A Quiet Heart: by Charles Spurgeon

"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" Isaiah 30:15

It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mistrusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action, and unhinge our minds for wise decision?

We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!

Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne. Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.

Distinctly God Who Entered In: by CS Lewis

Isaiah 9:6–7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

The Christians are not claiming that simply ‘God’ was incarnate in Jesus. They are claiming that the one true God is He whom the Jews worshipped as Yahweh, and that it is He who has descended. Now the double character of Yahweh is this. On the one hand He is the God of Nature, her glad Creator. It is He who sends rain into the furrows till the valleys stand so thick with corn that they laugh and sing. The trees of the wood rejoice before Him and His voice causes the wild deer to bring forth their young. He is the God of wheat and wine and oil. In that respect He is constantly doing all the things that Nature-Gods do: He is Bacchus, Venus, Ceres all rolled into one. . . . . On the other hand, Yahweh is clearly not a Nature-God. He does not die and come to life each year as a true Corn-king should. . . . .He is not the soul of Nature nor of any part of Nature. He inhabits eternity: He dwells in the high and holy place: heaven is His throne, not His vehicle, earth is His footstool, not His vesture. One day He will dismantle both and make a new heaven and earth. He is not to be identified even with the ‘divine spark’ in man. He is ‘God and not man’. . . . . Yahweh is neither the soul of Nature nor her enemy. . . . . She is His creature. He is not a nature-God, but the God of Nature—her inventor, maker, owner, and controller. To everyone who reads this book the conception has been familiar from childhood; we therefore easily think it is the most ordinary conception in the world. ‘If people are going to believe in a God at all,’ we ask, ‘what other kind would they believe in?’ But the answer of history is, ‘Almost any other kind’.

His Birth and Our New Birth: by Oswald Chambers

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." —Matthew 1:23

His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.

His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.

God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.

Preparing for the Impossible: by Henry Blackaby

For with God nothing will be impossible.     Luke 1:37

The angel Gabriel told Mary that God was planning to do something humanly impossible. All human logic would agree that a virgin could not give birth to a child. It was impossible. Yet this is exactly what was to happen. When God speaks of doing the impossible, it is no longer absurd. When was the last time God did the impossible in your life? When was the last time God spoke to you about what He wanted to do and you were scared to death by its magnitude?

God still does the impossible! Too often we acknowledge our belief that God can do whatever He wants, then we add a safety clause: “But I just don’t think God will do that with me!”  We become practical atheists, believing that God can perform miracles but never expecting a miracle in our own lives.

God wanted to bring salvation to all of humanity. It is critical that Mary not only believed God could perform a miracle but also adjusted her life to the awesome work He planned to do through her. The difference between a Christian and a moral person is the divine. The difference between a church and a social club is the miraculous. Some can duplicate the morality of a Christian, but no one can reproduce the miraculous that should be a part of the Christian experience. Do you believe that nothing is impossible for God?

Preparing with Joy and Wonder: by A.W. Tozer

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

It is tragic that men and women everywhere are losing the sense of wonder, confessing now only one interest in life-and that is utility! Even Christmas Day has been degraded. We ignore the beautiful and the majestic, asking only "How can I use it? How much profit will it bring?" The believing children of God once upon a time saw God in everything. They were enraptured with everything before them. There was no common hill-they were all the hills of God! There was no common cloud-they were the chariots of God! They saw God in everything: in our day we never look up in happy surprise! But let me tell you that it has been a never-failing delight throughout my years to watch little children on Christmas morning. The gifts may be humble, but the child's burst of spontaneous delight and wonder is genuine and rewarding. That incredulous look in the child's face - everything is full of wonder and beauty! Sad, indeed, for adults to lose the wonder in worship - for worship is wonder and wonder is worship!

Preparing thru the Voice of the Prophets: by Sarah Young

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Matthew 1:23  “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

In Isaiah’s prophecy about My birth, he referred to Me as Eternal Father. There is unity of essence in the Trinity, even though it is comprised of three Persons. When the Jews were questioning Me in the temple, I went so far as to say: “I and the Father are one.” Later, when Philip asked Me to show the Father to the disciples, I said: “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” So never think of Me as just a great teacher. I am God, and the Father and I live in perfect unity.

As you come to know Me in greater depth and breadth, realize that you are also growing closer to the Father. Don’t let the mysterious richness of the Trinity confuse you. Simply come to Me, recognizing that I am everything you could ever need Me to be. I—your only Savior—am sufficient for you. In the midst of this busy Advent season, keep bringing your focus back to My holy Presence. Remember that Immanuel has come, and rejoice!

