Spurgeon said, “The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross–” And, O how true that is! Our consolation is indeed found at a hill called Mt. Calvary. From that mount flows mercy. From Golgotha we find grace. In the cross is our confidence. From the cross is our comfort.

The cross is crucial! From the Savior’s suffering and sacrifice comes salvation. From His agony comes access and assurance. By it we are saved, secured, sanctified, sustained and satisfied. It is there, and only there, that we are able to triumph over sin, death, hell, and the grave. It is the hill of help and hope for hell-bound sinners. Here they find happiness of the highest sort.

By His death we are delivered. In His sacrifice we are saved. From His crucifixion we find comfort. Of His suffering we sing. With His offering we are over-joyed.
Look there for salvation— it procures redemption.
Live there for sanctification— it provides renewal.
Linger there for satisfaction— it produces rejoicing.
Our very survival depends on always “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”(Heb. 12:2). We must “consider Him”(Heb. 12:3) with confidence, for counsel, courage, and comfort. Those who are distracted from Him get discouraged– they grow weary and faint. Those focused on Him endure.

It is on that hill of hope that we see the character of the world, the compassion of the Father, the commitment of Christ, the cost of salvation, and the consequences of sin. And since “He died for all” (2 Cor. 5:15) there is room at the cross for you. Leave the valley of death, doom, and despair, and look to the hill of hope. As the old song says, “Though millions have come, there is still room for one. There’s room at the cross for you”. There you will find help, hope, and happiness. Linger no longer in the valley of doom and gloom. Come to Calvary and find comfort in Christ.

“Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord!” Psalm 25:15

The Lord directs us to look to Him for all that we need — and look away from all that we fear and all that troubles us. Looking to man dishonors the Lord — and ends in disappointment. Looking to ourselves fills us with gloom, sadness, doubts, and fears. It was wise, therefore, of the Psalmist to keep his eyes fixed steadily and habitually on the Lord.

Beloved! In all your sufferings, let your eyes be ever on the Lord. Look to Him . . .
  for ease in pain,
  for strength in weakness,
  for comfort in sorrow,
  and for relief in distress.
Keep your eye fixed on Him as your Father and your God — who has pledged in His Word to do you good.

Friends may fail you, relatives may neglect or be unkind to you, and those you love most may be unable to help you — but look to the Lord! He will never fail you or neglect you. He will prove Himself both able and willing to help you.

Let nothing divert your attention, then, from the Lord — but carry everything to Him and exercise implicit confidence in Him.

Cast on Him every care,
commit to Him every work,
lay before Him every difficulty.
You will prove that He is not only able, but also willing to do “infinitely more than we might ask or think!” Ephesians 3:20.

Whenever Satan tempts you, or guilty fears torment you — turn your eyes to Calvary and see Jesus, your Savior — suffering, bleeding, and dying for you — and so you will enjoy peace.–James Smith

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)

Commenting on this verse, William MacDonald wrote:”One of the great tests of Christian behavior is whether there is any glory for God in it. Too often we test our conduct by the question, “Is there any harm in it?” But that is not the question. What we must ask is this: “Is there any glory for God in it?”

Before engaging in any activity, we should be able to bow our head and ask the Lord to glorify Himself in what we are about to do. If God cannot be honored by it, then we should refrain from doing it.

Other religions might be satisfied with behavior that has the absence of harm in it. Christianity moves beyond the merely negative to the distinctly positive. Therefore, as Keith L. Brooks said, “If you would be a successful Christian, stop hunting for the harm there is in things, and start looking for the good. If you want your life to be happy, cast your lot among those persons who are asking for the ‘good’ and not the ‘harm’ there is in it.”

Things might be harmless in themselves and yet be a dead weight in the Christian race. There is no law against an Olympic runner’s toting a sack of potatoes in the 1500 meter race. He can carry the spuds but he can’t win the race. So it is with the Christian. Things may be harmless and yet be a hindrance.

But usually when we ask “Is there any harm in it?” our question betrays a hidden doubt. We don’t ask that about activities that are legitimate on the face of them—such as prayer, Bible study, worship, witness and our daily work.

Incidentally, any honorable work can be done to the glory of God. That is why some housewives have this motto over their kitchen sink: “Divine services conducted here three times daily.”

Whenever in doubt, we could follow this advice from John Wesley’s mother; “If you wish to determine the lawfulness of a pleasure, follow this rule: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away the relish of spiritual things; whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin.”

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Ghost.–1 Thess. 1:6

Pastor Stephen Davey writes:” In my study at home I have a small, yellowed piece of paper framed in glass.  It was given to me by a missionary who works with Chinese believers.  

Today, millions of Chinese Christians are meeting secretly — to study the Word of God together.  Many of them do not have a personal copy of the Bible.  Often entire churches do not have access to a complete copy of the Scriptures.That is why this old piece of paper is so special to me; it happens to be a handwritten page—a portion of the New Testament in the Mandarin language.  This piece of paper was once someone’s copy of Scripture. Imagine . . . they didn’t have a Bible—they had a page.

Much like the Thessalonians, these believers obviously hungered to hear and have the Word of God.  They had no doubt copied it many times over so that other believers could read from God’s Word, perhaps never before hearing the truths that were written on this small page.What a contrast to most of us!  The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association estimates that the average church-going family in America owns at least four Bibles. 

Perhaps one reason that we don’t treasure the Scriptures is because we have such ready access to them.  It’s easy to take precious things for granted.  We may have copies of the Bible lying on tables, closet shelves, and bookcases but this can lead to a serious problem: how does the truth within the pages of that closed Book penetrate our lives?

There is a vast difference between having the Bible inside our home and having the Bible inside our heart.n 1 Thessalonians 1:6, we are told that the believers received the Word of God.  They readily received its truth, even though it would mean tribulation and persecution.What we take for granted, the early church received with great hunger,—– let’s ask Christ to rekindle in our hearts a greater love for His Word and a greater desire to hear and study it. Oh, that He would imprint on our hearts what we hold in our hands!  

God does not want you to simply possess a Bible . . . He wants the Bible to possess you.

Ask God to give you a stronger passion for His Word. That is exactly what we need: a hunger and thirst for the written Word—which leads to a greater love for Jesus Christ, the Living Word.

That Christ should love man when he was most unlovely, that man’s extreme misery should but inflame Christ’s love and mercy, this melts the believing soul.

That Christ should leave the eternal bosom of his Father; that he that was equal with God should come in the form of a servant; that he that was clothed with glory, and born a king, should be wrapped in rags; that he that the heaven of heavens could not contain should be cradled in a manger; that from his cradle to his cross, his whole life should be a life of sorrows and sufferings; that the Judge of all flesh should be condemned; that the Lord of life should be put to death; that he that was his Father’s joy should in anguish of spirit cry out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”; that that head that was crowned with honour should be crowned with thorns; that those eyes that were as a flame of fire, that were dearer than the sun, should be closed up by the darkness of death; that those ears which were wont to hear nothing but hallelujahs should hear nothing but blasphemies; that that face that was white and ruddy should be spit upon by the Jews; that that tongue that spake as never man spake, yea, as never angel spake, should be accused of blasphemy; that those hands which swayed both a golden sceptre and a iron rod, and those feet that were as fine brass should be nailed to the cross; and all this for man’s transgression, for man’s rebellion: Oh! the sight of these things, the believing of these things, the acting of faith on these things, makes a gracious soul to break and bleed, to sigh and groan, to mourn and lament.—Thomas Brooks