Welcome To The Lighthouse

Morning

“Shouldst thou help the ungodly?”

2 Chronicles 19:1-11

2 Chronicles 22:1

Very special had been his deliverance from death; let us hope that he felt deeply grateful for it. He had by his own folly put himself into harm’s way, and it was great mercy which resetted him from peril. We find, however, that he did not go unrebuked.

2 Chronicles 22:3

The father had rebuked Asa, and had been roughly used for so doing, but this did not prevent the son from doing his duty. He spake very plainly and personally to Jehoshaphat, and did not hesitate to deliver to him the solemn threatening of the Lord: nor was his message a fruitless one, for the king saw his sin, and set about doing all the good he could, as a token of his hearty repentance.

2 Chronicles 22:4

When we turn to God ourselves, we cannot do better than use all our influence to convert others.

2 Chronicles 22:5-7

In all our dealings we are bound to be strictly just, and never should we allow ourselves to be perverted by the threats or smiles of any man. Our heavenly Father is righteous, and so should all his children be. It is not only judges who may be bribed, but servants may be bribed to allow tradesmen to rob their masters; masters may be tempted to be unjust to servants; and children may be led to be untruthful in their statements by gifts and threats. Such things must not be, or we shall grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

2 Chronicles 22:8

This was to be a central court of judicature where hard cases would be decided. What a blessing is it that in the New Jerusalem we have one who is called Wonderful Counsellor, and no case is too hard for him.

2 Chronicles 22:10

Very needful is it even now to exhort one another to do the right whether we offend or please. Disciples of Jesus should be strictly upright: if honour be banished from all the rest of the world, it should still dwell in the bosom of believers.

2 Chronicles 22:11

Let this be our motto in all our dealings. He who acts uprightly has never any cause to fear, for God is with him. Children, learn this line by heart, “Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good.”

I send the joys of earth away,

Away, ye tempters of the mind;

False as the smooth deceitful sea,

And empty as the whistling wind.

Lord, I adore thy matchless grace,

That warn’d me of that dark abyss,

That drew me from those treacherous seas,

And bade me seek superior bliss.

Evening

“The battle is not yours, but God’s.”

2 Chronicles 20:1-19

2 Chronicles 20:1

This was a chastisement upon him for joining with Ahab, for now the wicked join against him; but it was sent in love, and therefore ended well.

2 Chronicles 20:2 , 2 Chronicles 20:3

He did not only fear because of the vast number of the invaders, but because the Lord had told him by the mouth of the prophet that wrath would be upon him. His fears, however, drove him to prayer, and whenever this is the case matters will be sure to mend.

2 Chronicles 20:4

Great troubles can only be met by great prayer. Let us use this certain remedy when trial comes upon us.

2 Chronicles 20:5-12

This was a noble prayer; the king pleaded the divine power and sovereignty, he reminded the Lord of his former favours to his people, and then he pleaded the promise and covenant. After this manner also should we pray. The last sentence is peculiarly sweet: “our eyes are upon thee.” For direction, help, protection, and encouragement they looked alone to the Lord. We shall be sure to see good when our eyes are fixed upon God alone.

2 Chronicles 20:13

The prayers even of little ones are powerful with God. All our family should learn to pray, and in times of distress each one should assist in calling upon the Lord for help.

2 Chronicles 20:14

God will soon send a loving word when all his people humbly cry unto him.

2 Chronicles 20:15 , 2 Chronicles 20:17

When the Lord undertakes for his people he makes short work of their enemies.

2 Chronicles 20:18

God’s great mercy humbled them into lowliest adoration. They did not question the truth of the promise, but worshipped gratefully at once.

2 Chronicles 20:19

This was real faith. Cannot we also praise the Lord for favours yet to come? He will bless us, let us even now bless him.

“Divine Cultivation ”

Isaiah 27:3

When the LORD Himself speaks in His own proper person rather than through a prophet, the word has a peculiar weight to believing minds. It is Jehovah Himself who is the keeper of His own vineyard; He does not trust it to any other, but He makes it His own personal care. Are they not well kept whom God Himself keeps?

We are to receive gracious watering, not only every day and every hour "but every moment." How we ought to grow! How fresh and fruitful every plant should be! What rich clusters the vines should bear!

