"Having given them grace, I will give them a crown."

"Having given them grace, I will give them a crown."

After "consuming" quite a number of Charles Spurgeon's sermons, I finally decided to read his biography, and found this quote simply encouraging,

"I think how surprised some of God's people will be" he exclaims, "when they get to heaven. They will see the Master and He will give them a crown.
'Lord, what is this crown for?'
'That is because thou didst give a cup of cold water to one of my disciples.'
'What, a crown for a cup of cold water?'
'Yes,' says the Master, 'that is how I pay my servants. First I give them grace to give the cup of water, and then, having given them grace, I will give them a crown.''"

- from Charles Spurgeon - London's Most Popular Preacher by W.Y. Fullerton

my friend Wei...

an interesting email I received from my Chinese friend who is trying to learn English. I thought it had a jumbled, poetic beauty

Learn Swimming

I heard the person say a word:

Speak mother tongue like nature of breathe, Speak English like labor-consuming of swimming."

I living a small town of P.A America. So I swimming in English of foreign language sea now. One year,I like floating and sinking in the sea. A float and a Sink.

I speak English with from different country and the American. I want to except tempo breathe out, I also want speak with the help of gestures.

I sometime like breast stroke, Sometime like butterfly stroke ect...

Do you say I like learn swimming?

Wei also taught me a Chinese phrase while we were working one day....

"gauw nnei yah!-hei-ii choh-gung yongk-yii"

We work together, it's easy! :-)

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” - 1 Cor. 10:31

If everything is to be done for God’s glory, shopping must also be done to that end. But there often comes a mental or spiritual disconnect when I walk into a store and I shop for reasons other than this one noble, righteous purpose.

How do I shop for God's glory?
Here's what I came up with - for myself and for all who might read it and perhaps be helped:

1) Sometimes I shop for the sake of my appearance before others. My underlying ambition is the praise and approval of man. Is this an ‘in’ thing to have? Will others think I have good taste? Will I impress, or will I be thought ‘un-cool’ for possessing this item? These are not the questions of a faith-filled heart, but of a worldly heart. As Jesus said, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)

2) Sometimes I shop because I actually think that the stuff I’m buying will make me happy. That’s idolatry and idolatry is a sin. It shows disbelief of the word of God: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2) Those who thirst for joy and satisfaction are to go to Christ who said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37)

3) Sometimes I shop with an eye to saving. How can I get the most for my money? This can be a good motive, and again it could be a bad one. Money is rarely an end in itself, so I must ask: “Why do I want to save money?” Is it to buy more things to make me happy, or more things to make me cool? (see 1. and 2.) Or is it for a better reason? (which I shall explore shortly.)

The question remains then, “How do I shop for the glory of God?” As wrong motives have different aspects, so also does the God-ward motive:

1) Shopping for the glory of God means that I shop to make Him look good. That is, I will buy things that will best help me, or others I buy for, to live to God’s glory. This might mean that I won’t buy the hottest stuff - and then again it might mean that I do - that’s not the issue. The issue is not my coolness, but what will bring God most glory.
It will mean that I won’t buy that very chic, but very skimpy outfit, because no matter how fashionable it might make me, that outfit will not equip me to live for God’s glory. It might mean buying less of the cool junk food that everyone else is eating so I can get food that will give me strength to serve God.
It will mean that I buy more of what is useful than what is showy.
It will mean many other things which I’ll discover as I apply this mentality to every aspect of my shopping.

2) Shopping for the glory of God means that I won’t want all the stuff that the people of the world run after, because I am satisfied in God. It means I won’t believe the advertisements and displays that promise me happiness in the possession of their product, because I know that “the world and its desires pass away”.
It will sometimes mean that I buy less, because my desire is not to have things tomake me happy, but to be satisfied in God who meets all my needs. It will mean telling myself that I don’t “have to have” that adorable pair of shoes that I don’t need and had no intention of buying until I saw them and coveted them. It will mean buying with calm judiciousness and not whimsical lust.

3) Shopping for the glory of God does mean shopping with an eye to saving money. But not saving so I can have more cash to make me feel secure, and buy more stuff to make me happy. The question on my mind will be: “How can I save money on buying less of what I want, but don’t need, so that I can buy what I do need to live for God’s glory?” (see pt. 1.) And as a member of Christ’s kingdom, I should even more be asking: “How much can I save that I may have more to give to the needy and to God’s people and the advancement of God’s kingdom?”

In my notebook I found this short line that I copied from Amy Carmichael's biography.* I am still finding it true:

"'Home with all its prohibitions and opportunities to die daily.'"

Maybe it sounds negative. There are so many good things about home. But wait - this is one of them. This is one of the good things about home: opportunities to die daily. Daily dwelling with other imperfect people is something God uses to sanctify me. The wait outside the bathroom door, the dirty shoes on the rug, the instrument being practiced while I'm trying to study - these are the nitty gritty parts of home-life. But they are chances to die, to look not only to my own interests but also to the interests of others, to lay down my life for my brothers. Everything can't always be the way I want it, and that's actually good. When I see dirty shoes on the rug, I can mentally take them up like a sword, and instead of pricking the negligent "culprit" with it, I can turn it on my sin nature and plunge it to the hilt whispering - "Die! Die old self that loves clean carpets more than Jesus. Die!" (I am not saying that such things should not be corrected, but sisterly nagging is not the loving way.) And in those moments, I am amazed at the rebellious strength of my old nature. I feel it kicking, screaming inside me, "No don't kill me, you'll be so much happier if you turn and nag them." Sometimes I have listened to its pleading, and let it spring back up and do its thing, and I lose the chance to die and the chance to show love. But I want to die more often so I can say this in truth:

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Gal. 2:20 ESV

* A Chance to Die - the life and legacy of Amy Carmichael, by Elisabeth Elliot

Love is...

Love is...

Love is the
active desire for the
well-being and joy
of others.

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

- 1 John 3:18 ESV

By Mighty Hands

Faint am I and cannot hold
My Savior for my strength is small
My heart grows feeble, waxes cold
A hopeless voice says, "You shall fall"

Unto my weary soul.

If my endurance rests on me,
O God, no hope have I,
But woefully to wane from Thee
With hollow sighing, till I die -

Unless Thou holdst my soul.

My Lord! My God! Thou Sovereign One,
Help me see those mighty bands
That bind me to Thy righteous Son
Fastened by Thy mighty hands -

In this may rest my soul.

I have no power - Thou hast all
And all my strivings turn to dust
And in my dust-bound self I'd fall
But thou hast promised and art just

By grace to hold my soul.

I rest in Thee. In Thee I trust
Predestined, Thou hast called me,
And in Christ Jesus made me just,
And thou shalt glorify me,

And never loose my soul.

These are the strong eternal bands
By sovereign grace bound iron-fast.
By great and, never-failing hands
That shall uphold me to the last.

Believe Thy God, my soul.

My new Second Verse to "Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man":

Zacchaeus was a selfish little man
And a tax-collector was He
And when He took the people's tax
He took too much money
But when the Savior came to Him
He repented fully
And He said:
"All the money I ever stole -
I fully will repay
I fully will repay".