Repent until your dying day!

“Godly sorrow worketh repentance.”

- 2Corinthians 7:10 When God makes you feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, you don't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes you feel sorry, it can cause your death. (CEV)

This is a good morning devotional. What I have found as my walk with Christ strengthens is that my repenting becomes fewer but as Charles Spurgeon writes, is still there and will always be there.

[Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature’s garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature’s thorns never produced a single fig. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.”]

What I have found in my life, to help keep sin out of my life is I ask the Lord to make these things distasteful to me. I am human and sin is all around, especially in today’s times with everything at our fingertips. All the good, the bad and truly ugly stuff.

[True repentance has a distinct reference to the Saviour. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross, or it will be better still if we fix both our eyes upon Christ and see our transgressions only, in the light of his love.]

Powerful paragraph Mr. Spurgeon!

[True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally-as a burnt child dreads fire. We shall be as much afraid of it, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway; and we shall shun it-shun it in everything-not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great snakes. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against him.
Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This dropping well is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time, but this dear sorrow grows with our growth, and it is so sweet a bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter our eternal rest.]

Please read this part one more time, “True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against him.”

I pray to the Lord above He will make that real to all of us.

The Lord blessed me with this poem a few years ago and have used it in His outreach ministry. If you focus your life on Him, then you will be leaving no room for sin!

May This Day

May this day be about You, Lord
May my thoughts be of You
May each action that I take, Lord
be just like You would do.

May I strive to be less selfish
May my words just come from You
May my life be a living sacrifice
in all that I do.

May each person that I meet
May I plant a tiny seed
May it nurture in their heart Lord
and bring them closer to You indeed.

May they understand as I do
May their hearts be filled with love
May this day be about You, Lord
as we give praise to our Savior above.
E. P. Shagott
9/29/2007


From God’s heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

God’s Calling

“Whom he did predestinate, them he also called.”

Romans 8:30 But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, those He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified.

This is another excellent devotional by Charles Spurgeon.

For past 3 ½ years since my retirement I wasn’t exactly sure what God had planned for my life. Was this ministry I have been pursing a calling I put on my heart or was it a calling from God? As I read this devotional my eyes stared at Spurgeon’s statement, “As he that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ’s, you can say, “Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy.”

[In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these words-”Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling.” Now, here is a touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is “an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.” This calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As he that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ’s, you can say, “Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy.” Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life towards God, and his divine will?]

Yes, I cry, Yes! As I was reading the ending to this great devotional I found myself saying this more and more to my Lord and Savior!

[Again, in Philippians, Phi_3:13, Phi_3:14, we are told of “The high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Is then your calling a high calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things?]

Yes, yes!

[Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it upraised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God?]

Yes, yes!

[Another test we find in Heb_3:1-”Partakers of the heavenly calling.” Heavenly calling means a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high, heavenly?]

Praise God Yes!

[Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling wherewith God doth call his people.]

My friends this calling from God on my life is not a calling for works for Him, which I gladly obey and do, it is God’s calling to me to Him, that through His Son’s love and sacrifice, the Father cares for us today!

To Him be the praise and glory!

The Lord blessed me with this poem a couple years ago,

I‘m Talking To You

Why are you so down?
What can it be?
I raised my eyes above and asked
“God, are You talking to me?”

He said, “Everything that is,
and all you see,
was made just for you
and it all comes from Me!

The blood I shed,
the tears I cry,
is all for you
and still you doubt, why?

All I ask,
since you don’t seem to see.
Is that someday you will choose
to believe in Me!

My Word was left
so you would know,
I am always here
and love you so!

So don’t be so down
And to My name always be true
Yes, my child
I’m talking to You!”

From God’s heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

Spotless

“Faultless before the presence of his glory.”

Jude 1:24 Now to Him being able to keep you without stumbling, and to set you before His glory without blemish, with unspeakable joy;
Jude 1:25 to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty and might and authority, even now and forever. Amen.

[Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, “faultless!” We are far off from it now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in his work of love, we shall reach it one day. The Saviour who will keep his people to the end, will also present them at last to himself, as “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.” All the jewels in the Saviour’s crown are of the first water and without a single flaw. All the maids of honour who attend the Lamb’s wife are pure virgins without spot or stain. But how will Jesus make us faultless? He will wash us from our sins in his own blood until we are white and fair as God’s purest angel; and we shall be clothed in his righteousness, that righteousness which makes the saint who wears it positively faultless; yea, perfect in the sight of God.]

What a wonderful way to start my Saturday, with this devotional. If we can just have our minds wrap around what Charles Spurgeon quoted so many years ago. How can we as humans, living in this world of sin think about being “without a blemish?” What can wash my sins away? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

[We shall be unblameable and unreproveable even in his eyes. His law will not only have no charge against us, but it will be magnified in us. Moreover, the work of the Holy Spirit within us will be altogether complete. He will make us so perfectly holy, that we shall have no lingering tendency to sin. Judgment, memory, will-every power and passion shall be emancipated from the thraldom of evil. We shall be holy even as God is holy, and in his presence we shall dwell for ever.]

