Friday, January 16, 2026
Playing marbles with diamonds
'Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.' (Daniel 3:24-25)
In Playing Marbles with Diamonds, Dr. Vance Havner writes, "John the Baptist stood at the Jordan and said to his listeners, 'There standeth One among you whom ye know not,' and the next day he declared, 'Behold the Lamb of God!' Every Sunday morning there stands among the churchgoers One Whom many of them know not. It is the business of the preacher to present the Christ Who is always there when we meet in His Name and bid the congregation, 'Look who's here!'"
Dr. Havner comments, "One of these days, 'it may be at morn when the day is awakened, it may be at midday, it may be at twilight, it may be per chance in the blackness of midnight' - in one mighty shout around the world we will look up and cry 'Hallelujah! He's back! LOOK WHO'S HERE!'"
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Just As I Am
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F W Boreham on 'Just As I Am!'
F W Boreham writes a reflection on the well-known hymn in the music and song series.
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I have a couple of very attractive young ladies on my hands; let me introduce them!
But, first, I must revisit the dreamy old churchyard at Grasmere, in Westmorland, the churchyard in which I spent a very memorable hour or two some years ago. Among the yews and sycamores of that quiet God's acre, the Wordsworths all slumber side by side. It struck me as very beautiful, that little group of graves. A photograph of the six tombstones lies upon my desk at this moment, helping me to recapture the atmosphere in which the lovely place enfolded me.
Within a few feet of that long row of graves the crystal waters of the Rothay pursue their peaceful way. A low but massive stone wall divides the churchyard from the stream. In the delicious hush of that June morning, with no sound in my ears but the soothing murmur of the Rothay and the blithe notes of the birds, I sat for half an hour on that low wall, sometimes gazing afresh upon that magnetic group of graves; sometimes contemplating the square, romantic tower of old St. Oswald's Church close by—the church in which Wordsworth loved to worship—and sometimes letting my eye wander to Allan Bank (one of the poet's homes) on the hillside in the distance, to the straggling little village around me, and to the parsonage (another of Wordsworth's homes) just across the way.
The central stone bears the names of Wordsworth and his wife. Next on the right is the resting-place of Dora, the poet's `one and matchless daughter'. She was, from the day of her birth, her father's darling; and when the health of poor Dorothy, his sister, who, through the years, had `lent him eyes and lent him ears', suddenly went to pieces, Dora took her aunt's place at her father's side and became his constant companion.
Dora died three years before her father. And when, in 1850, Wordsworth's own last moment came, a sudden light illumined his rugged countenance. `Is that you, Dora?' he asked, as if recognizing some dear, familiar face in the world unseen; and, not long after, he was gone.
I am attracted to Dora Wordsworth's grave today by something on the epitaph that deeply impressed me when my eye first fell upon it, and that has grown upon me with the years. It always seems to me the most conspicuous object in this photograph that lies before me. For at least a third of Dora's tombstone is occupied with a carving of a lamb—a lamb with a cross behind it. Why is that lamb the most prominent feature in that churchyard scene? It is to answer that question that I reach for my pen to-day.
I
And, to answer that question, I must forsake the company of Dora Wordsworth, and must seek the society of my second young lady, a contemporary of Dora's, who lived at the opposite end of the country. Like Dora Wordsworth, Charlotte Elliott was very frail; but there was this difference between them; Dora Wordsworth died in 1847 at the age of forty-three, whilst Charlotte Elliott lived to be an old lady of eighty-two. Before she died in 1871, therefore, Charlotte Elliott must have heard the story of Dora Wordsworth's tombstone at Grasmere: she may even have visited it: I do not know. If she did, the carving of the lamb must have filled her soul with an emotion far deeper than that with which ordinary onlookers behold it.
Charlotte Elliott provides us with an interesting psychological study. To begin with, she was the granddaughter of Henry Venn of Huddersfield, the bosom friend of the seraphic Charles Simeon, whose gracious influence on the life of his period was so widespread and indelible. Her brother, with whose ministry at Brighton she herself was so intimately associated, was named Henry Venn Elliott after him. Then, too, Charlotte was born and brought up at Clapham, in London, the stronghold of Evangelical Anglicanism, aggressive Nonconformity, and devout Quakerism. Everybody knows the story of the Clapham set. Thackeray is inclined to poke fun at its puritanical strictness; but, in his Life of Macaulay—and Macaulay was a contemporary of Charlotte's at Clapham—Sir George Otto Trevelyan retorts that there can have been nothing wrong with a system that produced the Wilberforces, the Stephens, the Grants, and the Macaulays. At Grove House, the home of the Elliotts, religion dominated everything. The spirit of the great revival that gave birth to the Clapham movement swept through the house like a bracing wind from the upland moors and all the details of life and conduct were governed by a robust and simple faith.
