Spurgeon on “Our Prayers are Filed in Heaven” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

God remembers our prayers! He knows our needs. He cares about His children. What great comfort we can take in this knowledge.

The heavens are vast, as shown in this NASA photograph. Just as the Lord remembers each and every star, he can remember our prayers and fulfill them to our delight, as Spurgeon says.

Yet despair and discouragement always seem to be close at hand as we wait. When our faith is tried, it is important to realize that is when our faith grows. Continue in “earnest supplication,” persevere, hang on, dear child of God!

As we have seen in other Psalms, we need to look back and remember what God has done for us, how He has answered prayers and blessed us, even when we don’t deserve it. God knows our future as we see our past. It is all for His glory.

Dear Lord, Let me glorify you and enjoy you forever. As I pray, help my faith to grow each day, even through discouragement and hard times. Help me to always engage in earnest supplication. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Trust in the Lord – Psalm 37 KJV 2 Minute Devotional

We’ve had some close calls financially, but there has always been food on the table for our family. My wife can stretch the food budget, a friend gave us some grocery money, a neighbor brought us a meal, another neighbor shared garden vegetables with us are some of the ways God has provided for us in the past.

This is a short verse, but it carries lots of meaning. The Lord asks two things of us: trust Him and do good. In return he allows us to dwell in the land and promises we shall be fed. Mr. Squirrel seems to be quite satisfied in the picture, doesn’t he?

Dear Lord, help me to trust in you, and to do good from a grateful heart. Thank you for your gracious provision, Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 37 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes KJV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Great is the Lord – Psalm 48 ESV 2 Minute Devotional

We use the word “great” to describe people: “He was a great baseball player,” or “She has a great voice.” It is used to describe things like: “That is a great car,” or “We saw a great movie.”

While the word “great” elevates the person or thing above the ordinary, I feel that words fail us when trying to describe the greatness of God. Nor are there words that can fully express praise due to God, as in “greatly to be praised.”

In the Scriptures, mountains are frequently associated with the worship of God, such as Mount Zion in this Psalm. When we look at a mountain, such as the one in this picture, we think about massive, immovable, tall, and “great.”

However, give me the tallest mountain, and God is greater. Give me the greatest man alive today, and God is greater. Let me praise God with all my strength, and I can scarcely express my thanks for the “great” salvation God has given me.

Dear Lord, Help me understand your greatness that I may praise you more and more each day. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 48 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Cast Your Burden on the Lord – Psalm 55 ESV 2 Minute Devotional

Don’t you wish you could be like the sea otter in the picture? Not a care in the world. Even catching food looks like a game for these fun-loving creatures.

Burdens come in many forms, relationships, financial, school work, pressure at the job, child rearing, and many others. They stick to us like Velcro to felt, and in many cases, we learn to live with them.

Suppose you are a busy housewife with a couple of toddlers at home. Exhausted, you answer the door, and a friend offers to watch the kids and pick up the house so you can get some rest. Later, you wake refreshed and find the house clean and the kids happy. Your friend took your burden willingly and gladly.

What relief, what joy, when the burden is cast away! We are not alone, gentle reader. We can cast our burden on the Lord, and He will sustain us. We can put our trust in Him.

Dear Lord, Help me to cast my burden upon you, the cares and worries of this life that weigh me down. Most importantly, lift the burden of sin from my life, that I might know you and trust you more each day. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 55 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Spurgeon on “Our Flesh Mourns & Our Faith Triumphs!” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

When I am ill, or under some sort of affliction, it’s not really a time that I would normally think of as a faith-building experience. My instinct is to focus on myself and complain to anyone who will listen.

In Judges 14 we find the story of Samson that Spurgeon mentions in the quote. One day while Samson is walking along the road, a young lion “came toward him roaring.” Then is says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and, with his bare hands, he tore the lion apart in pieces.

Later Samson returned to the place to find a swarm of bees in the carcass of the lion, and Samson scraped the honey out with his hands and ate it, and gave some to his mother and father.

From the account of Scripture, we know that Samson was a strong guy, but notice that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him as the lion came toward him. God was with Samson during this deadly confrontation. I have trouble carving a turkey with a knife, but Samson tore apart a lion with his bare hands!

From this story, we find out that God was with Samson during the trial, and saved his life, plus sweet honey grew out of the aftermath. So it should be with us if we rightly consider our situation as Spurgeon says.

Dear Lord, Help me to acknowledge your presence during trials, so that my faith may grow stronger. I praise you for the honey that grows out of the adversity, the sweet taste after the bitter trial. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Longing for God – Psalm 143 NASB 2 Minute Devotional

There have been a few times in my life where I’ve been really thirsty. You know how it feels – throat parched, tongue thick, mouth feels like cotton. Fortunately in our modern world, water is usually nearby at a fountain or faucet.