John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”

John 14:9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Preparing for Immanuel: by CS Lewis

Matthew 1:23  "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature's total character, so every particular Christian miracle manifests at a particular place and moment the character and significance of the Incarnation. There is no question in Christianity of arbitrary interferences just scattered about. It relates not a series of disconnected raids on Nature but the various steps of a strategically coherent invasion—an invasion which intends complete conquest and 'occupation'. The fitness, and therefore credibility, of the particular miracles depends on their relation to the Grand Miracle; all discussion of them in isolation from it is futile.

The fitness or credibility of the Grand Miracle itself cannot, obviously, be judged by the same standard. And let us admit at once that it is very difficult to find a standard by which it can be judged. If the thing happened, it was the central event in the history of the Earth—the very thing that the whole story has been about. .... It is easier to argue, on historical grounds, that the Incarnation actually occurred than to show, on philosophical grounds, the probability of its occurrence. The historical difficulty of giving for the life, sayings and influence of Jesus any explanation that is not harder than the Christian explanation, is very great. The discrepancy between the depth and sanity and (let me add) shrewdness of His moral teaching and the rampant megalomania which must lie behind His theological teaching unless He is indeed God, has never been satisfactorily got over.

Preparing with Prayer in the Father’s Honor: by Oswald Chambers

The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. — Luke 1:35

If I have been born again from above, the Son of God himself has been born into my mortal flesh. What was true of the virgin Mary in the introduction of God’s Son into this earth is true in every saved soul: the Son of God is born into us by the direct act of God.

As a child of God, I have to exercise the right of a child to always be face-to-face with my Father. Am I giving the Son’s holy innocence and simplicity and oneness with the Father a chance to manifest themselves in me? Am I continually responding with amazement to what my common sense tells me to do, saying to it, “Why are you trying to warn me off? Don’t you know that I have to be in my Father’s house?” Whatever my external circumstances, the holy, innocent, eternal Child within me must remain in contact with the Father.

Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is he getting his way with me? Is God realizing that his Son has been formed in me, or have I put the Lord to the side?

Oh, the uproar of these days! Everyone is clamoring—for what? For the Son of God to be put to death. There’s no room for the Son of God, no room for quiet, holy communion with the Father.

Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to him? Is he ministering in me as he did when he walked among us in the flesh? Is the Son of God in me going through his passion for his own purposes? The more one knows of the inner life of God’s most devoted servants, the more one sees God’s purpose: to “fill up . . . what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24). There is always more “filling up” to be done.

Preparing for the Presence of God: by Henry Blackaby

Luke 3:4, 6 Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight…And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

If we are to receive the powerful presence of God, we must prepare ourselves. John the Baptist was God’s messenger to help people prepare to receive the Savior of the world. John preached unwaveringly: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2). Those who heard John’s message and prepared their lives recognized Jesus when He came, and they left all to follow Him. This was especially true of the disciples, whose hearts God Himself prepared (Matt. 16:17). Preparation must precede God’s presence!

God’s instruction for preparation is specific: repentance! This involves a complete change of mind, heart, will, and behavior toward Him. He is Lord, and your life must be prepared to receive Him as your Lord. Anything less is inadequate. Some were obviously unprepared to follow Jesus and missed the opportunity (Luke 9:57-62). The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were largely unprepared for His arrival. They knew the Messiah was coming. They even knew where He would be born (Matt. 2:4-6). Yet when word came that the Savior had been born, they made no effort to join Him, preferring instead their religious ritual.

If you are unprepared, you, too, will miss the opportunity to experience Jesus. You may practice religion, but you will miss God. While others encounter the Lord personally in worship, your heart will remain unmoved. As others receive a fresh word from God, you will experience a painful silence. Religious activity can never substitute for a heart that is pure before Him. Purity comes only through repentance. Pray, as the Psalmist did, that God will examine your heart and reveal your need to repent of your sin (Ps. 139:23-24).

Preparing for Christmas: by Sarah Young

Mark 1:3 “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Prepare your heart for the celebration of My birth. Listen to the voice of John the Baptist: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight paths for Him.”

Christmas is the time to exult in My miraculous incarnation, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among you. I identified with mankind to the ultimate extent—becoming a Man and taking up residence in your world. Don’t let the familiarity of this astonishing miracle dull its effect on you. Recognize that I am the Gift above all gifts, and rejoice in Me!

Clear out clutter and open up your heart by pondering the wonders of My entrance into human history. View these events from the perspective of the shepherds, who were keeping watch over their flocks at night.

They witnessed first one angel and then a multitude of them lighting up the sky, proclaiming: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Gaze at the Glory of my birth, just as the shepherds did, and respond with childlike wonder.

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Luke 2:13–14 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

"Through" Not Engulfed: by Charles Spurgeon

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Bridge there is none: we must go through the waters, and feel the rush of the rivers. The presence of God in the flood is better than a ferry-boat. Tried we must be, but triumphant we shall be; for  Jehovah Himself, who is mightier than many waters, shall be with us. Whenever else He may be away from His people, the Lord will surely be with them in difficulties and dangers. The sorrows of life may rise to an extraordinary height, but the Lord is equal to every occasion.