The attitude of Charlotte herself to this welter of sanctity was an attitude neither of active sympathy nor of decided antipathy, but of languid apathy. She admired the piety and devotion of those about her, but she did not share it. She attended the church; took part in family worship; enjoyed all sacred music; and recognized the beauty of character exhibited by her relatives and friends. But, so far as she herself was concerned, she felt herself to be an outsider. Her unworthiness oppressed her. She regarded herself as distinctly of the world. The only virtue with which she could credit herself was a certain indefinable and unutterable wistfulness. Above everything else she longed to possess the calm, unquestioning faith, the radiant and confident assurance, that she saw in her relatives.
The crisis broke upon her in May, 1822. Charlotte was thirty-three. An illustrious and honoured guest came to Grove House in the person of Dr. Caesar Malan of Geneva. Dr. Malan was strangely attracted by the shy and pensive girl who always seemed to be hovering on the fringe of things. In a way she was part and parcel of the spirit of the home; and yet, when those things were discussed that meant everything to him and to his host and hostess, she shrank into herself and dissociated herself from the conversation. Like Cowper's wounded deer, she left the herd. Dr. Malan determined to speak to her. In those days, and especially in Anglican circles, religious conversation of an intimate and personal kind was looked upon as almost improper—an outrage on delicacy. Perhaps Dr. Malan chose an unfortunate moment for his approach; perhaps he introduced the theme a trifle too brusquely; at any rate, the overture was scarcely a success. Drawing Charlotte aside, he begged her to take him into her confidence. Was she a Christian? The question, thus bluntly put, offended her. She bridled, blushed and hurried from his presence, asking him, in future, to be good enough to mind his own business. Dr. Malan stammered his regret at having wounded her, promised to pray for her happiness, and let the matter pass.
The memory of the incident troubled him, however, and, though he little suspected it, it troubled Charlotte even more. She realized that the good man had been actuated only by an intense desire for her well-being. Putting herself in his place, she recognized that, in speaking to her, he had set himself a particularly difficult task; and she felt that she had repaid kindness with cruelty. A week or two later, when they chanced to find themselves alone together in the garden, she told him that she was sorry that she had been so rude.
`I have been thinking a great deal of what you said,' she added. `I feel that I should very much like to come to Christ; but I don't know how!'
`My dear young lady,' Dr. Malan replied, laying his hands on her shoulders and looking earnestly into her eyes, `you need worry no more about that! Come to Him just as you are!'
And in those four words just as you are—Charlotte Elliott saw daylight through her poignant problem. And those four words, which haunted her ever afterwards, proved the germ of the hymn that she was to give to the world twelve years later.
`Come to Him just as you are!' said Dr. Malan.
`Just as I am!' replied Charlotte in surprise.
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come!
That never-to-be-forgotten talk with Dr. Caesar Malan represented both the birth of her soul and the birth of her song.
II
A year or two after this irradiating experience at Clapham, Charlotte went to live with her brother, the Rev. Henry Venn Elliott, at Brighton. In addition to his strictly ministerial work, her brother was devoting himself to an attempt to establish at Brighton a high-class school at which the daughters of clergymen might obtain at nominal cost an excellent education under attractive and congenial conditions. His venture met with such success that, to this day, the school is, I understand, regarded as one of the best of its kind.
But its inauguration meant ceaseless activity, not only on the part of Mr. Elliott himself, but on the part of every member of his household. From early morning until late at night, they all worked assiduously to put St. Mary's Hall on its feet. But this whirlwind of consecrated energy again drove poor Charlotte back into herself. She had not the physical vitality to participate in it. She could not keep the pace. Whilst everybody around her was hard at work, she could only lie still and look enviously on. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Her compulsory idleness affected first her spirits, then her nerve, and, finally, her faith. Why was she alone excluded from this flutter of happy industry? Was it because she was so unworthy? Could God find no place for her in His great scheme of things? Had He rejected and discarded her? Was she a castaway?