But disturbers come; little foxes and the boar. Therefore, the LORD Himself is our Guardian, and that at all hours, both "night and day." What, then, can harm us? Why are we afraid! He tends, He waters, He guards; what more do we need?

Twice in this verse the LORD says, "I will." What truth, what power, what love, what immutability we find in the great "I will" of Jehovah! Who can resist His will? If He says "I will," what room is there for doubt? With an "I will" of God we can face all the hosts of sin, death, and hell. O LORD, since Thou sayest, "I will keep thee," I reply, "I will praise Thee!"

“The sweetness of the lips increaseth learning” (Proverbs 16:21)

Life is very largely made up of words. They are not so emphatic, perhaps, as deeds. Deeds are more deliberate expressions of thought. One of the most remarkable authors of the New Testament has said, “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man.” It is very often a test of victory in Christian life. Our triumph in this often depends on what we say, or what we do not say. It is said by James of the tongue, “It is set on fire of hell.” The true Christian, therefore, is righteous in his ways and upright in his words. His deeds appeal to men; but in speech he is looking up, for God is listening. His words are sent upward and recorded for the judgment. I believe that this is an actual fact, and I can almost fancy that the skies above, which seem so transparent, the beautiful blue ether over our heads, is like a waxen tablet with a finely sensitive surface, and receives an impression of every word we speak, and that then these tablets are har dened and preserved for the eternal judgment. So we should speak, dear friends, with our eyes ever upward, never forgetting that we shall some day meet the words that we have spoken.

Tozer in the Morning Avoiding Deception

These are times of moral and religious confusion and it is sometimes hard to distinguish the false from the true. Our faithful Lord has tried to save us from the consequences of our own blindness by repeated warnings and many careful instructions. It will pay us to give close attention to His words. Toward the end of the age, we are told, there shall be a time of stepped-up religious activity and frenzied expectation, growing out of the turbulent conditions prevailing among nations. The language is familiar to most Christians: Wars and rumors of wars . . . nation shall rise against nation . . famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. . . . Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations . . and then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Concurrent with this state of affairs will be a great increase in religious excitement and supernatural happenings gen erally. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. . . . And many false prophets shall rise. . . . Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Tozer in the Evening Seeking God with ALL Our Heart

I have previously shown that any Christian who desires to may at any time experience a radical spiritual renaissance, and this altogether independent of the attitude of his fellow Christians.

The important question now is, How? Well, here are some suggestions which anyone can follow and which, I am convinced, will result in a wonderfully improved Christian life.

Get thoroughly dissatisfied with yourself. Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul. When speaking of earthly goods Paul could say, "I have learned to be content" (Philippians 4:11); but when referring to his spiritual life he testified, "I press on toward the goal" (3:14). "So stir up the gift of God that is in thee" (2 Timothy 1:6, KJV).

Set your face like a flint toward a sweeping transformation of your life. Timid experimenters are tagged for failure before they start. We must throw our whole soul into our desire for God. "The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12).

June 13

1 Kings 6:7 7In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

Imagine the precision that had to be used to have the stones perfectly fit when they arrived at the temple site! Three-dimensional exactness had to be obtained at the quarry, for no pounding of any iron tool was to be heard at the site. Each block was custom made for an exact location to fit with the blocks beside and below.

Peter refers to believers as living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5). What kind of parallel can we see here? Jesus is the builder of the eternal temple of God, as the author of Hebrews declared (Hebrews 3:3-4). He must shape us to perfectly fit into the place God has for us and that includes fitting in with those around us. Each of us has a calling and a place in the temple. But what does this noiseless activity represent?

The pounding and shaping, the noisy activity, should go on outside the temple site. When we gather to worship, it is not the time to hash out our differences. There we quietly behold His glory or sing His praises. There, our focus is not on our fit with the stone next to us but the wonder of our Savior. O come let us adore Him. Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

The hammering and shaping should go on in the quarry. One on one with the Lord, we should allow ourselves to be shaped. The places we do not fit with the other living stones must be chiseled away. That noisy and often painful activity goes on in the quarry with Jesus so that we do not disturb the focus of others as we gather to worship corporately. Are you letting Him remove from you the protrusions in your life that keep you from fitting perfectly with the rest of the building?

Take time alone with God to let Him make some reductions in you so that you fit with the other living stones.