The enemies of God can put in our way dangers of their own making, namely, persecutions and cruel mockings, which are like a burning fiery furnace. What then? We shall walk through the fires. God being with us, we shall not be burned; nay, not even the smell of fire shall remain upon us.

Oh, the wonderful security of the heaven-born and heaven-bound pilgrim! Floods cannot drown him, nor fires burn him. Thy presence, O Lord, is the protection of thy saints from the varied perils of the road. Behold, in faith I commit myself unto thee, and my spirit enters into rest.

Darkness & Light: by TA Sparks

The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him… 1 Corinthians 2:14

Here truly will be found such as are sinners manifest to all; here heathens who are often referred to by the "civilized" (?) as "sitting in darkness" (what a false comparison!), but here also are included the most enlightened by the light of civilization as such. Here are some of the greatest brains the world has known. Here are multitudes of the most scholarly and learned. Here are even many whose researches have led them far into the realms of theology and theosophy. Yes, they include many who have held place in ministry and office in what is called "The Church." Many of these live lives which from man's point of view are morally almost flawless. And yet, and yet, with all they do not know in that realm and in that vital way which is "life," eternal life, because Divine and not human life. Look again! What is their description? "The natural man receives not... neither can he know the things of the Spirit of God."

It should be well known by now that that word "natural" in the Greek is psychical. Perhaps the faulty translation is not altogether unfortunate for the natural man is the psychical man, and the psychical man is the natural man. He is a different species – so to speak – from the spiritual man. As the word implies the psychical man is entirely governed and bound by reason, feeling, volition, within a world of sense. But the things of the Spirit of God are not in that realm in the first instance. True, spiritual forces can and do register themselves upon psychical apparatus, but the psychical apparatus does not know them (hence the delusion and deception of spiritism), and this is true to the absolute in the matter of the things of God. Not only the delusion of spiritism has its ground in the psychical as a registering apparatus, but the entire counterfeit of the truly spiritual or divinely spiritual is in this realm. Evangelism, "Apostolic" teaching and practice (?), "Pentecostal" experience (?), prayer force, and even exorcism can all be merely psychical. Signs, sensations, impacts, can be psychically produced by the use of the most orthodox New Testament language and doctrine, even the Name and the Blood of Jesus may be employed in terms and language. There is only one sure safeguard against the colossal delusion by which multitudes will be carried away in the latter days, and that is a clear apprehension of the teaching of the Holy Spirit concerning soul and spirit and the continual operation of the Cross in the realm of the "natural" man. No, the natural man CANNOT! He may be full of religious knowledge, emotions or feelings, and activities, but if the Bible thunders more than speaks on any matter, it is this: that such can be the most mistaken and deceived. The highest reach of genius comes far short of the lowest degree of Divine inspiration and revelation.

What Is That to You? by Oswald Chambers

When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered . . . “What is that to you? You must follow me.” —John 21:21-22

One of the most difficult lessons we ever learn is that we must not interfere in other people’s lives. It takes us a long time to learn this lesson. We stubbornly refuse to realize the danger of playing the amateur providence by interfering with God’s plans for others. We see someone suffering, and we say, “That person will not suffer. I’ll make sure of it.” In order to prevent their suffering, we raise a hand against God’s permissive will. How does God answer? He says, “What is that to you? You must follow me.”

If you are stagnating spiritually, your own interference may be the cause. Never allow spiritual stagnation to continue unchecked. Get into God’s presence and find out why you’re stuck. You may find that it’s because you have inserted yourself into someone else’s business, proposing things that you had no right to propose, advising where you had no right to advise. Remember that if it’s ever necessary for you to give advice, you must lean on God’s nature inside you. God himself will advise through the direct understanding of his Spirit. Your part is to be so rightly related to God that his discernment comes through you all the time for the blessing of another soul.

Most of us live on the borders of consciousness—consciously serving, consciously devoted to God. This is immature; it is not the real life yet. The real, mature life is the life of the child, a life which is never conscious. When we live as children of God, we are so abandoned to our Father that the consciousness of being used by him never enters in. If we are still conscious of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have another stage to reach. Ultimately, all consciousness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us will be eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint; a saint is consciously dependent on God.

Thankfulness part 3: by Sarah Young

Psalm 92:1–2

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,

Psalm 118:28

You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Thankfulness and trust are like close friends who are always ready to help you. When your day looks bleak and the world seems scary, it's time to rely on these faithful friends. Stop for a moment and take some deep breaths. Look around you- searching for beauty and blessings- and thank Me for what you find. This connects you with Me in a wonderful way. Speak to Me in glowing terms about the many good gifts I've provided. Make the effort to thank Me with enthusiasm, regardless of how you're feeling. As you persist in expressing your gratitude, you'll find yourself becoming joyful.