If that doesn’t get you excited, check for a pulse! Can you imagine being “perfectly holy?” Praise God for the cross!

[Saints will not be out of place in heaven, their beauty will be as great as that of the place prepared for them. Oh the rapture of that hour when the everlasting doors shall be lifted up, and we, being made meet for the inheritance, shall dwell with the saints in light. Sin gone, Satan shut out, temptation past for ever, and ourselves “faultless” before God, this will be heaven indeed! Let us be joyful now as we rehearse the song of eternal praise so soon to roll forth in full chorus from all the blood-washed host; let us copy David’s exultings before the ark as a prelude to our ecstasies before the throne.]

The Lord blessed me with this poem almost a year ago, when I was thinking how at times we always take life for granted without saying “thanks!”

Thank You Jesus for because of your love for me I am now, faultless, unblameable, unreproveable and perfect in the sight of the Father!

Did I Tell You Thank You Lord

Did I tell You, “thank you Lord”
when I first awoke from sleep?
Did I tell You, “thank you Lord
for in my heart your presence I keep?

For all the many blessings
because of Your Grace I do receive,
did I tell You, “thank You Lord”
for in me You do believe?

Did I tell You, “thank You Lord”
for never giving up on me?
Even when friends and family
seemed content to just let me be.

For all those minutes, hours, and endless days
that could be empty as can be,
did I tell You, “thank You Lord”
for being that special one to me?

Well if for some reason I didn’t
please forgive me once again!
“Thank You Lord, for the beginning,
the in between, for with You there is no end!

E. P. Shagott
10/15/2008

From God's heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

Measure of Faith

R. A. Torrey a close associate and friend of D. L. Moody once wrote "Why God Used D. L. Moody," stated this “I shall not seek to glorify Mr. Moody, but the God who by His grace, His entirely unmerited favor, used him so mightily, and the Christ who saved him by His atoning death and resurrection life, and the Holy Spirit who lived in him and wrought through him and who alone made him the mighty power that he was to this world. Furthermore: I hope to make it clear that the God who used D. L. Moody in his day is just as ready to use you and me, in this day, if we, on our part, do what D. L. Moody did, which was what made it possible for God to so abundantly use him.” Torrey also stated this, “But God does not give His power arbitrarily. It is true that He gives it to whomsoever He will, but He wills to give it on certain conditions, which are clearly revealed in His Word; and D. L. Moody met those conditions and God made him the most wonderful preacher of his generation; yes, I think the most wonderful man of his generation. But how was it that D. L. Moody had that power of God so wonderfully manifested in his life? Pondering this question it seemed to me that there were seven things in the life of D. L. Moody that accounted for God's using him so largely as He did.”

(1) A Fully Surrendered Man
(2) A Man of Prayer
(3) A Deep and Practical Student of the Bible
(4) A Humble Man
(5) His Entire Freedom from the Love of Money
(6) His Consuming Passion for the Salvation of the Lost
(7) Definitely Endued with Power from on High

If you are interested in reading in detail click here http://www.eaec.org/faithhallfame/dlmoody.htm#Torrey

What makes certain individuals want and thirst for Christ? What did D. L. Moody have that I didn’t or don’t have? I believe we are the same. What we all have is summed up in Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Each and every one of us has that same measure of faith. It is what we decide to do with it. As a friend of mine once said, “faith, prayer, these are all like a muscle, you must exercise them for them to be effective.” Just recently I had a complete physical. When I was told that my cholesterol and blood pressure was high, I had to make a decision to do something about it. Of course exercise was one that I was getting a lot of from being active for God in His Outreach Ministry. But for changing my eating habits I could either do it or not. Luckily for me I am not a picky eater. So I can enjoy eating healthy almost as much as eating the things that will bring me to a life of medication. Faith and a life in Christ is basically the same principle. We all have a choice to make.

My prayer is that we all make the right choice and exercise our faith and let God work through us to do His will. Do you match up with any or all of the seven things that D L. Moody had?

From God’s heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

Troubles to try our faith

Numbers 11:11 He prayed: I am your servant, LORD, so why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this?

I wonder how many times us Christians have made this statement as in the above bible verse? As I read Charles Spurgeon’s morning devotional I think of the people that the God’s Love Outreach Ministry ministers to almost daily that might ask this question.

I was at DeGraff Skilled Nursing yesterday presenting a program called Seeds of Tradition from the Seeds for Christ series. One woman out of the (17) in attendance was so different than all the others. Her hands and feet were strapped together so that they could not freely move sitting in a bed chair. As I was singing I would look over at her now and then, and I asked the Lord to give her a special peace and comfort. As you read this devotional I have highlighted what I pray was this woman’s faith.

[Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord’s faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father’s countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” is heaven-born faith.]

Now for this next part of the devotional I am not sure if I fully agree with Charles Spurgeon that the Lord afflicts anybody. I truly believe everything that was created was made to bring Him glory. Yep, you and me. Are you bringing Him glory today?

