENT OF THE SAINT “Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing.” 1 Peter 4:19 To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or ..