It's also helpful to frequently voice your trust in Me. This reminds you that I am with you and I am absolutely reliable! There are always areas of your life where you need to trust Me more fully. When hard times come, view them as opportunities to expand the scope of your trust- living by faith in these challenging seasons. Don't waste the opportunities; use them to come closer to Me. I welcome you warmly with open arms!

2 Corinthians 5:7

We live by faith, not by sight.

James 4:8

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Thankfulness part 2: by Henry Blackaby

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.      Luke 17:15-16

Thankfulness is foundational to the Christian life. Thankfulness is a conscious response that comes from looking beyond our blessings to their source. As Christians, we have been forgiven, saved from death, and adopted as God’s children. There could be no better reason for a grateful heart!

Lepers in Jesus’ day were social outcasts. Their highly contagious condition ostracized them from those they loved. When ten lepers encountered Jesus, they desperately implored Him to show them mercy. Jesus sent them to the priest. As they obeyed, they were healed! These ten men had been forbidden to enter their own villages, to live in their own homes, to work in their own jobs, or even to touch their own children. Imagine what unrestrained joy must have filled them as they ran back home again!

One of the lepers, a Samaritan, stopped and ran back to thank Jesus. Samaritans were normally shunned by the Jews, but Jesus had healed him! Jesus asked him, “Where are the others?” Ten lepers had been healed. Ten lepers were reveling in their new found health. Ten men were joyfully rushing to share the good news with those they loved. But only one considered the Source of that blessing and stopped to thank and worship the One who had given him back his life.

We, too, have been healed and made whole by the Savior. We are free to enjoy the abundant life the Savior has graciously given us. Could we, like the nine lepers, rush off so quickly to glory in our blessings without stopping to thank our Redeemer? God looks for our thanks. Our worship, prayers, service, and daily life ought to be saturated with thanksgiving to God (Phil. 4:6).

Thankfulness part 1: by Sarah Young

Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

THANK ME for the glorious gift of grace! For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Through My finished work on the cross and your belief in Me as your Savior, you have received the greatest gift of all: eternal Life. Even the faith needed to receive salvation is a gift. The best response to such amazing generosity is a grateful heart. You can never thank Me too much or too frequently for grace.

During this Thanksgiving season, ponder what it means to have all your sins forgiven. It means you are no longer on a pathway to hell; your destination is a new heaven and a new earth. It also means that every day of your life is valuable. As you go through this day, thank Me often for the amazing gift of grace. Let this gratitude for grace fill you with Joy and increase your thankfulness for the many other blessings I provide.

Matthew 10:28

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Revelation 21:1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Counting the COST: by CS Lewis

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

William Law, in his terrible, cool voice, said,… ‘If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.’ Those are hard words to take. Will it really make no difference whether it was women or patriotism, cocaine or art, whisky or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?

It is a remarkable fact that on this subject Heaven and Hell speak with one voice. The tempter tells me, ‘Take care. Think how much this good resolve, the acceptance of the Grace, is going to cost.’ But Our Lord equally tells us to count the cost. Even in human affairs great importance is attached to the agreement of those whose testimony hardly ever agrees. Here, more. Between them it would seem to be pretty clear that paddling is of little consequence. What matters, what Heaven desires and Hell fears, is precisely that further step, out of our depth, out of our control.

Do Not Mistake the True Meaning of the Cross by AW Tozer

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Galatians 6:14

All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles.
It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial, the differences fundamental!
From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life with encouragement for a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist tries to show that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. The modern view is that the new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him!
The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but it is as false as it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. In Roman times, the man who took up his cross and started down the road was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected: he was going out to have it ended! The cross did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more!
The race of Adam is under death sentence. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. Thus God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life!

Risk Assessment – Loss & Gain: by TA Sparks

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

Man has constructed his own interpretations of Christianity and of truth, brought in his own systems and has confused things so much that you really do not know, unless you have clear discernment such as Nehemiah had, what is of God and what is not of God. There are multitudes of good, honest, sincere Christian people who really are in the most awful fog as to what is of God and what is not of God religiously. Man's religious systems have brought about that confusion and multitudes of honest people believe with all their heart that the thing that they are in is of God, and it is just possible for them to get such an awakening to see the whole thing was man-made and not of God at all; "...much rubbish." Paul was one of those. Reflect upon his past life, privileges, and inheritances which he at one time believed were so utterly and absolutely of God for him, and that he really was in God's will. He came to a time when he said: "The things which were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ... for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ"; and yet he was so devoted to all that as a traditional religious system in which he at one time was living as out from God, which had now become merely an outward thing of forms and external laws. He believed, nevertheless, that it was all of God until the light shone, until he saw that in comparison with the fullness of Christ it was refuse. It is a strong word that he uses; the word he uses is "stuff to be flung to the dogs." Saul of Tarsus throwing his Judaism to the dogs! He did it when he saw Christ. You can never come out of the rubbish until you see Christ.

