Author: Charles Spurgeon

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Now look upon our country. God bless it. Oh, in infinite mercy end the horrible wars around the world. O God Almighty, may they come to a speedy close, and may a permanent peace be established. Let the whole earth sit still and be at peace. Sword of the Lord, will you never rest? Will you never be quiet? We ask you, O God of infinite mercy, turn men’s minds from all the sins that breed the cruelties and wickednesses of war, and may there come next a peace of soul and heart with God, and then a peace with our fellow men.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“… what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)

What the apostles learned, they learned in order that they might tell it to others. All that John saw he was prepared to speak of according to his ability, that others might have fellowship with him. Remember that, if you ever learn anything of Christ—if you have any enjoyment of his presence at any time—it is not for yourself alone, but for others also to share with you.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Understanding the Roman Catholic Church

Later this month, we’ll celebrate Reformation Day, the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg — an event that sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Today, more than 500 years later, the Reformation is not finished. It’s just as important now that we seek to understand and engage our Roman Catholic neighbors. A great resource for starting (or continuing) your study on this important issue is 40 Questions about Roman Catholicism by Gregg Allison.

I received a review copy of this book, and I’m incredibly thankful for the thorough, biblical, honest, and fair approach to Roman Catholic theology and practice that the book takes.

Many Protestants have an unfair, simplistic view of Roman Catholic theology, based on a few erroneous doctrines. This book takes a big-picture approach to understanding what Catholics believe and makes them different from Protestants. The question-and-answer format makes the book easy to read and accessible to reference.

Reading 40 Questions about Roman Catholicism will fill you with love for God’s Word and God’s gospel, rejecting any counterfeits, like Roman Catholicism. This book will equip you to better understand Roman Catholic theology and more faithfully engage your Catholic neighbor in evangelism.

Buy 40 Questions about Roman Catholicism:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback or ebook edition)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Bless, at this time, those who are beginning to seek after better things. Though perhaps as yet they do not know the Lord, if there is any stirring up of grace to seek something better, Lord, lead them further than they mean to go. Bring them to yourself. O dear Savior, bring men up from the very depths of transgression, from lust, and drunkenness, and wrath, and rioting, and evil speaking—bring them up, Eternal Spirit. How glad we are to get a word with them; how anxious that that word should, like the Master’s, reveal them to themselves, and then reveal him to them.

Let the dark parts of the wicked city see the flame-flash of Christ’s eye. May it come to pass that there should be added to our church of such as shall be saved, who once were among the number who seemed right to be damned.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…” (1 John 1:1)

The facts of Christ’s history on earth are recorded by eyewitnesses who could not be deceived concerning them. They exercised their various senses with regard to Christ—hearing, seeing, and touching him again and again. They were veracious witnesses, and they died in testimony of their faith in what they asserted. And when anything has been heard, seen, inspected, and even touched and handled, by a company of reliable witnesses, the testimony of such witnesses concerning it must be accepted as true.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Get a FREE Evangelistic Resource*

Today we prayed that we would see many sinners come to know Christ. This is the great desire of every Christian, but do you know that you have a part to play in this?

If we want to see sinners come to Jesus, we need to share the truth of SCRIPTURE, not our own opinions. It’s absolutely amazing to see the fruit that comes about when a Christian simply opens and reads God’s Word with a non-Christian.

(And we shouldn’t be surprised by that! After all, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ,” Romans 10:17).

And yet, reading with a non-Christian can seem a little daunting. Thankfully, there are a lot of GREAT resources to help you, like The Essential Jesus.

The Essential Jesus contains the complete text of Luke’s Gospel with really helpful comments throughout that help explain the context, culture, and content of the Gospel.

It even has a brief overview of EVERYTHING that took place in the Bible’s storyline, leading up to Jesus (“Previously in the Bible”).

And the back of the book has a complete “Two Ways to Live” presentation, encouraging readers to decide if they will continue to walk in their own path or to submit to King Jesus and find true and lasting life.

This is a really helpful resource to have available to give away.

And THIS MONTH ONLY, Matthias Media is giving away FIVE FREE COPIES to anyone who orders their new book Learn the Gospel by Tony Payne.

(“Learn the Gospel” will help you and other Christians gain a better understanding of the Bible’s storyline and train you to share it with others. It’s an INCREDIBLE resource for small groups or discipleship.)

