Charles Spurgeon: The Beauty of Holiness

September 11

“Soar back through all your own experiences. Think of how the Lord has led you in the wilderness and has fed and clothed you every day. How God has borne with your ill manners, put up with your murmurings and all your longings… Think of how the Lord’s Grace has been sufficient for you in all troubles.”   Charles Spurgeon

You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.                  Psalm 40:5

This is such an amazing scripture, all the way through. So rich in content and practical in context that I’m not so sure if there has every been a day in my life when Psalm 40 could not have been relative to my life. Today, though so much jumped out at me, the line that really grabs me was v.5. How true, that there are too many wonderful things God has done for me to even tell, but I can still tell of what I can!

I am alive and that’s a pretty decent place to start! Even as I wait for my son to get out of school or know I will see my daughter when she gets home, as well, what good deeds God has performed just in their lives! Yes, each child has particular mountains to climb and obstacles to overcome but to think of how each child of mine blesses me so richly! I feel loved as a father. I am over blessed as a husband. I am enriched as a pastor to the people I am called to serve. So often I feel more blessed then I actually bless.

Can I count the ways God has blessed me in my life? I can’t even count the ways He has blessed me today! God thinks on me constantly… the least I could do is speak of even some of the many amazing things He has done for me while thinking about Him consistently.

Peace, Sean Gutteridge

Today’s Scriptures:

PSALM 40:1-17

1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.

10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

12 For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!”

17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Proverbs 8:12-18

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.

13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

14 I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.

15 By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just;

16 by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.

17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

18 Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.

The (Un)Forced Smile

June 24

Is it ironic that I have this love and weird affection for smiley faces? Probably. But I’m getting too old to really care. I actually like to smile. Not many people know that about me, but… between you and me, that’s the truth.

Smiles feel good. So why don’t we smile more often? True, there’s nothing more painful then a forced smile but sometimes I think we would be better served to do just that: make ourselves smile. Before long, it’s no longer forced.

Smile and smile often. If we wait for a reason to smile, we may forget how to even do it in the first place! It’s not meant to be as easy as we are led to believe – healthy things seldom are. But do yourself (and those around) a favor today… smile. Even if you find yourself in difficult circumstances, try to grin and bare it. The smile you give might just be the beginning of a glorious chain reaction God’s searching for to bless someone He brings along your path today! God is pleased when He sees me smiling in the midst of trouble. I think it’s just another small way for me to Glorify my God. I do believe that even my smile can bless God!

Peace to you 😉 Sean G.

Today’s Scripture: Haggai 1:7-9

7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.

9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

Mother Teresa: The Intense Calling

May 22

Intense love does not measure… it just gives. ~ Mother Teresa

Man, I love ministry. Whether on the road or at home, serving with this team is such a blessing. To serve God is great enough, but the experience is compounded by the presence of others humbly committed to God’s singular calling in their lives. What strikes me most about these individuals giving up weekends to do these projects is simply that they don’t ever ask why we do it or what we’re doing or any other irrelevant questions. They show up and they serve and… they always do so… gratefully, with Joy! There is nothing more humbling for me, personally, then a person who makes such a huge impact on my team who actually thanks ME (of all things!) for allowing them to be a part of what God is doing. With this type of mindset, before they’ve even closed the wired gates on us, I’ve already been deeply blessed and ministered to. And I’m the guy who’s suppose to be coming in to do the ministering! But that’s how God operates. You see, He needs us in that absolute state of humility to be able TO use us to show the beaten down, the trodden and forgotten the wonderful experience of His powerful Grace.

I am here to witness to the blind and forgotten, those who aren’t remembered because no one WANTS to remember them. But God looks down and He remembers. He still makes Himself available to each one. But I need every single person God sends to help me in ministry. I haven’t the talent, energy nor ability to see God’s purpose to fruition. I continuously pray for Him to bring me capable and able-bodied people to help in all that God calls me to do.

In the end, our jobs are all the same: that others would know His Truth and thus, be able to hear and receive and see what the true Glory and grace of God looks like. I understand my limitations. So does the Lord and am thankful that He faithfully sends so many to help me where I might otherwise flounder.

Whether I am laboring in the fields of Uganda, hammering out worship sets back home or crossing behind the wired and barred gates of prison, this attitude remains prevelant wherever my ministry lands me. I see it, I recognize it and in this intense calling God has brought me into – though I love the intensity – it helps to have such amazing people there with me in the trenches.

Peace,today. SeanGutteridge

Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 35:5

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

Oscar Wilde: Beyond Living and Not Missing Life

March 14 

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. ~ Oscar Wilde



I hate the zoo. It’s cold or it’s hot; it’s smelly and it’s boring. The food sucks and the prices are insane, and there aren’t even any decent rides to waste time standing in line for. Going to the dentist or going to the zoo…? Hmmm… A coin toss at best.

But my kids love the zoo. And that makes me having to go worth the effort. (If just barely) So when I suck it up and yield to not only going but not complaining about going, I position myself into a great opportunity to witness something truly amazing: the blessing of seeing my kids enthusiastic approach to the simplistic pleasures of an otherwise chaotic universe.

It’s sad to think on the blessings and missed opportunities I passed by from being so selfish. How many gifts have I complained my way out of, I wonder? Don’t miss out on opportunities today. Look for God in everything today and you will find Him. Even at the zoo! 

 Peace. Sean G. 

Today’s Scripture: John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Timothy Keller: Three’s Enough For Me

March 3

“It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you.”