Ask the Lord to reveal to you the fullness of Christ and you will find things which have gripped and held you become as mere refuse, stuff to be flung to the dogs. There was much rubbish in the place which once represented a clear line of division between what was of God and what was not of God; confusion, mixture. I shall not attempt to apply that more thoroughly. The Lord will have to show us by revelation what the rubbish is, but there is the simple statement and it contains a truth, and you and I will really have to ask the Lord to show us even in religious matters, where man ends and God begins, or where God ends and man begins, so that we shall be delivered from everything that man has imposed or added upon what is of God, and we shall be able to get right down to foundations, the rubbish being removed: and there is a very great deal of ecclesiastical rubbish about in these days that must go. That is a real difficulty in recovering the full testimony of the Lord Jesus.

Obey the Word of God: by Andrew Murray

“People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Bread is indispensable to life. We all understand this. However strong a person may be, if he takes no nourishment, he will grow weaker and eventually die. Even so with the Word of God. Bread must be eaten. I may know all about bread. I may give it to others.

I may have bread in my house and on my table in great abundance, but that will not help me. I must eat the bread. If through illness I am unable to eat it, I shall die. Likewise, mere knowledge of God’s Word and even preaching it to others will not help me. It is not enough to think about it. I must feed on God’s Word and take it into my heart and life.

Bread must be eaten daily, and the same is true of God’s Word. The psalmist says: “They delight in the law the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (Psalm 1:2). “Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long” (Psalm 119:97). To secure a strong and powerful spiritual life, spending time in God’s Word every day is indispensable. When on earth, the Lord Jesus learned, loved, and obeyed the word of the Father. If you seek fellowship with Him, you will find Him in His Word.

Heavenly Father, I love Your Word. I feed on it day and night—meditating on it always. Help me to develop spiritual muscles that keep me secure and strong in my faith. Amen.

From Start to Finish: by Watchman Nee

“Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable . . . that the man of God may be complete.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

From beginning to end the Bible maintains an organic unity.  It is no disorderly compilation of human minds, but is bound together by the working of the Spirit of God, so that what we have today is fully at one with its origins. The five books of Moses stand at the beginning of the record—and this is the significant point: all who wrote afterward built upon them; they did not write independently. Joshua builds on the foundation of the Pentateuch, and so does the author of the books of Samuel.

Though the writers are various, every book in the Old Testament builds on what went before.  And when we reach the New Testament the same is true: the New uses the Old as its springboard. You cannot discard the Old Testament and retain only the New Testament; neither can you cut out the four Gospels and keep only the letters of Paul. God does not say one thing yesterday and another thing today. His Word is one. From start to finish, it lives and speaks to our need.

Press On: by Henry Blackaby

Brothers and sisters, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.  Philippians 3:13

The world will tell you that the dominating influence in your life is your past. If you came from a difficult home life, that will determine the direction of your life. If your culture was treated unfairly, that will dictate the condition of your life today. If you were hurt or abused or if your youth was spent in rebellion, the remainder of your life will be spent struggling with your past. The world is preoccupied with the past because it faces an uncertain future.

Christians, on the other hand, live in freedom because Christ has overcome our past. The “old things” have been done away with and “new things” have come (2 Cor. 5:17). God has so totally forgiven the Christian’s sin that He chooses not to remember it (Isa. 43:25). Christians do not forget the past; but we are not controlled or motivated by it. The Christian looks to the future with hope.

The people of the world focus on what they are overcoming. Christians focus on what they are becoming. Christians know that the Holy Spirit is conforming them into the image of Christ. Christians know that ultimately they will stand before Christ to give an account of their actions and will spend an eternity in the presence of God. Christians know that eventually every injustice will be addressed and every hurt comforted. They know that Satan, and death itself, will finally be brought to an end. The Christian’s future is so full and rich and exciting that it supersedes whatever happened in the past.

If you are preoccupied with your past, ask God to open your eyes to the incredible future that awaits you and begin, like Paul, to press on to what is ahead.

Leave Room for God: by Oswald Chambers

But when it pleased God . . . —Galatians 1:15

Have you learned how to leave space for God—to give him a little elbow room to work in your life? Too often, as we go about making our plans, we forget to leave a place for God to come in as he chooses. We say that this or that will happen, but none of our predictions leave room for the element of divine surprise.