Buy Learn the Gospel from Matthias Media and receive five free copies of The Essential Jesus.

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Bless your dear saints—all of them. Comfort them in their afflictions, and bear them up in any trouble of mind. Be very gracious to your people here, binding us more and more firmly together in a holy, living unity; and stir us up more and more to seek the good of the sons of men, and more especially to seek the glory of our divine Lord and Master.

Jesus, we are yours and belong to nobody else. No cause engages our hearts but yours. All our sympathies run one way—in the channel where flows the precious blood of our redeeming Lord. All for Christ and none besides, in our heart at this time. Oh keep it so; keep it so till we behold the well-beloved in his glory, and are wrapped up in his splendor with him.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

In this chapter Paul dealt with the fact of the resurrection and argued in defense of it. Yet he closes with these words. This is a lesson for us. Let us never think we have learned a doctrine until we have seen its fruit in our lives. The text has in it two things—first, it mentions two great points of Christian character—“steadfast, immovable” and “always excelling in the Lord’s work.” And, second, it gives us a grand motive—“because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A New Book to Help You (And Others) Learn the Bible’s Story*

The Bible tells a grand story that helps us make sense of everything in this world — including our suffering. If we’re going to walk faithfully throughout our lives, we need to cultivate a strong Christian worldview, and that begins by understanding the story of Scripture.

There’s a new resource available now from Matthias Media that does a REALLY great job at helping you (and others) grow your understanding of the big story of Scripture, so that you’ll be more equipped to share it with others.

Learn the Gospel by Tony Payne isn’t just a book. It’s a “Learn Together” book — designed from the ground-up to be most useful in a small group setting.

The book walks through the biggest themes and scenes in the Bible’s storyline and gives helpful comments and application along the way.

It’s interactive, with reflection questions and free videos to help you apply and understand the material.

THIS MONTH ONLY, if you buy one or more copies of Learn the Gospel, you’ll also receive FIVE FREE copies of The Essential Jesus to share with others.

(The Essential Jesus helps non-Christians read, understand, and apply the complete text of Luke’s Gospel.)

This is an INCREDIBLE resource for discipleship. I really hope you’ll grab a copy of Learn the Gospel today.

Buy Learn the Gospel from Matthias Media and receive five free copies of The Essential Jesus.

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord Jesus, cure our sins, and among the rest, take away our fears. Give us to trust you with a simple childlike confidence. May we have no difficulties, because God is with us. May we have no disturbance, because the peace of God keeps our heart and mind by Christ Jesus. Oh now to come to you over again—our Life, our Health, our Righteousness, our All-in-All, from this time forth and even forevermore. Spirit of God—come upon us now, that this may be so with all you people.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

Without Christ Jesus this peace would not exist; without Christ Jesus this peace, even where it has existed, cannot be maintained. Daily visits from the Savior, continual lookings by the eye of faith to him that bled upon the cross, continual drawings from his ever-flowing fountain, make this peace broad, and long, and enduring. But take Christ Jesus, the channel of our peace, away, and it fades and dies, and droops, and comes to nothing. A Christian has no peace with God except through the atonement of his Lord Jesus Christ.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A devotional to help you run from sin and cling to Christ

Today we prayed that God would take away our fears. Often, the biggest cause of fear in our lives is questioning the truth of God’s forgiveness. But God wants us to have confidence that our sins are forgiven, to help us know that we are forgiven of our sin by the great mercy of Christ.

One resource that’s been helpful as I’ve studied God’s Word and his promise of forgiveness is Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy by Paul Tripp. This book features 52 short devotionals (one for every week of the year) on Psalm 51. This is an incredible resource to help you remember the horrors of your sin and the wonders of God’s amazing grace.

You could read the book over the next few months with just five minutes a day, or read one devotional each week for the next year. I can’t think of a better way to spend your time than reflecting on God’s mercy towards broken sinners like us.

I hope you’ll buy a copy and enjoy mediating on God’s unending mercy with me.