I’ve seen movies and read books about people who have suffered from severe dehydration and thirst. Perhaps the person is lost in the desert, like the one pictured on the left. There’s nothing but barren rock and scrub brush. No streams, no ponds, no springs, no water anywhere.

I think the Psalmist captures the feelings of a thirsty wanderer in Psalm 143. The spirit is overwhelmed with the thought of finding water. All thoughts are consumed with the search. The mind drifts back to times when the glass was full, thirst was quenched, water was flowing in abundance. Then there is the mirage, the pool of water just ahead of us. We stretch out our hands and stumble toward the illusion.

Can I thirst for God, like the body thirst for water? Does it consume me, does it move me to long for Him and meditate on his blessings in my life?

Dear Lord, let me thirst for you and long for you in all I do. Help me to find the water of life in your scriptures and in the preaching of the gospel, in prayer, in worship, and in service to your people. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 143 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or  Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Walk Blameless Before God – Psalm 119 ESV 2 Minute Devotional

How much is integrity worth? It’s hard to say, but if we are truthful and honest in our business, social and family life, we can walk blameless before the Lord. Those around us will also be blessed.

How much is lack of integrity worth? Judging from some of the huge corporate and investment frauds in recent years, it can run into huge amounts of money. The persons responsible usually go to jail, and countless investors lose their money.

Dear Lord, help me to seek you with all my heart, and walk blameless before you, and before others, that you may be honored and others may be blessed.

The butterfly in the image is a small creature, however it’s beauty is large, and pleasing to our eye. If we walk blameless in even the small things, perhaps our good works will be large before God, and pleasing to others.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 119 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Spurgeon on “Light Without Darkness” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

This world is stained with sin. We can’t get away from it, no matter how hard we try, or how far we go. It manifests itself personally in our lives, and in nature.

In our personal lives and relationships, we see pride, envy, lust, hatefulness, and all sorts of sin that manifests itself in our lives each day. We might be able to overcome some sins through the sheer force of will, but sin itself is so deeply embedded in our being that it can never be overcome completely.

In nature we see imperfections and decay everywhere. Our own bodies wear out after a period of time, even though the average lifespan has increased in recent years. Natural phenomena such as tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and many other events indicate that this earth is unstable. Pain and suffering are all around us.

But Spurgeon (and the Bible) talk of beauty and perfection that doesn’t exist on this earth. In a place called heaven we will find it.

When Jesus came to this earth, he showed us that He could reverse the effects of sin in this world. Jesus healed many people reversing the effect of disease in their bodies. He controlled the weather by calming a storm, and he controlled evil spirits by casting them out of the people they tormented. He also preached the gospel, which by faith, can cleanse sin from our lives.

Dear Lord, Only with your grace can we reverse the effect of sin in our life. Only by faith can we prepare for heaven, where sin shall be no more, and we will see your “glory without cloud.” Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Spurgeon on “Joy Above All Joys!” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

For many people, gazing at the heavens brings questions about the existence of a Creator to their mind. The distances are so vast that travel between planets can take multiple lifetimes at the speed of light. Looking at the stars, it becomes possible to imagine infinity – eternity.

But a vague belief in God isn’t enough. There are still questions about how we should respond to this idea of God? What does God require of us? Does God speak to us? Those answers can’t be found in the skies or nature alone.

Those answers can be found in the Bible. Quite simply, the Scriptures teach us that man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. But, as sinful creatures we cannot please God or glorify Him.

We instinctively know that sin is a problem in our lives – when our anger gets out of control, when we hurt someone, when we lie… Scripture tells us that Jesus made the sacrifice for our sins on the cross, so that we can become one of His children. It is then that we can begin to glorify God and enjoy Him.

Dear Lord, My faith is small. Help me to believe that Jesus can take away my sin. Let me begin to glorify you and serve you as I learn more about you from reading your Word, the Bible. Let me say Oh, joy above all joys as I begin to praise you and enjoy you forever. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Save Me From My Enemies – Psalm 18 NIV 2 Minute Devotional

A group of students from Taylor University were in Egypt for the spring semester, but their stay was cut short by the recent unrest. One of the young ladies is a friend of our family, and we followed the situation closely. We prayed for her safety as Americans were evacuated from Cairo, and the group was finally able to flee to Turkey.

The unrest in Egypt made it dangerous for foreigners and religious groups to stay. Innocent people had been killed at their place of worship. In an instant, you could become an enemy of an angry crowd because of your race or religion. You could be harmless and helpless, as the fawn in the picture, but still become the object of hatred and violence.