Would we be shocked if God came into our meetings, our prayers, or our preaching in a way we’d never expected? However well we think we know God, we can never know exactly what he’ll do. What we can know is that, when it pleases him, he will break in. This is the great lesson to learn—that at any minute God may arrive. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, and yet God never works in any other way.

Keep in constant, intimate contact with God, so that his surprising power may break through at any time and any place. Always be in a state of expectancy, and remember to leave room. Do not look for God to come in any particular way, but do look for him.

The Mighty Magnet: by Charles Spurgeon

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" John 12:32

Come, ye workers, be encouraged. You fear that you cannot draw a congregation. Try the preaching of a crucified, risen, and ascended Savior; for this is the greatest "draw" that was ever yet manifested among men. What drew you to Christ but Christ? What draws you to Him now but His own blessed self? If you have been drawn to religion by anything else, you will soon be drawn away from it; but Jesus has held you, and will hold you even to the end. Why, then, doubt His power to draw others? Go with the name of Jesus to those who have hitherto been stubborn, and see if it does not draw them.

No sort of man is beyond this drawing power. Old and young, rich and poor, ignorant and learned, depraved or amiable -- all men shall feel the attractive force. Jesus is the one magnet. Let us not think of any other. Music will not draw to Jesus, neither will eloquence, logic, ceremonial, or noise. Jesus Himself must draw men to Himself; and Jesus is quite equal to the work in every case. Be not tempted by the quackeries of the day; but as workers for the Lord work in His own way, and draw with the Lord's own cords. Draw to Christ, and draw by Christ, for then Christ will draw by you.

Overcoming Unbelief: by TA Sparks

I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! Mark 9:24

Here is something that you and I must dwell upon. Personally, I am constantly brought to this: I have not yet learnt thoroughly to believe what I believe in! I believe in the finished work of Christ, yet sometimes I am just as miserable about myself as any man could be. I am often almost at the point of giving up because of what a wretched kind of thing I am. If there is anything in this world that would cause me to give up the Christian ministry, it is myself. Do you understand what I mean? Oh, how we are discouraged by what we find in ourselves! And so, we don't believe what we believe in. We believe in the finished work of Christ, and that God puts all that finished work to our account. God does not see us in ourselves – He sees us in Christ. He does not see us, He sees Christ in us. We don't believe that! If we really did we would be delivered from ourselves and would indeed be triumphant Christians.

Of course, that does not mean that we can just behave anyhow. We may speak and act wrongly, but for every Christian there is a refuge – a mercy seat. It has not to be made; it is there with the precious Blood. That has not to be shed; it is shed. There is a High Priest making intercession for us. There is everything that we need. The work is finished, completed. Oh, we Christians must believe our beliefs! We must take hold, with both hands, of the things which are of our Christian faith.

The Terror of the Lord: by Henry Blackaby

Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.      2 Corinthians 5:11

The fear of God is the greatest deterrent for sin (Exod. 20:20; Prov. 16:6). Those who perceive God as a benevolent and gentle grandfather will treat their sin superficially. They will worship halfheartedly. They will live life on their own terms rather than God’s. But a reverent fear of holy God will dramatically affect the way a person lives. Even though Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, he feared God and knew that one day he would stand in judgment to give an account for everything he had done (2 Cor. 5:10).

Our world does not applaud fearfulness. We teach our children to love God, but not to fear Him. We want to present a loving and nonthreatening image of God to nonbelievers in the hope that Christianity will be more appealing to them. One of the great condemnations of our day may be that we have lost the fear of God. We promote Him as a “best friend” who saves us and “lives in our hearts,” but we do not fear Him. It is true that we are God’s adopted children and that we are fellow heirs, even friends, with Jesus (Rom. 8:16-17; John 15:14-15), but we are not His equals. He has forgiven us, but we are still His creatures. He is God, and we are not!

If you find that you have become complacent with God’s commands and have become comfortable in your sin, you are completely isolated from God’s holiness. Take time to meditate upon the awesome holiness of God and allow the Holy Spirit to instill into your life a proper reverence for almighty God (Isa. 40:12-26). A deep sense of awe is essential to knowing God.

Martin Luther Quotes on Reformation Day

The whole being of any Christian is faith and love. Faith brings the person to God, love brings the person to people.

God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.

We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.

From the beginning of my Reformation I have asked God to send me neither dreams, nor visions, nor angels, but to give me the right understanding of His Word, the Holy Scriptures; for as long as I have God's Word, I know that I am walking in His way and that I shall not fall into any error or delusion.

Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.

Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!

Pray like it all depends on God, then when you are done, go work like it all depends on you.

Lord Jesus, You are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours. You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not.

I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.

I'll trust in God's unchanging Word, till soul and body sever. For though all things pass away, His Word shall stand forever.

Feelings come and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving; My warrant is the Word of God-- Naught else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned For want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart Whose Word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging Word Till soul and body sever, For, though all things shall pass away, HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!