Buy Whiter Than Snow:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback or ebook editions)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Blessed Lord Jesus, you will never cast away a soul that has cast away everything else for you. You are bound to those who trust you by the ropes of your promises that never can be broken. And here we are, this morning, babes that hang upon your bosom—emptinesses that are being filled, and sometimes are filled, only they cannot hold all of you. The sea is in us, but we are in the sea. We are filled with the fullness of God, and into that fullness are we still sinking deeper and deeper.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

If bought, we are not our own. Now if it is true that we are not our own, then the inferences from this are that we have no right to injure what does not belong to us; and, as we are not our own, we have no right to be idle or to waste our talents. Further, we have no right to do what our old will would do; we are to desire to be obedient to the will of our Father who is in heaven. Yet again, if we are not our own, then we have no right to serve ourselves. The person who is living entirely for himself, whose object is his own ease, comfort, honor, or wealth—what does he know about redemption by Christ? If our aims rise no higher than our personal advantages, we are false to the fact that we “are bought at a price;” we are traitors to him in whose redemption we pretend to share.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Two FREE Purity Bible Studies for Men and Women*

Pornography and other forms of sexual immorality run RAMPANT in our world today. Even within the church, men and women are held captive by the lure of pornography.

There are some great tools available to limit your access to pornography — but what we really need to do is have our hearts purified.

Two great resources to help you along this battle are available now from HarvestUSA:

• “Discovery” is a Bible study for men stuck in sexual sin. It is gospel-centered and will help you see and address the root of your sin.
• “Jesus and Your Unwanted Journey” is a study for wives of men who are stuck in sexual sin. It will help you walk through this difficult season with compassion, honestly, and biblical truth.

These great resources are available for FREE, so I hope you’ll download them and get started today.

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O blessed Savior, it has pleased the Father that in you should all fullness dwell, and God forbid that we should ever think of adding to you, or going beyond you, for you are our All-in-All. O precious Christ, we take you over again today, and come with all our emptiness and sin, and folly and weakness, and spiritual death, just as we are, and cast ourselves on you, as man casts himself into the sea, not to up-bear himself, but to be upborne. So cast we ourselves into the sea of your fullness, to be upborne by your all the days we have to spend in this house of our banishment.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)

Paul was persuaded of four things. First, that God loves us. Second, that God has shown his love to us by the gift of his Son Jesus Christ. Third, his divine love comes streaming down to us because we are in Christ and we are loved for his sake. Fourth, nothing can ever break the bond of love between God and those who are in his Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Who is the Holy Spirit, anyway?

Today’s prayer praised God the Son — Jesus Christ our Lord. We love God and are confident that he is Trinity. But sometimes we aren’t as comfortable understanding God the Holy Spirit.

This can be a confusing topic for many Christians, because we often aren’t so sure we know who the Holy Spirit is. He’s not a positive energy or divine force — he is God himself.

A great book to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on who the Holy Spirit is (and what he does) is Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life by Michael Horton.

This book unpacks the Holy Spirit’s work throughout the Bible and in our lives today. It is thoroughly biblical and practical.

Knowing and loving the Holy Spirit is a crucial part of the Christian life. I know this book will be a helpful tool as you worship God the Holy Spirit — I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy Rediscovering the Holy Spirit:

• Amazon (Paperback, Kindle, or audiobook editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback, ebook, or audiobook editions)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh it was a sweet day when you turned my way, my Lord, to meet me. Most blessed Lord Jesus, I praise you for the singular application of the gospel to my own case. Nothing else could have helped me. I was under too deep a sense of sin to be relieved by the doctrine of mere reformation. I was too far gone to be healed by any flattering unction that could be laid to their soul as to what I could do. But I found all in you, as indeed I do this morning.

Some of us have been acquainted with you these thirty years and more. A third of a century have some of us known you, and some for half a century have been living upon you in dependence upon your bounty. But we have never had a want that you could not supply. We never had a grief which you could not assuage, but we have not, even now, in prospect of death and the grave, any fear which you cannot put to rest.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For I will create new heavens and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind. Then be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight.” (Isaiah 65:17–18)

The work spoken of in the text has already begun among us. There is to be a literal new creation, but that new creation has already commenced. So I think that even now we ought to manifest a part of the joy. If we are called on to be glad and rejoice in the completion of the work, let us rejoice in the commencement of it as well. The Lord himself will rejoice. We who are in sympathy with him are exhorted and even commanded to be glad, so let us not be slack in this heavenly duty. People will never rejoice in God’s new work of creation while they are rejoicing in their own works and trusting in themselves and boasting their own merits. It is a sign of grace when a person is sick of self and is in harmony with God. People must stop rejoicing in what they can do and come to rejoice in what God has done and is doing. This shows that true change has occurred in someone’s life.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Finding peace in the Prince of Peace

Today we prayed, confessing that we have no fear that God is not able to put to rest. We believe this in our heads, but sometimes this kind of bold faith can be difficult to apply and live out in the midst of our broken, sin-cursed, fallen world. We desperately need the Prince of Peace to come and redeem us, to make his blessing known as far as the curse is found.