The torture of this suspicion reached its climax on a certain evening in 1834. Charlotte was then forty-five. She was left alone in the pleasant boudoir set apart for her enjoyment in the lovely home at Westfield Lodge. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, together with all the other members of the household, had gone to an important function in connection with the founding of the new school. The thoughts that had been such an agony to her during recent weeks swept back with redoubled force to attack her in her loneliness. She felt that these depressing suggestions must be met—and conquered! But how? She resolved to probe to the very root of the matter. It was not merely a question of participation or non-participation in the life of her brother's church or in the duties of his home. It went much deeper. It was a matter of the salvation of her very soul. The horror that had enfolded her from time to time was the horror of spiritual dereliction—the thought that God had spurned her. Was that true? Her mind swung back to that afternoon in the garden at Clapham.
`I feel that I should very much like to come to Christ; but I don't know how!' she had said to Dr. Caesar Malan.
'My dear young lady,' the good man had replied, `you need worry no more about that! Come to Him just as you are!'
`Just as I am!' she had repeated to herself. `Just as I am!' And those four words had seemed to open to her the gates of Paradise.
This memory of the Clapham garden in 1822 rushed back upon her troubled mind as she reclined in her lonely boudoir at Brighton in 1834. She would return to that starting-point of twelve years earlier. A wave of emotion engulfed her. An urge to express her thought in tuneful verse suddenly seized her. Reaching for her pen, she set down in black and white what she called `the formulae of her faith'. Her agonized soul took a fresh grip on the eternal certainties; and, out of the peace that overflowed her entire being, she wrote:
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down,
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, of that free love,
The breath, length, depth and height to prove,
Here, for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Thus, twelve years after they were uttered, she had set Dr. Malan's emancipating words to music—Just as I am! Just as I am! When Mrs. Elliott and a few friends returned to the home a little later, Charlotte handed them the hymn. They felt instinctively that it was a genuine inspiration and begged for copies of it. A few months afterwards it was printed, anonymously, as a leaflet; and a friend, coming into possession of a copy, thought of Charlotte and posted it on to her! `I am sure that this will please you,' she wrote, never dreaming that she was sending the song back to its source.
So Charlotte Elliott's Just as I am sprang into being. No hymn has survived the crucial test of translation as successfully as this one. It is sung today in practically every known language. Mr. Moody used to say that, at his immense evangelistic meetings, it moved the hearts of his huge audience as no other hymn could do. And Charlotte's brother, at the end of his life, said to those who watched beside his bed that, whilst he rejoiced in the success that had attended his own ministry, he felt that infinitely more good had been done, the wide world over, by the deathless verses that his sister had penned.
III
And this brings us back to that little group of graves in Grasmere Churchyard.
When Charlotte Elliott's hymn was first sent out into the world as an anonymous leaflet, somebody, as we have seen, sent a copy to Charlotte herself. And somebody else, knowing that Dora Wordsworth, the poet's daughter, was seriously ill, sent a copy to her. At first Dora felt too far gone to take the slightest interest in it. Later, however, somebody read it aloud, very slowly and very softly, beside her bed:
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
The effect was startling. `Why,' the dying woman exclaimed, `that is the very thing for me!' And she begged that it might be read again and again and yet again. Sometimes she would ask for it as often as ten times a day. Occasionally, I like to think, her father, the laureate, read it to her.
`Now my hymn!' she would entreat, with a sad, tired smile; and, as the words were read, she would frame the syllables with her lips in a kind of ecstasy. All her thoughts were of the Lamb; all her faith was in the Lamb; all her hope rested on the Lamb! O Lamb of God, I come!
And so, when they laid her in that grassy spot in the beautiful lake country—the spot to which her father came three years later to lie down beside her—they carved the figure of the Lamb and the Cross boldly upon her tombstone, and, underneath, a text!
Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out! That is the text on Dora Wordsworth's tomb.
Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out! That is the text that Charlotte Elliott inscribed at the head of her original draft of the hymn.
And now that I have introduced my two young ladies, and now that they have blended their voices in so sublime a symphony, I may very well lay down my pen.
F W Boreham, 'Just As I Am!' A Late Lark Singing (London: The Epworth Press, 1945), 161-169.
Wait and Rest
Alan Redpath, Victorious Christian Living: Studies in the Book of Joshua (Westwood, NJ: Fleming Revell Co., 1955), 143-143.
Resting on Him
Remember
Refocus
Rest
"I need not ask whether I may call on Him or not, for that word 'Whosoever' is a very wide and comprehensive one...My case is urgent, and I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am His servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Someone lied that I blocked their number. It is blocked now.