The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.

When Satan tells me I am a sinner he comforts me immeasurably, since Christ died for sinners.

Ah, if I could only pray the way that dog looks at meat.

No one can believe how powerful prayer is and what it can effect, except those who have learned it by experience. Whenever I have prayed earnestly, I have been heard and have obtained more than I prayed for. God sometimes delays, but He always comes.

I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!

The world doesn't want to be punished. It wants to remain in darkness. It doesn't want to be told that what it believes is false. If you also don't want to be corrected, then you might as well leave the church and spend your time at the bar and brothel. But if you want to be saved-and remember that there's another life after this one-you must accept correction.

Great Quotes in Loving Jesus part 5

My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, Galatians 4:19

Thanks be to thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which thou hast won for us, for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for us.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly day by day. -attributed to St Richard of Chichester (1253)

Our age has been sadly deficient in what may be termed spiritual greatness.  At the root of this is the modern disease of shallowness.  We are all too impatient to meditate on the faith we profess… It is not the busy skimming over religious books or the careless hastening through religious duties which makes for a strong Christian faith.  Rather, it is unhurried meditation on gospel truths and the exposing of our minds to these truths that yield the fruit of sanctified character.  -Maurice Roberts

In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds.  If he can keep us engaged in “muchness” and “manyness,” he will rest satisfied.” -Richard Foster

Prayer, secret, fervent, believing prayer—lies at the root of all personal godliness -William Carey

The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer;  they do not go on praying;  they do not persevere.  If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it.  Oh, how good, and kind, and gracious, and condescending is the One with Whom we have to do!  He has given me, unworthy as I am, immeasurably above all I had asked or thought!   -George Muller

We must face the fact that many today are notoriously careless in their living.  This attitude finds it way into the church.  We have liberty, we have money, we live in comparative luxury.  As a result, discipline practically has disappeared.  What would a violin solo sound like if the strings on the musician’s instrument were all hanging loose, not stretched tight, not “disciplined”? -AW Tozer

Great Quotes in Loving Jesus part 4

Apply your heart to instruction (discipline) and your ears to words of knowledge.  Proverbs 23:12

The alternative to discipline is disaster. -Vance Havner

“My central aim is that we can become like Christ by doing one thing—by following Him in the overall style of life he chose for Himself.  If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that He knew how to live.  We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities He engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities He Himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of His Father.” -Dallas Willard

Ours is an undisciplined age.  The old disciplines are breaking down… Above all, the discipline of divine grace is derided as legalism or is entirely unknown to a generation that is largely illiterate in the Scriptures.  We need the rugged strength of Christian character that can only come from discipline. -V. Raymond Edman

“I must take care above all that I cultivate communion with Christ, for though that can never be the basis of my peace—mark that—yet it will be the channel of it.” -Charles Spurgeon

The Spiritual Disciplines are the “Door to Liberation.” Richard Foster

“Freedom and discipline have come to be regarded as mutually exclusive, when in fact freedom is not at all the opposite, but the final reward, of discipline.” -Elizabeth Elliot

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, `Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name, Amen. -AW Tozer

Great Quotes in Loving Jesus part 3

 

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. Psalm 42:1

“Satan’s cause is never more in danger than when a human being no longer desiring, but still intending to do God’s will,  looks around upon a world from which every trace of God seems to have vanished and asks why he has been forsaken, yet still obeys.” C.S. Lewis “The Screwtape Letters”

"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory

 

“The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory meant good report with god, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last. . . . Apparently, then, our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. And to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honour beyond all our merits and also the healing of that old ache”  CS Lewis,  The Weight of Glory

Great Quotes in Loving Jesus part 2

“At the same moment the Trinity filled me full of heartfelt joy, and I knew that all eternity was like this for those who attain heaven. For the Trinity is God, and God the Trinity; the Trinity is our Maker and keeper, our eternal lover, joy and bliss—all through our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . We have got to realize the littleness of creation and to see it for the nothing that it is before we can love and possess God who is uncreated. This is the reason why we have no ease of heart or soul, for we are seeking our rest in trivial things which cannot satisfy, and not seeking to know God, almighty, all-wise, all-good. He is true rest. It is His will that we should know Him, and His pleasure that we should rest in Him. Nothing less will satisfy us. . . . We shall never cease wanting and longing until we possess Him in fulness and joy. Then we shall have no further wants. Meanwhile His will is that we go on knowing and loving until we are perfected in heaven. . . . The more clearly the soul sees the blessed face by grace and love, the more it longs to see it in its fullness.” Julian of Norwich, in her Revelations of Divine Love

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. John 6:54-56
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:66-69

