Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 21

 

God's Enemies Shall Bow

The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. (Exodus 7:5)

 

The ungodly world is hard to teach. Egypt does not know Jehovah and therefore dares to set up its idols and even ventures to ask, "Who is the Lord?" Yet the Lord means to break proud hearts, whether they will or not. When His judgments thunder over their heads, darken their skies, destroy their harvests, and slay their sons, they begin to discern somewhat of Jehovah's power. There will yet be such things done in the earth as shall bring skeptics to their knees. Let us not be dismayed because of their blasphemies, for the Lord can take care of His own name, and He will do so in a very effectual manner.

The salvation of His own people was another potent means of making Egypt know that the God of Israel was Jehovah, the living and true God. No Israelite died by any one of the ten plagues. None of the chosen seed were drowned in the Red Sea. Even so, the salvation of the elect and the sure glorification of all true believers will make the most obstinate of God's enemies acknowledge that Jehovah, He is the God.

Oh, that His convincing power would go forth by His Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel, till all nations shall bow at the name of Jesus and call Him Lord!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Wild

 

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

WILD

Wild:  growing or produced without human aid or care

Next Week's Theme:  Silver 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 20

 

The Overcomer

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

 

No man may turn his back in the day of battle or refuse to go to the holy war. We must fight if we would reign, and we must carry on the warfare till we overcome every enemy, or else this promise is not for us, since it is only for "him that overcometh." We are to overcome the false prophets who have come into the world and all the evils which accompany their teaching. We are to overcome our own faintness of heart and tendency to decline from our first love. Read the whole of the Spirit's word to the church at Ephesus.

If by grace we win the day, as we shall if we truly follow our conquering Leader, then we shall be admitted to the very center of the paradise of God and shall be permitted to pass by the cherub and his flaming sword and come to that guarded tree, whereof if a man eat, he shall live forever. We shall thus escape that endless death which is the doom of sin and gain that everlasting life which is the seal of innocence, the outgrowth of immortal principles of Godlike holiness. Come, my heart, pluck up courage! To flee the conflict will be to lose the joys of the new and better Eden; to fight unto victory is to walk with God in paradise.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Use it Up Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheese and Bacon

A couple of days ago, I cooked a whole young chicken fryer (about 2 1/2-3 lbs.) in the crock pot and used the meat to make Chicken Enchiladas. This left me with about 2 cups of nice, rich chicken stock. I refrigerated it and almost forgot about it until I was poking around in the fridge this morning, looking for something to fix for lunch. My refrigerator hunting expedition also yielded a baggie of crisp, fried bacon, (leftovers from a salad I made earlier in the week) a big bunch of broccoli, some half and half that really needed to be used up in a day or two and some green onions. So I decided to make soup.

Soup of any kind is pretty easy to make without a recipe. If you have some broth, some veggies, and a few seasonings, you can make soup. Cream soup is a little trickier, but not much. If you know how to make a basic bechamel sauce and you have some interesting ingredients to throw in, you can make soup.

Here's my "recipe" from today's refrigerator exploration:

8 tsp butter

1/2 c. flour

Melt butter in large saucepan and add flour. Whisk until all flour is incorporated. Allow this mixture (roux) to cook on low for a few minutes, or until the roux becomes nutty brown in color.

Gradually add the broth (about 2 cups) and 1 cup half and half; cook on medium low, stirring constantly until it starts getting thick. Stir in broccoli (cut into smallish bite sized pieces) and about two green onions, slicely thinly on the diagonal, and cook on low for about 10 minutes or so, or until broccoli is soft, but not mushy. Remove from heat. Add some crisp, crumbled bacon (about 3 or four pieces), 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, and about 2-2 1/2 cups of cheese. Stir until cheese melts. You might need to thin it down a little. If so taste the broth and decide whether you need to thin it with more half and half or maybe a little chicken broth.

Don't have broccoli? You could use cauliflower instead. Or roasted veggies. (Dice up multi colored peppers, onions, carrots, potatoes, celery--whatever you've got-- into a large dice. Spread out on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.) Add to the thickened chicken stock and half and half and finish as above. Don't have chicken stock on hand? Use canned chicken broth. Don't have that either?--use a boullion cube. No bacon? Substitute ham.