Sunday, January 11, 2026
How to handle Stress
Refocus
Rest
Rejoice.
How to handle stress and anger.
Psalm 4:1-8 CSB
[1] … For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of David. Answer me when I call, God, who vindicates me. a You freed me from affliction; be gracious to me and hear my prayer. [2] How long, exalted ones, will my honor be insulted? How long will you love what is worthless and pursue a lie? Selah [3] Know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. [4] Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still. Selah
Remember
Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Memory is a fit handmaid for faith." Sacred memory encourages believers to trust and obey God's Word. Notice the movements in Psalm 103.
Inwardly, David addresses his heart's purpose. Psalm 103:1-5 reads, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." This reveals the heart of "a man after [God's] own heart" (Acts 13:22).
Outwardly, David addresses his Hebrew people. Psalm 103:6-18 reads, "The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them." How great are the Lord's mercies!
Upwardly, David addresses his heavenly partners. Psalm 103:19-22 reads, "The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion." Angels are heavenly partners, an angel told John, "I am your fellow servant" (Revelation 19:10, 22:9). Someone explains, "Because the Lord's dominion includes both heaven and earth, it is appropriate that all His created beings and objects praise Him."
As you reflect on the Lord's purpose, plan, and power, remember it is "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5a). Praise the Lord!
Remember
Refocus
How to handle stress and anger.
Psalm 4:5-7
Refocus
[5] Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the LORD. [6] Many are asking, "Who can show us anything good?" Let the light of your face shine on us, LORD. [7] You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound.
The gospel is the priority
The glory of God is what is best
Rest
. [8] I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety. …
Faith is what it is all about.
Hebrew 11:6
Rejoice.
David concludes Psalm 103 as he began it, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"
Rejoice in the Lord always again i say rejoice.
2 Corinthians 4 Eternal things
If anyone could have lost heart it was Paul, who was sorely tried, severely troubled, and shamefully treated (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Paul provides an eternal perspective for personal encouragement. He begins, "Therefore we do not lose heart" (2 Corinthians 4:16a). Then Paul reminds us of three things.
First, there is the daily renewal. 2 Corinthians 4:16b reads, "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." Physically we are all dying, but spiritually there is a renewal process for those who are born again. Dr. Thomas Constable explains, "even though physically he was decaying, spiritually he was still developing." Ephesians 3:16 reads, "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man." As believers we should desire to participate in the process of being renewed each day.
Second, there is the delightful reward. 2 Corinthians 4:17 reads, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Paul explains, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Romans 8:16-17). Sadly, many believers attempt to fit in with the world when we are commanded to stand out and to come out from among unbelievers and to be separate from them (2 Corinthians 6:11-18). We are to be in the world but not of the world. 2 Timothy 3:12 reads, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." 1 Peter 4:12-13 reads, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."
Third, there is the divine revelation. 2 Corinthians 4:18 reads, "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Paul is referring to those eternal things only seen through the eyes of faith. These are things we would never know unless God reveals them to us. 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 reads, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."
These days we need to have an eternal perspective for personal encouragement.
Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, Author of Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah and
Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice [Both available on Logos and Amazon] January 7, 2023 © All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, January 06, 2026
Are you going to miss the opportunity Romans 2
Someone sent an email message with the following subject line: "Are we going to miss this opportunity?" Even though using "we" for "you" has been used since the early 1700s, because some find it annoying, let me ask, "Are you going to miss this opportunity?" This is the general tenor of Paul's question recorded in Romans 2:4, "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" Paul calls us to "consider the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22). Matthew Henry (1662-1714) states, "To those whom God finds impenitent sinners he will be found an implacable judge." There is coming a day "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:7b-10). "The righteous judgment of God" (Romans 1:32; 2:5) is for all, both Jew and Gentile, unless we believe and receive "the gospel of Christ. . . to salvation" (Romans 1:16). Keep these things in mind when you consider this opportunity.
First, remember God's providence. Someone explains the word translated "goodness" or "kindness" in Romans 2:4 refers to "providing that which one needs." For example, "[God] makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
Second, remember God's patience. On Romans 2:4, Dr. Albert Barnes (1798-1870) explains, "[longsuffering] does not differ essentially from forbearance." Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) explains, "This know, that his forbearance gives you an opportunity to repent; do not turn it into an occasion for hardening your heart." Dr. A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) explains, "Every ransomed man owes his salvation to the fact that during his days of sinning, God kept the door of mercy open."
