Christian, whom do you serve? Jesus said you cannot serve two masters (Mt. 6:24).

Are you serving men? Yes, we are called to do so in a proper manner, but our service to others is an extension of our service to God.

Are you serving money? Being consumed by a desire for material wealth leads to grief (1 Tim. 6:9-10). God promises if we seek first His kingdom, He will provide our needs (Mt. 6:33), and with that, Paul teaches, we should be satisfied (1 Tim. 6:8).

Are you serving self? This is the most difficult master from whom to separate. Yet Jesus exhorts that, in order to follow Him, one must deny himself (Lk. 9:23)

It is Christ we are to serve (Col. 3:24), and God through Him. We are to be steadfast in this, abounding in the work of the Lord, not working as though for men, but for God (Col. 3:23). We have no excuse to do otherwise. God provided what we need to be fully equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16). Let us by faith, therefore, set about the good works for which God called and saved us, which He prepared beforehand for us that we might walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, December 11

"Ye serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:24

To what choice order of officials was this word spoken? To kings who proudly boast a right divine? Ah, no! too often do they serve themselves or Satan, and forget the God whose sufferance permits them to wear their mimic majesty for their little hour. Speaks then the apostle to those so-called "right reverend fathers in God," the bishops, or "the venerable the archdeacons"? No, indeed, Paul knew nothing of these mere inventions of man. Not even to pastors and teachers, or to the wealthy and esteemed among believers, was this word spoken, but to servants, ay, and to slaves. Among the toiling multitudes, the journeymen, the day labourers, the domestic servants, the drudges of the kitchen, the apostle found, as we find still, some of the Lord's chosen, and to them he says, "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." This saying ennobles the weary routine of earthly employments, and sheds a halo around the most humble occupations. To wash feet may be servile, but to wash His feet is royal work. To unloose the shoe-latchet is poor employ, but to unloose the great Master's shoe is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then "divine service" is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden candlestick.

"Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see;
And what I do in anything to do it as to Thee.
All may of Thee partake, nothing can be so mean,
Which with this tincture, for Thy sake, will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws, makes that and the action fine."

Believer, yesterday morning I encouraged you to “walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). But what does it mean to walk in Christ? It is a walk of faith, not being moved by our circumstances, but by knowing the One who is faithful regardless of our situation. And that faith leads to obedience, obedience to that which Christ taught.

One of the most important teachings of Christ to His disciples is recorded for us in John 13:34-35 - “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The love expressed here is God’s ἀγάπη (agape) love. This is not romantic love, nor is it simple brotherly love; this is love that seeks what is best for the object of that love. Unlike the world’s definition of love, which expects that the one being loved should be accepted for whom he or she is, agape love rejoices in truth (1 Cor. 13:6). In this way, agape love is more difficult than worldly love, because it requires of us an honesty that can cut to the bone.

Yet it is to this honest love that we are called. It is not loving to leave someone wallowing in sin. It is not loving to allow someone to run headlong toward destruction, whether immediate or eternal. It is not loving to lie in order to spare someone’s feelings when that lie leaves him at odds with God.

For the unsaved, the most loving thing we can do is preach the gospel.

To our brethren, the most loving thing we can do is be bold in truth. Yet there is more. If we see our brethren in need, we should meet that need, not merely loving in word but in deed (1 Jn. 3:18; Jas. 2:14-17). We should seek to encourage one another, to build one another up in the faith, to “stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24-25). In doing all these things, we will, as Jesus exhorted in Jn. 13:34-35, show ourselves to be His disciples.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, November 9

"So walk ye in Him." Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ Himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate acquaintance with Him by a walk of faith in Him. Walking implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, "He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ." Walking signifies progress. "So walk ye in Him"; proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with Him, treading in His steps and doing His will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man's walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenour of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget Him; sometimes call Him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in Him. We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him. "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him"; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same till life's end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

The Christian life is one of walking in Christ. Jesus taught that whoever wishes to come after Him must deny himself and daily take up his cross and follow (Lk. 9:23). Paul himself said that he had been crucified with Christ, and that he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him (Gal. 2:20). This is the lot of the one who has received Christ Jesus the Lord (Col. 2:6).

