Pray with Spurgeon

Daily Newsletter from SpurgeonBooks

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. Just then Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.” (Matthew 28:8–9)

These holy women were not Unitarians; knowing that Jesus was the Son of God, they had no hesitation in worshiping him. There must have been a new attraction about Christ after he had risen from the dead, something more sweet about the tones of his voice, something more charming about the countenance that had been so marred, at Gethsemane, and Gabbatha, and Golgotha. Perhaps these timid souls clung to their Lord through fear that he might be again taken for them, so “they held him by the feet, and worshiped him,” fear and faith striving within them. He said he would rise from the dead, and he did; he says that his people also shall rise, and they shall.

PRAY FOR THE NATIONS

This week, we’re praying for the Palembang in Indonesia.

The Palembang have a high view of marriage. They believe a wife’s job is to make a husband’s home feel “like heaven.” They do not have the true hope of heaven.

Pray that they would know that marriage is a picture of Christ’s love for the church, whom he will bring to a truer and lasting heaven.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? And Why Does It Matter?

If you are walking into Easter celebrations uncertain about if Jesus really could have risen from the dead, you aren’t alone. Your questions are not bad, but they are also not unanswerable.

For a great, brief unpacking of why the resurrection is trustworthy (and great news for our lives), check out Is Easter Unbelievable? by Rebecca McLaughlin. The booklet answers four questions that everyone SHOULD ask about the resurrection. This is a valuable resource all year round to strengthen your own faith and give to others.

Buy Is Easter Unbelievable?:

• Amazon (Paperback, Kindle, or audiobook editions)

• ChristianBook (Paperback edition)

FAITH’S CHECKBOOK

Spurgeon’s classic devotional, The Chequebook of the Bank of Faith, contains a promise of God for every day of the year. Pray with Spurgeon Plus subscribers receive the daily readings every weekday.

If you want to strengthen your faith in God’s promises (and support this ministry!), subscribe to Pray with Spurgeon Plus here.

“A road will be there and a way; it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks the path. Fools will not wander on it.” (Isaiah 35:8)

The way of holiness is so straight and plain that the simplest minds cannot lose their way if they constantly follow it. The worldly wise have many twists and turns, and yet they make terrible blunders and generally miss their end. Worldly policy is a poor short-sighted thing and when men choose it as their road, it leads them over dark mountains. Gracious minds know no better than to do as the Lord bids them; this keeps them in the king’s highway and under royal protection.

Let the reader never for a moment attempt to help himself out of a difficulty by lying or by doing a questionable act. Instead, let him keep in the middle of the high road of truth and integrity and he will be following the best possible course. In our lives we must never practice avoiding difficulty nor dream of shuffling. Do justice and fear not. Follow Jesus and heed no evil consequences. If the worst of trials could be avoided by wrong-doing, we should, in the very attempt, have fallen into an evil worse than any other trial could be. God’s way must be the best way. Follow it though men think you a fool and you will be truly wise.

Lord, lead your servants in a plain path because of their enemies.

Something to think about today if you’re feeling tempted to compromise to get ahead: You really can still trust God to provide everything you need.