Soup isn't rocket science and it IS very forgiving. So poke around and see what needs to be used up and make soup.

If you make "use it up" soup this week, leave me a note in the comments and let me know what you used.

Radiant

My daughter-in-law, Beth, and I went to the movies last night to see Charlotte's Web.  Granted, the movie has been out a while and it was a Thursday night, but we were surprised that we were the only two people in the theatre.

I hope that is because everyone else with kids of any and all ages has already been to see this wonderful movie. It was a beautiful, faithful rendition of the childhood classic, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I heartily recommend it. 

Lay it on me, Grammar Girl

Have you discovered Grammar Girl yet?  No? Then check her out!

Grammar Girl is one of my favorites.  I don't remember how I stumbled upon her website/podcast but I am thoroughly enjoying her grammar tips.

 Today she is addressing one of the stickiest grammar bugaboos known to man:  lay and lie. I'm keeping this one in my bookmarks.  Then if I ever run into Eric Clapton or Robert  Zimmerman, I'll have something interesting to share with them. (if you know who Robert Zimmerman is, tell me in the comments.  No prize.  Hint: he's been said to have a "voice like sand and glue"--if you can figure out where THAT obscure reference came from you just might get a prize)

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 19

 

Mouth Confession; Heart Belief

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

 

There must be confession with the mouth. Have I made it? Have I openly avowed my faith in Jesus as the Savior whom God has raised from the dead, and have I done it in God's way! Let me honestly answer this question.

There must also be belief with the heart. Do I sincerely believe in the risen Lord Jesus? Do I trust in Him as my sole hope of salvation? Is this trust from my heart? Let me answer as before God.

If I can truly claim that I have both confessed Christ and believed in Him, then I am saved. The text does not say it may be so, but it is plain as a pikestaff and clear as the sun in the heavens: "Thou shalt be saved." As a believer and a confessor, I may lay my hand on this promise and plead it before the Lord God at this moment, and throughout life, and in the hour of death, and at the Day of Judgment.

I must be saved from the guilt of sin, the power of sin, the punishment of sin, and ultimately from the very being of sin. God hath said it—"Thou shalt be saved." I believe it. I shall be saved. I am saved. Glory be to God forever and ever!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 18

 

Christ and His Children

When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. (Isaiah 53:10)

 

Our Lord Jesus has not died in vain. His death was sacrificial: He died as our substitute, because death was the penalty of our sins. Because His substitution was accepted of God, He has saved those for whom He made His soul a sacrifice. By death He became like the corn of wheat which bringeth forth much fruit. There must be a succession of children unto Jesus; He is "the Father of the everlasting age." He shall say, "Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given me."

A man is honored in his sons, and Jesus hath His quiver full of these arrows of the mighty. A man is represented in his children, and so is the Christ in Christians. In his seed a man's life seems to be prolonged and extended; and so is the life of Jesus continued in believers.

Jesus lives, for He sees His seed. He fixes His eye on us, He delights in us, He recognizes us as the fruit of His soul travail. Let us be glad that our Lord does not fail to enjoy the result of His dread sacrifice, and that He will never cease to feast His eyes upon the harvest of His death. Those eyes which once wept for us are now viewing us with pleasure. Yes, He looks upon those who are looking unto Him. Our eyes meet! What a joy is this!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Thursday Photo Challenge: Wealth

 

 Thursday Photo Challenge:  Wealth

Next Week's Challenge: Vacation

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Proverbs 13:11

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 17

 

A Man Without Fear

And he said, Certainly I will be with thee. (Exodus 3:12)

 

Of course, if the Lord sent Moses on an errand, He would not let him go alone. The tremendous risk which it would involve and the great power it would require would render it ridiculous for God to send a poor lone Hebrew to confront the mightiest king in all the world and then leave him to himself. It could not be imagined that a wise God would match poor Moses with Pharaoh and the enormous forces of Egypt. Hence He says, "Certainly I will be with thee," as if it were out of the question that He would send him alone.

