Tag: <span>encourage</span>


“It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.” Matthew 10:25a (ESV)


No one will dispute that it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, since it would be improper for the servant to be exalted above his Master. When our Lord was on Earth, what sort of treatment did He receive? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, and His perfections worshiped by those He came to bless? No: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” (Isaiah 53:3)

Outside the camp was His place, and cross-bearing was His occupation. Did the world provide Him with comfort and rest? No:

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)

This inhospitable world offered Him no shelter. It cast Him out and crucified Him. You must expect the same, if you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation in your spiritual life. Other people, who see your increasing discipleship, will treat you as they treated the Savior: With despisal.

Don’t think that the world will admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you. If people did not prize the polished gem, do you expect that they will value the jewel in the rough?

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” (Matthew 10:25b, ESV)

If we were more like Christ, we would be more hated by His enemies. It would be a sad dishonor for a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a troubling omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian person. We may begin to look to our character (and wonder whether we have not been doing wrong) when the unrighteous give us their admiration.

Let us be true to our Master, and accept no exaltation from a blind and depraved world which scorns and rejects Him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor after our Lord received only a crown of thorn!

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon,
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2011.
Used by Permission

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thoughts by Charles Spurgeon Thoughts by Men


It can be hard to hear God in the busyness of life. Take today’s lesson to hear how to listen better.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:12b

There’s a moment just before the performance begins where the lights go down and the symphony tunes. It’s a strange, cacophonous sound, nothing at all like the music that will start a few minutes later. I love that sound. It sounds like anticipation. It’s a sound that tells you that something wonderful is about to happen.

Tuning is not a warning bell; it’s an alignment. One musician plays a single note, always the same note, and each of the instruments joins in. They play, they listen, and they adjust and play again. They keep going until all the sounds blend together, until there are united and aligned, in tune.

I love the line in the old hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that says, “tune my heart”. I want that. I want my heart to sound like God’s. Did you know that if you put two grand pianos in a room and play a note on one of them the corresponding string in the other piano will start to vibrate? I want the note God is playing to resonate in my heart.

In 1 Kings, God tells Elijah to go and stand on a mountain where He will pass by. There is wind and fire, even an earthquake, but God is not in the wind or the fire or the earthquake. God comes in a gentle whisper. I need to be still and hear that whisper; I need to tune my heart to it.

I cannot do the things God has planned for me if my heart is out of tune. No matter how carefully I try to serve God, if my heart is out of tune it’s all just garbage. I think it’s so interesting that even professional musicians have to tune and they tune every single time they play. I want my life to be like that, to begin every day by listening for the voice of God and moving my heart – dragging it along sometimes – until my heart, my attitude sounds like God’s. I want to go through my days in tune with Him.

Father, As the hymn says, “Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace”. Teach me to stop and listen for your whisper. Keep me still until the song of my heart sounds like You. Mold me so that when people hear my words and see my actions they think of You. Thank you for being patient with me. Tune my heart. I’m listening. Amen.

When is it hard to hear God? Where do you find it easiest to hear His gentle whisper?

By Claire Colvin
Used by permission

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thoughts by Claire Colvin Thoughts by Women