So then brethren, let us walk in Him. Let us be build up in Him. Let us be established in our faith. We do can do this by hiding God’s word in our heart (Ps. 119:9-11), by praying for one another, and by gathering together, encouraging one another, and stimulating one another to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24-25).

Only in this way may we pursue “the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Only in this way can we put to death the flesh and the sin that dwells in our members (Rom. 7:23). We must walk in the spirit so that we may crucify the flesh and its desires (Gal. 5:16-24).

So then, believer, just as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Col. 2:6).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, November 8

"As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord." Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving- an act which implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of God. The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours His salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith, Christ becomes real to us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us- a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that His life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, He becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of Him. All this is to receive Christ- to take Him as God's free gift; to realize Him in my heart, and to appropriate Him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received CHRIST JESUS Himself. It is true that He gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; He gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ Himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received Him, and appropriated Him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain Him!

#1Corinthians 9:17 #kjv #kingjamesbible #bible #scriptures
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a #dispensation of the #Gospel is committed unto me.
#Ephesians 3:2
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of #God which is given me to you-ward
#Colossians 1:25
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God
#Ephesians 1:10
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in #Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him

Brethren, how glorious is the hope that is laid up for us in heaven (Col. 1:5). For “eye has not seen and ear has not heard…all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

Our inheritance is great. He “has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for” us (1 Pet. 1:3:3-4).

This knowledge is wonderful and beyond full comprehension. And thus, our focus and hope should not be here on earth, nor should our love be for the things of the earth; for these are not from the Father and lead only away from Him (1 Jn. 2:15-16). Instead, let us forget what is behind, and “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

Our calling is a higher one, and our hope is in eternity, not the temporal. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and your needs will be met (Mt. 6:33). Keep seeking and set your minds on things above, not the things of earth (Col. 3:1-2).

Our hope should bring us joy, because we know where our future lies.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”(Rom. 15:13).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 2

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven." Colossians 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker's brow, and fatigue shall be for ever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment for ever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come.

Many today have become enrapt in "contemporary Christian" music which, though may at times be emotionally stirring or make you want to dance and clap, is more often than not shallow, devoid of substance, overly-repetitive, and in many instances, theologically erroneous, and very man-centered. Yet God Himself blessed us with the Psalms that are so rich, so edifying, so full of Himself, and many of which were meant to be sung. The great hymn writers of old followed in David's and the other psalmists' footsteps, penning profound poetry of true praise to God. Let us look to the psalmists who wrote from experience and by inspiration as example for the praises we sing. They will build us up in Him as we do according to Scripture letting "the word of Christ richly dwell within [us], with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in [our] hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16) and "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with [our hearts] to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19).
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Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, August 20

"The sweet psalmist of Israel." 2 Samuel 23:1

Among all the saints whose lives are recorded in Holy Writ, David possesses an experience of the most striking, varied, and instructive character. In his history we meet with trials and temptations not to be discovered, as a whole, in other saints of ancient times, and hence he is all the more suggestive a type of our Lord. David knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown: the peasant has his cares, and David handled a shepherd's crook: the wanderer has many hardships, and David abode in the caves of Engedi: the captain has his difficulties, and David found the sons of Zeruiah too hard for him. The psalmist was also tried in his friends, his counsellor Ahithophel forsook him, "He that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me." His worst foes were they of his own household: his children were his greatest affliction. The temptations of poverty and wealth, of honour and reproach, of health and weakness, all tried their power upon him. He had temptations from without to disturb his peace, and from within to mar his joy. David no sooner escaped from one trial than he fell into another; no sooner emerged from one season of despondency and alarm, than he was again brought into the lowest depths, and all God's waves and billows rolled over him. It is probably from this cause that David's psalms are so universally the delight of experienced Christians. Whatever our frame of mind, whether ecstasy or depression, David has exactly described our emotions. He was an able master of the human heart, because he had been tutored in the best of all schools- the school of heart-felt, personal experience. As we are instructed in the same school, as we grow matured in grace and in years, we increasingly appreciate David's psalms, and find them to be "green pastures." My soul, let David's experience cheer and counsel thee this day.