I’m sure that Psalm 18 becomes relevant to these students, with the possibility that violence could erupt around them at any moment. They were rescued from violent men and saved from their enemies.

The Psalmists response is praise. Exuberant praise! “O Lord; I will sing praises to your name.” I’m sure these students and their parents are praising God for their deliverance from possible harm.

Our deliverance might not be quite so dramatic, but should our praise be any less? If God can deliver us from small things, then He can deliver us from any thing. We can especially praise God each day for delivering us from our sins through Jesus.

Dear Lord, I praise you for my deliverance and protection. I praise you especially for your great salvation through Jesus Christ your son. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 18 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or  Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

NIV Psalm Screen with “Bambi”

I really like the “Bambi” images because they fit well with a number of Psalms. The iPhone screen shot below shows the fawn with Psalm 18:35 (NIV). I thought this fit well with the contrast between humility and greatness mentioned in the Psalm. The screen shot comes from the Daily Psalms NIV product.

Spurgeon on “Comfort in God’s Choosing” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

Do you remember, as a child, being taken somewhere by your parents? If it was a place you really wanted to go, like the state fair, you were very excited. Additionally, you were absolutely confident in their choice to take  you where they said they would. Not only was it exciting, it was a great comfort as well, that you could trust them at their word.

Now contrast that with being lost in a big city. You never know if the choice you made to turn left or right will be the right choice – the choice that will take you to your destination. There is no comfort, only anxiety as you search for the way home.

Election in the Bible has to do with God choosing us. It’s amazing, that as you read the Scriptures, how many times we come across passages about how God has chosen us.

As Spurgeon says, it is truly humbling to know that we are not chosen because of anything about us, what we have done or even accomplished. For that undeserved grace, gratitude should pour from our hearts. We can take great comfort in that.

Now if my salvation and standing with God is the product of my choice, it would be unsettling, just like being lost in the big city. Did I make the right choice? If I choose God, can I then “unchoose” God? If I ever do find the way, then it would have been done through my effort, my choices.

I’m no theologian, but it just seems that concerning salvation, God choosing me, is much more of a comfort than me choosing God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph 2:8-9 ESV. If we look closely at this passage, we find that even our faith is the gift of God.

Dear Lord, Grant me the gift of faith, that I may believe. Help me to know how perfect your choice is. Help me to take comfort in your election, your choosing of the saints. If there is any uncertainty in me, help me to begin to understand the depth and completeness of your grace, and let my heart bring forth gratitude and praise. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Comments on iPhone Spurgeon Quotes App

I love my customers, and quotes like the following make it all worthwhile!

A good way to start the day

This is a nice app. Each day there is a nature picture and a quote from Spurgeon worthy of pondering. Very easy to use.

Another Comment

Though He Be Dead, Yet Still He Speaketh…I love this man….WOW!!!

Spurgeon on “God’s Love & Discipline” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

I can remember being disciplined by my parents. Sometimes it was a spanking, restriction of privileges, or a stern lecture. Normally, I knew exactly what the issue was. I did the wrong thing, and I was being punished for that specific deed.

On this earth, parents are fallible, discipline and punishment can be abused, so we have to be careful how we view discipline from the Lord. Parents should discipline a child because they love their child, and in their wisdom, they know that a particular behavior is not healthy. For example, lying is not acceptable behavior and telling the truth is a far better way to conduct one’s life.

So how do I know if God is disciplining me? Let me suggest that if you are being disciplined by God, it will be obvious to you. Just like I mentioned above, I knew exactly why my parents were disciplining me, so it is with God’s discipline. I also know that I tried to hide from my parent’s discipline, because the consequences were painful. It is also our nature to hide from God’s discipline. It is important for me to learn to respond to God’s discipline with repentance, and with His help, to correct the problem.

Here’s the tough question. If something bad happens to me, is it because God is disciplining me, or is God mad at me, or has He forgotten me? First, let’s establish that nothing, good or bad, happens to us without God’s purpose or knowledge. Ultimately, everything will work out for God’s glory. The problem is that we aren’t privy to the details, this side of heaven. As a result, we must trust each event to God’s wisdom and purpose whether we understand it or not.

To answer the question then, if bad things happen to us because of God’s discipline, it will be obvious to us and we should respond with repentance. If it is not obvious, we should ask for God’s help, understanding that He has a purpose for leading us through such a trial. In either case we should humbly look for the opportunity to grow in grace.

Dear Lord, If you are disciplining me for specific sin, help me to humbly repent. In all things, good or bad, let me praise you for daily grace, and understand that all things work together for good for those who are called according to your purpose. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.