Great Quotes in Loving Jesus part 1

As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God. Psalm 42:1

"Are you not thirsty?" said the lion. "I’m dying of thirst," said Jill. "Then drink," said the lion. "May I- could I- would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill. The lion answered this only by a look and very low growl. As Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. "Will you promise not to- do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill. "I make no such promise," said the lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer the lion. "Do you eat girls?" she said. "I have swallowed up, consumed girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it. "I daren’t come and drink," said Jill. "Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion. "Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then." The lion said, "There is no other stream." (C.S. Lewis "The Chronicles of Narnia")

‘Every Christian will become at last what his desires have made him. We are the sum total of our hungers. The great saints have all had thirsting hearts. Their cry has been, ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?’ Their longing after God all but consumed them; it propelled them onward and upward to heights toward which less ardent Christians look with languid eye and entertain no hope of reaching.’ I can conceive of nothing more significant and compelling than the beatific vision of the living God, and if our capacity for this vision relates to faithfulness in this life, every other concern should pale in comparison.” A.W. Tozer

Counting the COST: by CS Lewis

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

William Law, in his terrible, cool voice, said,… ‘If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.’ Those are hard words to take. Will it really make no difference whether it was women or patriotism, cocaine or art, whisky or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?

It is a remarkable fact that on this subject Heaven and Hell speak with one voice. The tempter tells me, ‘Take care. Think how much this good resolve, the acceptance of the Grace, is going to cost.’ But Our Lord equally tells us to count the cost. Even in human affairs great importance is attached to the agreement of those whose testimony hardly ever agrees. Here, more. Between them it would seem to be pretty clear that paddling is of little consequence. What matters, what Heaven desires and Hell fears, is precisely that further step, out of our depth, out of our control.

Stay Close: by Sarah Young

Jeremiah 31:25
For I will satisfy the weary soul,

and every languishing soul I will replenish.

You have been on a long, uphill journey, and your energy is almost spent. Though you have faltered at times, you have not let go of My hand. I am pleased with your desire to stay close to Me. There is one thing, however, that displeases Me: your tendency to complain. You may talk to Me as much as you like about the difficulty of the path we are following. I understand better than anyone else the stresses and strains that have afflicted you. You can ventilate safely to Me, because talking with Me tempers your thoughts and helps you see things from My perspective.

Complaining to others is another matter altogether. It opens the door to deadly sins such as self-pity and rage. Whenever you are tempted to grumble, come to Me and talk it out. As you open up to Me, I will put My thoughts in your mind and My song in your heart.

Philippians 2:14-15
Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

that you may be blameless and innocent,

children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Take up Your Cross: by Henry Blackaby

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”      Matthew 16:24

Your “cross” is God’s will for you, regardless of the cost. Taking up your cross is a choice; it is not beyond your control. You may have health problems or a rebellious child or financial pressures, but do not mistake these as your “cross to bear.” Neither circumstances you face nor consequences of your own actions are your cross. Your cross will be to voluntarily participate in Christ’s sufferings as He carries out His redemptive purposes (Phil. 3:10). Paul said he rejoiced in his sufferings because he knew that by them he was able to participate in the suffering required to bring others into Christian maturity (Col. 1:24).

We tend to want to go immediately from “denying ourselves” to “following Jesus.” But you can never follow Jesus unless you have first taken up your cross. There are aspects of God’s redemptive work that can be accomplished only through suffering. Just as Christ had to suffer in order to bring salvation, there will be hardships you may have to endure in order for God to bring salvation to those around you. Jesus did not talk with His disciples about the cross until they had come to know He was the Christ (Matt. 16:21). You will never be able to endure the suffering of the cross unless you have first been convinced that Jesus is the Christ. Once you have settled your relationship with Christ, He will introduce you to your cross.

There is no Christianity without a cross. If you are waiting for a relationship with God that never requires suffering or inconvenience, then you cannot use Christ as your model. God’s will for you involves a cross. First, take up your cross, then you can follow Him.

Self Talk? or Talk to Self? by M.L. Jones Spiritual Depression

Psalm 42:5-6
 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and
 my God. My soul is downcast within me;

therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,

the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar.

I say that we must talk to ourselves instead of allowing “ourselves” to talk to us! 

Do you realize what that means? 

I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. 

Am I just trying to be deliberately paradoxical?  Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?  Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning.  You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back problems of yesterday, etc.  Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you?  Your self talk is talking to you. 

Now the Psalmist’s treatment was this: 

Instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. 

“Why are you so downcast, O my soul?”

he asks.  His soul had been depressing him, crushing him.  So he stands up and says:

“Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you… Why are you so downcast? – what business have you to be disquieted?…

And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who He is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. 

Then having done that, end on this great note:  Defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the Devil and the whole world, and say with this man “I will yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”

Psalm 42:7

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers have swept over me.