In my case, also, the same rule will hold good. If I go upon the Lord's errand with a simple reliance upon His power and a single eye to His glory, it is certain that He will be with me. His sending me binds Him to back me up. Is not this enough? What more can I want? If all the angels and arch-angels were with me. I might fail; but if He is with me, I must succeed. Only let me take care that I act worthily toward this promise. Let me not go timidly, halfheartedly, carelessly, presumptuously. What manner of person ought he to be who has God with him! In such company it behoveth me to play the man and, like Moses, go in unto Pharaoh without fear.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

A Compelling List

Greetings To:
Phoebe
Priscilla and Aquila
Epaenetus
Mary
Andronicus and Junia
Amplias
Urbanus
Stachys
Apelles
those who are of the household of Aristobulus
Herodion
those who are of the household of Narcissus
Tryphena and Tryphosa
Persis
Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine
Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them
Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Greetings From:
Timothy
Lucius
Jason
Sosipater
Tertius
Gaius
Erastus
Quartus

Today's Bible Reading of the Day was Romans 16.  Look at that list of names he mentioned!  So often, I tend to hurry through the salutations and skip down to the "meat" of the chapter in verses 17-20.  But this morning, I attended to the greetings with a different eye.  I noticed each name and each kind comment associated with them.   I thought about Paul, the Apostle, and how he carried the burden of the churches and yet he never lost sight of the fact that the church is made up of individuals.  He prayed for them by name, he remembered their service and their faith, he remembered their needs and their growth in grace.  He paid attention.  He encouraged the Elders of the church to do the same.

Verses 17 - 2o used to seem sort of out of place to me before.  Paul is greeting the church, then he stops and urges them to pay attention to "note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them."  He's telling them to pay attention.  He encourages them in their obedience and warns them "to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil." 

Think about this for a minute.  Imagine what Phoebe must've thought when she read her name in Paul's greetings.  How encouraging that must have been for each individual on the list, to have been remembered by Paul so publically!  And how it must have brought home to them the necessity of continuing in those good works, for they had been made an example to encourage others.

This morning, that list of names reminded me, as if Paul himself had mentioned my name, that I am part of the body of Christ as much as they and that I have the same responsibility to "Show myself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in my teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us." (Titus 2:7-8)

I want to be noticed for the right things, don't you?  After all, people are paying attention. 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 16

 

Even the Faintest Call

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shalt be delivered. (Joel 12:32)

 

Why do I not call on His name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans! Why not at once roll my self and my burden upon the Lord? Straightforward is the best runner—why do I not run at once to the living God? In vain shall I look for deliverance anywhere else; but with God I shall find it; for here I have His royal "shall" to make it sure.

I need not ask whether I may call on Him or not, for that word whosoever is a very wide and comprehensive one. Whosoever means me, for it means anybody and everybody who calls upon God. I will therefore follow the leading of the text and at once call upon the glorious Lord who had made so large a promise.

My case is urgent, and I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find out ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am His servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver me.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Weather Oddities

Ice, ice everywhere!  From Texas to Kansas, to Oklahoma to Ontario, Canada, bloggers everywhere are on ice today.

 We were lucky.  A bit of ice last night, followed by a bit of snow overnight.  The roads were clear by morning.  It's been snowing here all afternoon and the snow is beginning to accumulate again, but this is just winter in Chicagoland.  We've been fortunate this year.

Wonder how it is in the Yukon Territory. . .

 I'm praying for all my friends on ice tonight!

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 15

 

Made Rich by Faith

For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. (Psalm 9:18)

 

Poverty is a hard heritage; but those who trust in the Lord are made rich by faith. They know that they are not forgotten of God, and though it may seem that they are overlooked in His providential distribution of good things, they look for a time when all this shall be righted. Lazarus will not always lie among the dogs at the rich man's gate, but he will have his recompense in Abraham's bosom. Even now the Lord remembers His poor but precious sons, "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me," said one of old, and it is even so. The godly poor have great expectations. They expect the Lord to provide them all things necessary for this life and godliness; they expect to see things working for their good; they expect to have all the closer fellowship with their Lord, who had not where to lay His head; they expect His second advent and to share its glory. This expectation cannot perish, for it is laid up in Christ Jesus, who liveth forever, and because He lives, it shall live also. The poor saint singeth many a song which the rich sinner cannot understand. Wherefore, let us, when we have short commons below, think of the royal table above.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 14

 

Rest Is a Gift

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

 

We who are saved find rest in Jesus. Those who are not saved will receive rest if they come to Him, for here He promises to "give" it. Nothing can be freer than a gift; let us gladly accept what He gladly gives. You are not to buy it, nor to borrow it, but to receive it as a gift. You labor under the lash of ambition, covetousness, lust, or anxiety: He will set you free from this iron bondage and give you rest. You are "laden," yes, "heavy laden" with sin, fear, care, remorse, fear of death; but if you come to Him He will unload you. He carried the crushing mass of our sin that we might no longer carry it. He made Himself the great Burden-bearer, that every laden one might cease from bowing down under the enormous pressure.

