DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
Our God and Father, draw us closer to you through your Spirit. May these few moments of prayer be filled with genuine supplication. Help us to close our eyes to the distractions of the world and focus our hearts on what is spiritual and divine. May we find communion with you in the depths of our souls, experiencing your presence as a sanctuary.
Lord, we struggle to quiet our minds and cast away distracting thoughts. As Abraham drove away the birds from his sacrifice, we too seek to drive away all cares, thoughts of pleasure, and anything else that hinders us from true fellowship with you and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
Instead of loving God with purity of heart, you lust after worldly desires, which is the essence of spiritual adultery. You should dedicate your entire being to God, but instead, you allow your affections to stray to worldly pursuits. Thus, you are rightly called an “adulterous people” by the Holy Spirit. While these words may seem harsh, they are true. May they awaken you to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
In one sense, Christians seek the good of all and the salvation of others, making them friends of the world. However, in another sense, viewing the world as a source of sin and corruption, they cannot be friends with the world. Some advocate for blurring the line between the church and the world, but this teaching is false and should be rejected.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
God’s love is an ocean. Dive in with Spurgeon.
A major theme in Spurgeon’s preaching (and all of Scripture!) is the incomparable love of God. God’s love provides for us, serves us, helps us, forgives us. God’s love, seen supremely at the cross of Christ, is our only hope in life and death. It’s important that we continually remember and reflect on the greatness of God’s love.
To help you continue to enjoy God’s love, I put together a new book, Spurgeon on God’s Love. This book compiles twelve sermons by Spurgeon, all reflecting on the glorious reality of God’s unchanging love.
These sermons have really encouraged me over the last few months and I know that they will encourage you! Plus, buying a copy is a great way to support this ministry, so I can continue to send this newsletter every day.
I hope you’ll grab a copy for yourself (and another one for a friend!) and reflect on God’s love in your summer reading.