Third, remember God's purpose. He "leads you to repentance" (Romans 2:4). Acts 17:30-31 reads, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." 2 Peter 3:9 reads, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) warns, "You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it may be too late."
Are you going to miss this opportunity?
Monday, January 05, 2026
Martin Luther. Bondage of the will
I say that man, before he is renewed into the new creation of the Spirit's kingdom, does and endeavours nothing to prepare himself for that new creation and kingdom, and when he is re-created has does and endeavors nothing towards his perseverance in that kingdom; but the Spirit alone works both blessings in us, regenerating us, and preserving us when regenerate, without ourselves..."
Martin Luther fromThe Bondage of the Will (pg. 268)
"If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright."
-Martin Luther
When God works in us, the will, being changed and sweetly breathed upon by the Spirit of God, desire and acts, not from compulsion, but responsively.
-Martin Luther
"The will of man without grace is not free, but is enslaved, and that too with its own consent." - Martin Luther
"Let all the 'free-will' in the world do all it can with all its strength; it will never give rise to a single instance of ability to avoid being hardened if God does not give the Spirit, or of meriting mercy if it is left to its own strength." - Martin Luther
"Free will without God's grace is not free will at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil, since it cannot turn itself to good." - Martin Luther
"All the passages in the Holy Scriptures that mention assistance are they that do away with "free-will", and these are countless...For grace is needed, and the help of grace is given, because "free-will" can do nothing." - Martin Luther
"Does it follow from: 'turn ye' that therefore you can turn? Does it follow from "'Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart' (Deut 6.5) that therefore you can love with all your heart? What do arguments of this kind prove, but the 'free-will' does not need the grace of God, but can do all things by its own power....But it does not follow from this that man is converted by his own power, nor do the words say so; they simply say: "if thou wilt turn,telling man what he should do. When he knows it, and sees that he cannot do it, he will ask whence he may find ability to do it..." 164" - Martin Luther
"God has surely promised His grace to the humbled: that is, to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realizes that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another -- God alone. - Martin Luther
"A man who has no part in the grace of God, cannot keep the commandments of God, or prepare himself, either wholly or in part, to receive grace; but he rests of necessity under the power of sin."- Martin Luther
"It is false that the will, left to itself, can do good as well as evil, for it is not free, but in bondage...On the side of man there is nothing that goes before grace, unless it be impotency and even rebellion."- Martin Luther
"As long as a man is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself, and so is not humbled before God. Such a man plans out for himself a position, an occasion, a work, which shall bring him final salvation, but which will not."- Martin Luther
"So these truths are published for the sake of the elect, that they may be humbled and brought down to nothing, and so saved. The rest of men resist this humiliation; indeed, they condemn the teaching of self-despair; they want a little something left that they can do for themselves ... and therefore enemies of the grace of God."- Martin Luther
"The saved are singled out not by their own merits, but by the grace of the Mediator."- Martin Luther
"He that will maintain that man's free will is able to do or work anything in spiritual cases, be they never so small, denies Christ." - Martin Luther, Table Talk
"Even like as St. Paul was converted, just so are all others converted; for we all resist God, but the Holy Ghost draws the will of mankind, when he pleases, through preaching."- Martin Luther
"God foreknows nothing by contingency, but that He foresees, purposes, and does all things according to His immutable, eternal, and infallible will. By this thunderbolt, "Free-will" is thrown prostrate, and utterly dashed to pieces."- Martin Luther
Boast in the Lord
[26] Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, e not many powerful, not many of noble birth. [27] Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. [28] God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world-what is viewed as nothing-to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, [29] so that no one may boast in his presence. [30] It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us-our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, [31] in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. …
Boast in the Lord
David declares, "My soul shall make its boast in the Lord" (Psalm 34:2a). Someone explains, "Boasting in the Lord is a biblical concept that emphasizes giving glory and honor to God rather than oneself. It is rooted in the understanding that all good things come from God, and human achievements are ultimately due to His grace and power." Note three things from Psalm 34:2-10 about how to boast in the Lord.
First, boast in the Lord experientially. Psalm 34:2 reads, "My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad." This is when a test becomes a testimony. Charles H. Spurgeon explains, "We should boast in God in proportion as we learn more of Him, and receive more from Him. Many believers only know the elementary things. They are at a kindergarten school, and sit among the babes in Christ--hence their songs are children's hymns, and not the grand old psalms of heroes and sages. It should be our desire to grow in the knowledge of our Lord. Beyond the rudiments of the faith--there are deeper, higher, and fuller truths which invite our consideration, and will abundantly repay it." Boasting in the Lord must be related to our experience with the Lord.
