A word from C. Spurgeon

He said to his students, “To be effective preachers you must be sound theologians” (see note 6). He warned that “those who do away with Christian doctrine are, whether they are aware of it or not, the worst enemies of Christian living… [because] the coals of orthodoxy are necessary to the fire of piety” (Spurgeon_Piper)

“Some excellent brethren seem to think more of the life than of the truth; for when I warn them that the enemy has poisoned the children’s bread, they answer ‘Dear brother, we are sorry to hear it; and, to counteract the evil, we will open the window, and give the children fresh air.’ Yes, open the window, and give them fresh air, by all means… But, at the same time, this ought you to have done, and not to have left the other undone. Arrest the poisoners, and open the windows, too. While men go on preaching false doctrine, you may talk as much as you will about deepening their spiritual life, but you will fail in it” (Spurgeon_Piper)

#inhardshipiwillfollow Canonical Bible reading day 109 / 1 Kings 18-20

1KI 19:9-10 ESV

There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord , the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

There are those who would tell you that following after God means having everything you ever wanted. They would tell you that you will have riches and lot of friends.  But following God may mean loneliness, distress, hardship.  The promise is that God will never leave you or forsake you.  The truth is that God has enemies.  God is calling out warriors to stand in the gap in defiance of these enemies.  There are few who answer the call.  The battle is fierce.  But victory has already been declared for those who stand with the Lord God.  Decide what you will do with your call and do it with all of your being.