It is Written in the Book of Life
Scripture For The Day
July 1, 2022
"It is Written in the Book of Life"
At 19 years old, he was called to pastor
a church. Within just a few months, his ability to preach became well
known. As the custom is for our society,
just after he became well known, the attacks began. His preaching was by no means
revolutionary but it had a lot of substance in it. He was feeding the congregation
meat and many wanted only the bottle, just like churches today. But the
congregation grew and they moved to a bigger church. Haters began to cause disturbances. One day,
someone in the crowd yelled “Fire!” and panic ensued which created a stampede
and several were left dead. He never got over that. It devasted him. But the
congregation grew again and moved again, to their final church,
seating 5,000 people and standing room for 1,000 more. He continued to preach
until his death. He never gave altar calls at the conclusion of the sermons.
But he would always give an invitation for anyone having an interest to
personally meet him later. There was always someone who would come. He always
wrote his sermons out. He even wrote several hymns. Despite all the Blessings, his
health began to deteriorate. By the age of 37, the doctors told him to leave
town to get rest for the sake of his health. And though he did leave, once he
began to feel a little better, he began preaching and writing again. On June
7, 1891, Charles Spurgeon, preached for the last time. He was exhausted in his
ministry. He was broken by all the attacks from within the church. His body and
soul were simply worn out. He ended that last sermon with “His service is life
peace, joy, Oh, that you would enter on it at once! God help you to enlist
under the banner of Jesus even this day! Amen!” That afternoon he went straight
to bed and after a month of illness and sometimes unconsciousness, he died on
January 31, 1892, at the age of 57. This speaks to my heart. There can be such a
strain on those that have a burden to serve The LORD and to bring the lost to
Him. And sometimes that burden on their hearts can have a toll on their bodies
and be too much to bear. That’s why it’s so important to pray for each
other. To help each other. To be there for each other. Not everyone who works
for The LORD is as well known as this great preacher. Many people work behind
the scenes. There are no small jobs in the church. It takes all of us. It
shouldn’t be a handful that stands up and takes on the work. We need to be there
for each other and encourage each other. It doesn’t matter how famous or behind
the scenes a person you may be, we all need to have people lifting us up in
prayer, and encouraging us along the way. It's too easy for the enemy to pull us down and our spirits to be downcast. Lift each other up in prayer and Trust that whatever you are doing for
The Lord is written down in the Book of Life.
And God help you if you do not
know The Lord, I pray that you seek Jesus right now, today, before it’s everlasting too
late. Life is too short and we are not guaranteed to be here tomorrow. But no matter what you do, if you are doing it
for The Lord, and being led by The Lord, you are Blessed and I thank you for all you do.
“The world may sound no trumpets,
ring no bells; The book of life the shining record tells.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Comments
Post a Comment