“To whom be glory for ever.” This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and tributary to this one. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this-“To Him be glory for ever.” He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that “To Him may be glory for ever.” You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord’s glory. As a Christian, you are “of God, and through God,” then live “to God.” Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to Him. Let this ambition fire your soul; be this the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your zeal would grow chill; make God your only object. Depend upon it, where self begins sorrow begins; but if God be my supreme delight and only object,

Let your desire for God’s glory be a growing desire. You blessed Him in your youth, do not be content with such praises as you gave Him then. Has God prospered you in business? Give Him more as He has given you more. Has God given you experience? Praise Him by stronger faith than you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been restored from sickness, and has your sorrow been turned into peace and joy? Then give Him more music; put more coals and more sweet frankincense into the censer of your praise. Practically in your life give Him honour, putting the “Amen” to this doxology to your great and gracious Lord, by your own individual service and increasing holiness. (From “Morning and Evening”, by Charles Spurgeon)

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.–Ephesians 5:20

Walking through an open market one day, a mother and her five-year-old daughter browsed through the items available on each table. As the little girl stopped to stare at a large pile of oranges on one table, the generous vendor selling the oranges took one from the stack and gave it to her.

The mother asked her daughter, “What do you say to the nice man for giving you a gift?”

The little girl stared at the orange again, then tossed it toward the vendor and said, “Peel it!”

Thankfulness is something we learn over time and grow into regardless our age. What might be considered innocent and harmless coming from a five-year-old child would certainly be considered rude and ungrateful coming from an older child or adult. However, it’s easy to fall into the trap of responding as that little girl did to God’s blessings by thinking, “This is nice and all, but I’d like a little more.”

An attitude of gratitude toward God’s gifts is a mark of spiritual maturity in a believer’s life. In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus, he challenged them to follow Christ, which included “giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This holiday season practice thankfulness to God, instead of complaining about what you don’t have, instead of bemoaning the unfairness of life, or instead of expecting and desiring more than what you already have. God has provided all your needs and as His child, it’s His desire to bless you with enough to sustain you. Be thankful for what you have!

Ask God to give you a thankful heart no matter the circumstances. Pray that He would help you see the blessings in all the gifts you receive—both big and small. (From Senior Living)

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.–1 Timothy 4:6

Of all the men who have lived since Christ, Paul is the man I would most like to sit at his feet and learn from. Imagine that! There would be no falling asleep in that class, that’s for sure.

Here in our text we find Paul advising Timothy. Actually he is providing instruction for all believers, because every child of God is to be “a good minister”(servant). There are a lot of church members doing nothing, but there are no members with nothing to do. We all have our assignments. How well we do them depends on whether or not we are “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine”. Sadly too many are under-nourished.

Here’s the point. The late Ray Stedman said,”What do you feed on daily? What do you put in your mind? What is your habitual input in your life? The sports pages, perhaps? Soap operas? The Dow Jones Averages? TV movies? Best-seller novels? If any of these things are your daily diet, then I can guarantee you will be a spiritually undernourished servant of Jesus Christ, because the apostle makes clear that what you feed on is what is going to determine how effective you become.”

He is right, but please don’t misunderstand this. I’m not talking about entirely eliminating all of these things, as though they were sinful. I’m talking about regulating, not removing things. Even sinless things can become sinful when they distract us from our duty.

For the Christian nothing is more important than the teachings of God’s Word. It is our “daily bread”. We should feel like Job, who said,”I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”(Job 23:12).

To be a good servant we must discover God’s will and do it. To be a good servant you must first be a good student. Are you? The learning is for the living! It’s my prayer that you will feed on the Word and follow God’s will. That will make you “a good minister of Jesus Christ.”

“I will correct thee in measure”–Jeremiah 30:11

Students of the Bible know that no one sins successfully. God loves His people too much to ignore the sin in their life, therefore He chastises them (Heb.12:5-11). Our problem is that we often feel that God is over-doing it, causing excessive pain. But we are wrong! God knows exactly how much is needed and He is never unfair. Consider these wise words from C.H. Spurgeon:

To be left uncorrected would be a fatal sign: it would prove that the LORD had said, “He is given unto idols, let him alone.”(see Hosea 4:17) God grant that such may never be our portion! Uninterrupted prosperity is a thing to cause fear and trembling. As many as God tenderly loves He rebukes and chastens:—-(others) He allows to fatten themselves without fear, like bullocks for the slaughter. It is in love that our heavenly Father uses the rod upon His children. Yet see, the correction is in measure”: He gives us love without measure but chastisement “in measure.” As under the old law no Israelite could receive more than the “forty stripes save one,” which ensured careful counting and limited suffering; so is it with each afflicted member of the household of faith-every stroke is counted. It is the measure of wisdom, the measure of sympathy, the measure of love, by which our chastisement is regulated. Far be it from us to rebel against appointments so divine. LORD, if Thou standest by to measure the bitter drops into my cup, it is for me cheerfully to take that cup from Thy hand and drink according to Thy directions, saying, “Thy will be done.”