Life in this fallen world is full of many things to be afraid of, but recognizing the good presence of Christ with us gives us the power to choose faith over fear.

That’s the message of Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves by Trillia Newbell. In this book, Newbell addresses a variety of common fears, and shows how the truth of God’s Word and the power of the gospel can help us overcome those fears with faith.

This book will encourage you, boost your confidence in God, and help you walk with faith every day. I hope you’ll grab a copy today and read it today.

Buy Fear and Faith:

• Amazon (Paperback, Kindle, or audiobook editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback, ebook, or audiobook editions)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh that we might be willing to come to the Savior as people that want saving, to come to his blood to be washed, to come weak and feeble, to find strength in him, and nowhere else. You will not meet us on any other terms but these. The Pharisees you would not meet. You went away from them when they had heard about you, that you made and baptized disciples: then you avoided them, for you had not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

Now, the more holy a man gets the more he cries in this fashion. While he is low down in the scale, he puts up with sin, and he is uneasy, but when he gets to see Christ and get somewhat like him, the more nearly he approximates to the image of his Master, the more the presence of the least sinful thought is horrifying to him. He would, if he could, never look on sin again—never have the slightest inclination to it, but he finds his heart getting abroad and wandering when he would tether it down, if he could, to the cross and crucify it there. And so the more happy he is in Christ the more desperately does he cry against the wretchedness of being touched with sin, even in the least degree.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Hope for Wives Whose Husbands are Stuck in Sexual Sin*

Our sin is almost never contained — it always causes massive pain for ourselves and others. And sexual sin is no different.

A husband’s sexual sin can be DEVASTATING for a wife. As a pastor, I’ve seen this firsthand. And yet, the hope of the gospel can even shine light on the deep suffering caused by a spouse’s sexual sin.

Jesus and Your Unwanted Journey by Ellen Mary Dykas is a new Bible study for women navigating the aftermath of their husbands’ sexual betrayal. 

This Bible study will help you think through their suffering in an honest, biblical way. Lord willing, you’ll walk away from this study with a clear understanding of yourself, your husband’s sin, God’s grace, and the path forward.

Thanks to the great people at HarvestUSA, this Bible study is available FOR FREE. I hope you’ll download it now and get started soon.

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

We thank you, O blessed Savior, that you are such a wonderful lover of the sons of men; so willing to go out of your way after a poor sinner as to be under a compulsion to go the way through Samaria where a guilty one shall come and speak with you, and you would speak with her. We do admire your blessed condescension in making your first convert to be one who had so foully fallen and in winning that one heart, and thereby winning so many more. Far be it from us ever to come to you in the filthy rags of our own righteousness. They are worse than nothing.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:6)

Oh, how precious the blood of Christ to such hearts as ours! How priceless a gift is his perfect righteousness! And how bright the hope of perfect holiness hereafter! Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken. It has no dominion; it is a broken-backed snake; we are in bitter conflict with it, but it is with a vanquished foe that we have to deal. Yet a little while and we shall enter victoriously into the city where nothing defiles.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A solidly-biblical path to grow in godliness*

Christians don’t fight sin or grow in godliness by mere force-of-will. Our path to growing starts by acknowledging our own powerlessness — we need God himself to change us.

And that’s because none of our actions are isolated — they come from our hearts, which are fed and nourished by many different influences.

Recently, I’ve been really enjoying Discovery, which is a Bible study curriculum for men struggling with sexual impurity. The study is so powerful because it RECOGNIZES that sin is complicated, our actions come from our hearts, and the only path to true and lasting change is NOT to start with behaviors (how to stop sinning/start doing the right thing), but to address our hearts.

The Discovery Bible study will help you understand and address your own heart.

And, by God’s grace and the kindness of HarvestUSA (the ministry that produced this study), the entire curriculum is available for free. I hope you will check it out and use it to grow and help others too.