DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
O God, we have too much of sin still alive in us. Go on to crucify it; let it die and, painful and lingering though the death may be, may we reckon the thing to be dead, because it is crucified, and never treat it as though it were a living thing to be fed and to have provision made for it. Let it die, and let it be buried.
May those of us who bear in our body the marks of the Lord Jesus, be solemnly concerned that our baptism should be no fiction; but that we should be really baptized into the death of Christ with all the fullness of the deadening power that is about the sacred burial by fellowship with him.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:14)
Christ must be in us before he can be on us. Christ must be in the heart by faith before he can be in the life by holiness. If you need light from a lantern, the first business is to light the candle inside it; and then, as a consequence, the light shines through to be seen by others. When Christ is formed in us and is our hope of glory, we cannot not conceal our love for him. Instead, we put him on in our conduct as the glory of our hope.
As we have Christ within as our Savior, the secret of our inner life, so we put on Christ to be the beauty of our daily lives. The external is brightened by the internal, and this will be the armor of light that all soldiers of the Lord Jesus are privileged to wear. As Christ is our food that nourished our inner being, so we put him on as our garments that cover the outer man.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Trust in God’s preserving, purifying power through all of your suffering
Today, we prayed, asking God to remove our sin — acknowledging that it WILL be painful. Spurgeon frequently taught that God is at work in your suffering to preserve you and to purify you.
This was one of the major themes in Spurgeon’s teaching on suffering, but it was not all he had to say on the topic. Spurgeon learned supernatural wisdom from God’s Word and his own pain on how to address our suffering in a God-glorifying, hopeful way.
Spurgeon’s teaching on suffering is very useful, so I compiled a brief collection of it in a book, Spurgeon on Suffering. This book contains 12 classic sermons from Spurgeon on suffering, pain, and God’s grace through it all.
I hope you’ll buy a copy today, and I hope it will bless you.
(As a side note, purchasing a copy is a great way to support this ministry so that I can continue to send this daily newsletter!)
Buy Spurgeon on Suffering on Amazon (Paperback or Kindle edition)