[The Lord afflicts his servants to glorify himself, for he is greatly glorified in the graces of his people, which are his own handiwork. When “tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope,” the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which his vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy.]

Now here is an excellent statement;

[There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights.]

That woman that was in that bed chair was in her condition a shade to the others and myself in the room. Our loving Father was ministering to her spirit through myself His loyal servant. This made that picture just beautiful. This woman was hearing songs like "Jesus Loves Me", and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus!"

[Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified? There are many other comfortable answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse upon it all day long.]

From God’s heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

Are they not all ministering spirits?

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Hebrews 1:14 Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the service [of God for the assistance] of those who are to inherit salvation? (Amp)

I like the quote; “Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous!” How many times that probably all of us have had near bad accidents but just barely missed by a few seconds or minutes. A lot of times we say we were just lucky. Well, I am now at that point in my life that I don’t use the word lucky anymore. I have replaced it with blessed. I thought this morning devotional by Charles Spurgeon talks of how loved we are that God sends His angels to watch over us.

[Angels are the unseen attendants of the saints of God; they bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone. Loyalty to their Lord leads them to take a deep interest in the children of his love; they rejoice over the return of the prodigal to his father’s house below, and they welcome the advent of the believer to the King’s palace above. In olden times the sons of God were favoured with their visible appearance, and at this day, although unseen by us, heaven is still opened, and the angels of God ascend and descend upon the Son of man, that they may visit the heirs of salvation.]

Now as I read this devotional I must admit it talked about the angels attending to “the heirs of salvation”, believers that is. What about the non-believers? Well, the Message translation states it this way, 14 Isn’t it obvious that all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation? My friends we are all lined up from when we first were born. In John 3:16 it says this;
For God so loved the world
that He gave
His only
begotten
Son,
that whoever
believes in Him
should not perish
but have everlasting life.

Please look at that word whoever. That is you and me "valentine", and the ones that have been in that line, or are either in line now waiting to say the sinners prayer, or waiting for someone to tell them about that line, called “salvation”!

[Seraphim still fly with live coals from off the altar to touch the lips of men greatly beloved. If our eyes could be opened, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire about the servants of the Lord; for we have come to an innumerable company of angels, who are all watchers and protectors of the seed-royal. Spenser’s line is no poetic fiction, where he sings-

“How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant
Against foul fiends to aid us militant!”

To what dignity are the chosen elevated when the brilliant courtiers of heaven become their willing servitors! Into what communion are we raised since we have intercourse with spotless celestials! How well are we defended since all the twenty- thousand chariots of God are armed for our deliverance! To whom do we owe all this? Let the Lord Jesus Christ be forever endeared to us, for through him we are made to sit in heavenly places far above principalities and powers. He it is whose camp is round about them that fear him; he is the true Michael whose foot is upon the dragon. All hail, Jesus! thou Angel of Jehovah’s presence, to thee this family offers its morning vows.]

Thank You Lord Jesus! Praise Your Holy Name!

From God’s heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

My Lord protected me!

Psalm 28:8 You give strength to your people, LORD, and you save and protect your chosen ones.

I can really relate to this Bible verse, especially today. For it started out like most of my days, saying good morning to the Lord and expressing how I want to serve Him and love Him. I had a God’s Love Program where I presented the first program for October, Seeds of Tradition from the Seeds for Christ series. As always God was there, blessing the people with older hymns and Christian songs that they grew up with and are grounded in. How can you go wrong with a Jesus melody of, “Jesus Loves Me” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus!” Amen to that.

Like usual after the program I visit with each of the residents, share some encouraging words to help let them know that God and I truly love them and want the best for them. Also I hear from a lot of them, “Stay safe and come back and see us soon!” I really don’t think too long or hard on the “stay safe” part for I have been blessed in this area and also consider myself a cautious person.

Today it was a little different though. When I left the house I never thought I would have a refrigerator fall on me! I guess that’s almost like getting hit by a piano. But it happened.

My brother, who was in from Massachusetts and is still trying to sell his house, called me earlier. I told him I would try to get out to see him there after the program. When I got to his house he and a young man was loading a refrigerator into his truck. Now my brother is older than I am so moving large items is not something we can do with ease, especially me. What we didn’t know was the young man, who the refrigerator was given to, did not show up at the place it was going to, so we didn’t have his youthful strength to help.

So here we are two aging gracefully gentlemen trying to do a good deed and left to unload this monster and put it where we were told to put it. Luckily there was a small ramp that we could roll the refrigerator on the dolly up to and put it in its place. As I was pulling it up the ramp my feet slipped on the wooden ramp and I went down with this refrigerator on top of me. All I could hear was my brothers voice on the other side saying, “are you alright?” All he could hear was me yelling “get this off of me!”

Now go back and read the bible verse again. My friends though I know I had a refrigerator on top of me, I was perfectly all right. Praise God for the strength He gave me and protecting me from any harm. Now how awesome is that?

From God’s heart, to mine, to yours,

Ed Shagott