Salvation is all of grace.
Ephesians 2:1-10 CSB
[1] … And you were dead in your trespasses and sins [2] in which you previously lived according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. [3] We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. [4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, [5] made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! [6] He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift- [9] not from works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. …
Sanctification is a response to grace Eph 2:6,7
Service is a gift of God's grace Eph 2:10
Second, boast in the Lord expensively. Psalm 34:3 reads, "Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together." This is a wholehearted effort that desires to invite and involve others to boast in the Lord with us. Sometimes this can be expensive because you risk rejection. This is a part of identifying with the One who was despised and rejected.
Third, boast in the Lord expectantly. Psalm 34:4-10 reads, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." Here, David shares his personal expectations as he boasts in the Lord.
Gene Brown quipped, "The really tough thing about humility is you can't brag about it." It has been said, "No one likes a braggart." C. S. Lewis warns that boastful pride is a primary sin, he called it "the anti-God state of mind." James 4:6b reads, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Expect a boost from the Lord when you boast in the Lord!
Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey,
God is Good. Kirksey
"God Is So Good" is a traditional hymn based on a line from David's song of thanksgiving recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:34, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!" Psalm 138 is a psalm of David revealing "The Lord's Goodness to the Faithful." Here are some things that should be since God is so good.
Since God is so good there should be a dedication to His Word. Psalm 138:1-3 reads, "I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul." James Montgomery Boice explains, "It would be as if God is saying, 'I value my integrity above everything else. Above everything else I want to be believed.' The verse does not have to mean that God's other qualities are moved to second place." Are you properly valuing God's Word?
Since God is so good there should be a demonstration of His ways. Psalm 138:4-6 reads, "All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD. Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar." Micah 4:2 reads, "Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.'" Thomas Constable comments, "David anticipated that when other monarchs heard about the Lord's greatness, they would worship Him too. This was the reaction of the Queen of Sheba in Solomon's day (1 Kings 10:1-13)." These verses have an evangelistic tone of a witness proclaiming the gospel, one who speaks "the words of [God's] mouth," to those without Him. Are you passionately vitalizing God's ways?
Since God is so good there should be a determination for His will. Psalm 138:7-8 reads, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands." God has a plan for your life. Philippians 1:6 reads, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." C. T. Studd said, "Only one life, 'Twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." Are you purposely venturing God's will?
God is so good!
Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey,
Sunday, January 04, 2026
Faithful
Theodore Roosevelt said, "It is better to be faithful than famous." God said, "Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever" (1 Samuel 2:35). Thomas Constable explains Samuel initially fulfilled this role (1 Samuel 3:1; 1 Samuel 3:20; 1 Samuel 7:9; 1 Samuel 9:2-13) but that this prophecy refers more fully to Zadok, who replaced Abiathar as high priest in Solomon's day, whose descendants would serve in the millennial kingdom (Ezekiel 44:15; 48:11). According to the Tyndale Illustrated Study Bible, "Samuel lived at the end of the period of the judges and ushered in the period of kingship. He was Israel's last judge (1 Sam 7:6, 15‑17) and first prophet (3:20; Acts 3:24; 13:20). He functioned as a priest (1 Sam 2:18) and was a great man of faith (Heb 11:32)." Our passage recorded in 1 Samuel 3:19-20 provides a brief biographical record of Samuel's life and ministry. Let us note three highlights.
Notice Samuel's favor. 1 Samuel 3:19a reads, "So Samuel grew and the Lord was with him." 1 Samuel 2:21b reads, "Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the Lord." 1 Samuel 2:26 reads, "And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men." 1 Samuel 2:30b reads, "But now the Lord says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.'"
Notice Samuel's facility.1 Samuel 3:19b reads, "and let none of his words fall to the ground." This means when he said "thus saith the Lord" in a prophecy, it came true every time. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 reads, "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?'— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him."
Notice Samuel's fame. 1 Samuel 3:20 reads, "And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord." This was the Lord's doing as we read of Joshua, "On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life" (Joshua 4:14). Samuel was well known and well respected but not necessarily a celebrity. Charles H. Spurgeon warns, "It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout 'Well done' to the Christian man." It should be our desire to hear the Lord say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21, 23).
May you be encouraged to be a faithful servant!
Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey
Friday, January 02, 2026
Ghost writers
Excerpts from Bonar Man His Religion