Jesus gives rest. It is so. Will you believe it? Will you put it to the test? Will you do so at once? Come to Jesus by quitting every other hope, by thinking of Him, believing God's testimony about Him, and trusting everything with Him. If you thus come to Him the rest which He wilt give you will be deep, safe, holy, and everlasting. He gives a rest which develops into heaven, and He gives it this day to all who come to Him.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Mustard Pretzel Dip

Here's a very simple recipe that packs a lot of "wow!"  It's a pretzel dip, but you can dip just about anything in it--it's that good!

 Mustard Dip

1 cup mustard (I used two kinds of spicy brown, Mike Ditka Spicy Brown Mustard and Gulden's Spicy Brown.  You can use whatever you have on hand.)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2-3 Tablespoons fresh grated horseradish (We like the heat so I use 3 T.)

1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce 

Just mix it up with a whisk and you're done!  Makes a lot, but it won't last long. 

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Technology

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

TECHNOLOGY 

Quote of the Week

Several of my friends are presently grieving over the loss of a friend or loved one.  A father, a friend, a grandfather.  My heart goes out to them as I remember their loss.  This week's quote comes from True Saints, When Absent from the Body, are Present with the Lord. 

When the souls of the saints leave their bodies, to go to be with Christ, they behold the marvellous glory of that great work of His, the work of redemption, and of the glorious way of salvation by Him. . . They have a most clear view of the unfathomable depths of the manifold wisdom and knowledge of God; and the most bright displays of the infinite purity and holiness of God, that do appear in that way and work; and see in a much clearer manner than the saints do here, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height of the grace and love of Christ, appearing in His redemption.

Jonathan Edwards, True Saints, When Absent from the Body, are Present with the Lord 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 13

 

Never Cast Out

Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

 

Is there any instance of our Lord's casting out a coming one? If there be so, we would like to know of it; but there has been none, and there never will be. Among the lost souls in hell there is not one that can say, "I went to Jesus, and He refused me." It is not possible that you or I should be the first to whom Jesus shall break His word. Let us not entertain so dark a suspicion.

Suppose we go to Jesus now about the evils of today. Oh, this we may be sure—He will not refuse us audience or cast us out. Those of us who have often been and those who have never gone before—let us go together, and we shall see that He will not shut the door of His grace in the face of any one of us.

"This man receiveth sinners," but He repulses none. We come to Him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, and small knowledge, and slender hope; but He does not cast us out. We come by prayer, and that prayer broken; with confession, and that confession faulty; with praise, and that praise far short of His merits; but yet He receives us. We come diseased, polluted, worn out, and worthless; but He doth in no wise cast us out. Let us come again today to Him who never casts us out.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 12

 

"Loved unto the End"

For the Lord will not cast off for ever. (Lamentations 3:31)

 

He may cast away for a season but not forever. A woman may leave off her ornaments for a few days, but she will not forget them or throw them upon the dunghill. It is not like the Lord to cast off those whom He loves, for "having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." Some talk of our being in grace and out of it, as if we were like rabbits that run in and out of their burrows; but, indeed, it is not so. The Lord's love is a far more serious and abiding matter than this.

He chose us from eternity, and He will love us throughout eternity. He loved us so as to die for us, and we may therefore be sure that His love will never die. His honor is so wrapped up in the salvation of the believer that He can no more cast him of than He can cast off His own robes of office as King of glory. No, no! The Lord Jesus, as a Head, never casts off His members; as a Husband, He never casts off His bride. Did you think you were cast off? Why did you think so evil of the Lord who has betrothed you to Himself? Cast off such thoughts, and never let them lodge in your soul again. "The Lord hath not cast away his people which he foreknew" (Romans 11:2). "He hateth putting away" (Malachi 2:16).

Charles Haddon Spurgeon