“As a shadow has no power because there is no substance in it, even so that supplication in which a man’s proper self is not thoroughly present in agonizing earnestness and vehement desire is utterly ineffectual, for it lacks that which would give it force. ‘Fervent prayer,’ says an old divine, ‘like a cannon planted [...]

Thou only Sovereign of my heart,
My Refuge, my almighty Friend—
And can my soul from Thee depart,
On Whom alone my hopes depend?
Whither, ah whither shall I go,
A wretched wanderer from my Lord?
Can this dark world of sin and woe
One glimpse of happiness afford?
Eternal life Thy words impart;
On these my fainting spirit lives;
Here sweeter comforts cheer my [...]

I don’t know what’s happened, but we’ve had more cold and ice and snow than usual during the past month. Having single digit degree temperatures in the daytime isn’t common. Until now. The snow doesn’t usually last very long either, but because of the cold temperatures, it’s hanging around and everything is still covered in [...]

The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?
My God, no hymn for thee?
My soul’s a shepherd too; a flock it feeds
Of thoughts and words, and deeds.
The pasture is Thy Word; the streams, Thy Grace
Enriching all the place
Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers
Out-sing the daylight hours.

If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world; at least, we should be better enabled to bear them. –John Owen

You can get more juice from a dried-up lemon or lime if you heat it for 5 minutes in boiling water before you squeeze it.
Hmm. I think there might be a spiritual analogy somewhere in there…

Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise Thee,
for love so unmerited, so unspeakable,
so wondrous, so mighty to save the lost
and raise them to glory.
Father, I thank thee the in fullness of grace
thou hast give me to Jesus, to be his sheep,
jewel, portion;
O Jesus, I thank the that in fullness of grace
thou hast accepted, [...]

So let our lips and lives express
The holy Gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine,
To prove the doctrine all divine.
Thus shall we best proclaim abroad
The honors of our Savior God,
When the salvation reigns within,
And grace subdues the power of sin.
Our flesh and sense must be denied,
Passion and envy, lust and pride;
While justice, temperance, [...]

Look away from yourself. Seek from God what he alone can do for you. Moral improvement of the old you is not what you need. –John Piper

It was last year on January 4 that I read a sentence from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotional book that floored me: Abide hard by the cross, and search the mystery of His wounds. The words may as well have been highlighted. I was drawn to them, startled by them, and knew that I had [...]