~ Timothy Keller

I love the number three. It’s perfect. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the number three. Some people say that three’s a crowd. But… Those people are stupid. Two people seem balanced but with a third, cooler heads often prevail. Three always seems to be just enough but not too many. Blessings seem to flow in three’s (for me, at least) and if I only had 3 gifts to open, I’d be happy. There were three wise-men (though some theologians argue there were actually more then that) but only three if them gave Jesus a gift: at least a gift worthy of mention in the bible. God even divides up Himself into the Trinity which means… three.

Of course, 3 isn’t perfect. Celebrities tend to die three at a time. The three count in wrestling tells you… you just got your butt whipped. Parents always count to three before something bad happens but let’s be honest… usually, that’s an empty threat accompanied with 3’s idiot siblings 4, 5 and 6.

Nobody’s perfect. Not even three. But no other number comes closer to perfection then three. Not even number One. He’s an over-rated blow-hard and let’s be honest… he never stays number One for long. It’s lonely at the top and somebody’s always looking to replace him. Even Jesus says that the first shall be last and the last shall be first! That’s all I’m saying, and while three isn’t always last, three is always surrounded by the company of close companions and friends who see three for what he is: a solid number! So enjoy your day. As for me, I’m gonna go contemplate how much I love God who gave His only Son for me… the same Son who rose again from the dead… on the Third Day. There are just some days that it’s just good to stop and enjoy the life around you. Yes… I am blessed. I think, as I contemplate how blessed that I am, I may just go get me a hot fudge triple Sunday.

Peace. SAG

Today’s Scripture(s):

Psalm 33:3

3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

Psalm 3:3

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

Rene Gutteridge: The Imprints We Leave

January 20

“Maybe, unlike me, you can summon the courage to live openly, alongside this world, leaving the imprints of your existence on its dewy grass.” ~ Rene Gutteridge (from Misery Loves Company)

Hard to believe that this beautiful woman has stayed with me this long. How fortunate I have been to have been blessed with such an amazing and talented woman. And she is even more beautiful today then she was the day we gave ourselves to each other before the Lord. Happy Anniversary!

I do not take for granted having Rene in my life and each day is another gift that I am thankful for. I can only hope for another 25 or more years to continue getting to know one another; that each year would be as good as the last; that God would grant us good health and selfless love to each other; that we would see our children’s children grow strong in Him even as our own children live to see their own dreams born from God come to pass; all this is so much to ask yet boldly do I ask it and still… I am thankful for this day and for each day He offers me knowing that each day is but an extension of God’s tremendous Grace.

Truly, I cannot know what impact I have had on people’s lives. I understand that somewhere down the line, I have done some good but often I wonder if the bad I’ve done and the mistakes that I’ve made have or will over-wash that good. I can only rely on God’s Grace to make His good through me out weigh and over-take those mistakes and failings. But the imprint Rene has left upon me is indeligible and undeniable… her imprints are all over me! Recognize those kinds of people God has brought into your life and thank Him for it. Peace, Sean Gutteridge

In every area of my life, Lord, help me to be ever watchful and on guard… especially in those relationships that matter the most. Amen

TODAY’S Scripture:

Isaiah 62:6-7

6 On your walls, O Jerusalem,
    I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
    they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord in remembrance,
    take no rest,
7 and give him no rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes it a praise in the earth.

A.W. Tozer: Pleasing to the Eye

January 16

“Only the redeemed have the ability to like what God likes and to be pleased with what pleases God.” ~ A.W. Tozer

Family movie night is awesome. I think I look forward to it more then anything else in my week. I also know that it won’t last forever and being aware of this fact probably makes me enjoy & relish these evenings with my family all the more. Sometimes I forget all that I have but not today. I’ve been where little is much and today, surrounded by my wife and children… I am most aware of all that He has given me.

How wonderful if I could translate that same attitude to every moment with my family. How amazing if each tiny thing in my life that I share with them (AND experienced on my own) where appreciated in REAL time? Shouldn’t we relish each circumstance we face with them with this same kind of pleasure? Even though we may face hardships, trials or difficulties we at least face them together – as a family unit. I shouldn’t feel burdened but blessed to have the family I do to share every facet of life with. In the same manner, I should approach every moment and every breathe God affords me in this same way. His glorious goodness and mercy surround me and that, alone is reason to be constantly filled with Joy.

Christ is being made Manifest in me. How much sooner could I arrive at the end of my transformation if each day, I decided to live in this way! Peace, Sean Gutteridge

Today’s Scripture:

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

When others can see God’s nature and Christ’s sweet essence in me in those difficult and trying situations, then will I know that Christ is truly being manifest within me.

Charles Spurgeon: The Immeasurable Treasure

December 17^th

“You know right well that the value of a [Scripture] text to any soul depends upon the condition of that soul.” ~ C. H. Spurgeon

God’s Words to us are meant to keep us encouraged and inspired. They will keep us focused on staying tuned in to what’s directly in front of us – Him. They are meant to give us all the guidance and direction we need. Though distractions and temptations attempt to sway our attention, God implores us to not stray left or right.

God’s Word is an immeasurable treasure to my soul and the quenching water which my heart craves and so desperately needs. If I would just grasp the vital importance that the scriptures have for me daily, man… how much easier would this life be? How much more could I accomplish? How much steadier would my days become even in the midst of hard situations and obstacles I face? What an incredible blessing His Word is to me. I would be wise to value it and bury myself in it daily.

Peace, Sean Gutteridge

 

Today’s Scripture:

Deuteronomy 28:3-14

3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.

4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.

5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

8 The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

9 The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.

10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.

11 And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

12 The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,

14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.