“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings”

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Are you afraid of getting bad news? Commenting on Psalm 112:7 (above), the great Charles H Spurgeon, in his fine Morning & Evening devotional book, writes this….

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Christian, you ought not to dread the arrival of evil tidings; because if you are distressed by them, what do you more than other men? Other men have not your God to fly to; they have never proved his faithfulness as you have done, and it is no wonder if they are bowed down with alarm and cowed with fear: but you profess to be of another spirit; you have been begotten again unto a lively hope, and your heart lives in heaven and not on earthly things; now, if you are seen to be distracted as other men, what is the value of that grace which you profess to have received? Where is the dignity of that new nature which you claim to possess?

Again, if you should be filled with alarm, as others are, you would, doubtless, be led into the sins so common to others under trying circumstances. The ungodly, when they are overtaken by evil tidings, rebel against God; they murmur, and think that God deals hardly with them. Will you fall into that same sin? Will you provoke the Lord as they do?

Moreover, unconverted men often run to wrong means in order to escape from difficulties, and you will be sure to do the same if your mind yields to the present pressure. Trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Your wisest course is to do as Moses did at the Red Sea, “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” For if you give way to fear when you hear of evil tidings, you will be unable to meet the trouble with that calm composure which nerves for duty, and sustains under adversity. How can you glorify God if you play the coward? Saints have often sung God’s high praises in the fires, but will your doubting and desponding, as if you had none to help you, magnify the Most High? Then take courage, and relying in sure confidence upon the faithfulness of your covenant God, “let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Sound exhortations from the ‘prince of preachers’
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Basketball Hall of Fame lessons

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“Be like David, not like Mike,” writes Voddie Bauchman as he contrasts the recent Basketball Hall of Fame acceptance speeches of David Robinson and Michael Jordan. More:

Modern American sports serve as an incubator for the self-centeredness that resides in each of us. The better one performs, the harder it is to avoid “the big-head.”

NBA Hall of Fame BasketballI cannot imagine how difficult it would be do handle Michael Jordan’s level of success. What else could he be? Where would he acquire humility, class, and selflessness? Ironically, many argue that these are the very character traits team sports build in young people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nevertheless, these traits were definitely present in David Robinson.

But where did they come from? Did the Spurs do a better job at fostering this character than the Bulls? I doubt it. Did the Naval Academy do a better job at fostering it than the University of North Carolina? Perhaps. However, I believe the key is in the speech. The “seed of faith” planted by his mom and dad; the ‘preaching’ by teammates like Avery Johnson, and the Christ to whom Robinson referred in his closing remarks all came together to shape the man who made that speech.

David Robinson is far from perfect. I’m sure he has as many flaws, foibles and faults as the rest of us. However, for seven minutes, he represented his team, his family, and his Lord very well. And he showed us all how attractive humility and grace can be.

Pray for David as he strives to walk with God. Also, pray for M.J. as he seeks to fill a massive void in the center of his life that basketball, money, fame, championships, and women can never satisfy. Pray that Christ saves him and turns his gaze to something loftier than his own highlights. Not because Jesus needs Jordan’s voice, but because M.J. needs Jesus (just like the rest of us).

Read the whole thing here.

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