Romans 8:23

THESE ARE THE TIMES that try men's souls. The Spirit has spoken expressly that in the latter times some should depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Those days are upon us and we cannot escape them; we must triumph in the midst of them, for such is the will of God concerning us.

Strange as it may seem, the danger today is greater for the fervent Christian than...

Those spiritual blessings in heavenly places which are ours in Christ may be divided into three classes: The first is those which come to us immediately upon our believing unto salvation, such as forgiveness, justification, regeneration, sonship to God and baptism into the Body of Christ. In Christ we possess these even before we know that they are ours, such knowledge coming to us later through the study of the Holy Scriptures. The second class is those riches which are ours by inheritance...

For Reading and Meditation:     Jeremiah 31:1-12

"How little real love there is for God," says theologian Arthur W. Pink. He suggests that this and the resulting low level of spirituality in today's Church are caused by our hearts being so little occupied with thoughts of the divine love. "The better we are acquainted with His love," he says, "- its character, its...

This groaning is universal among the saints: to a greater or less extent we all feel it. It is not the groan of murmuring or complaint: it is rather the note of desire than of distress. Having received an earnest, we desire the whole of our portion; we are sighing that our entire manhood, in its trinity of spirit, soul, and body, may be set free from the last vestige of the fall; we long to put off corruption, weakness, and dishonour, and to wrap ourselves in incorruption, in immortality,...

Present possession is declared. At this present moment we have the first fruits of the Spirit. We have repentance, that gem of the first water; faith, that priceless pearl; hope, the heavenly emerald; and love, the glorious ruby. We are already made "new creatures in Christ Jesus," by the effectual working of God the Holy Ghost. This is called the firstfruit because it comes first. As the wave-sheaf was the first of the harvest, so the spiritual life, and all the graces which adorn that...

Even in this world saints are God's children, but men cannot discover them to be so, except by certain moral characteristics. The adoption is not manifested, the children are not yet openly declared. Among the Romans a man might adopt a child, and keep it private for a long time: but there was a second adoption in public; when the child was brought before the constituted authorities its former garments were taken off, and the father who took it to be his child gave it raiment suitable to...

Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. § We ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. § Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. § To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for...

In the world you will have tribulation. § The whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. § We who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.These are the ones who come out of the great...

Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You. My iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. § O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?The whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. § In this...

There the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on … That they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.“Our friend Lazarus sleeps.” … Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.We who are in this tent groan, being burdened. § We also who have the firstfruits of the...