ARE YOU SPREADING THE WORD?

Charles Spurgeon once said, "Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation,"

Do you let others know when one of His promises bears fruit? Do you spread the word about His truth? I want to, but I tend to remain quiet, not wanting to offend anyone.

Here are some of the promises that need to be circulated.

PERSONAL
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT." Proverbs 3:5-6 As I look back over my life, I see that God has directed me, clearly, even at times when I did not understand, but I knew God was directing me. As a young teen, I chose as my life verse, Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord, and HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART." God has certainly altered my "desires" over the years, but he has definitely kept His promise and given me the desires of my heart.


CHILDREN
"Train a child in the way he should go and WHEN HE IS OLD, HE WILL NOT TURN FROM IT" (Proverbs 22:6). There were times while raising three teenagers that I really clung to "when he is old." I do believe the hardest task for a parent is to let God be original with our kids. I don't know about you, but I do know that I wanted my children to learn by osmosis without having to experience all of the mistakes that their parents made. Unfortunately life doesn't generally work that way, and fortunately neither does God. It is true that we learn from our mistakes. I have learned that I could pray my children through many of the rough experiences of life, and God was very gracious to them.

MARRIAGE
We were married 52 years ago and we were taught that marriage was serious business. We believed Hebrews 13:4, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, FOR GOD WILL JUDGE THE ADULTERER," so we kept ourselves pure before marriage and we were taught divorce was not an option and we believed that and lived by that commitment. We both chuckle when we think of how naive we were when we got married; we actually had no concept of what we were doing. We love to look back and see how God chose us for each other.

SPIRITUAL
I received Christ as a five-year-old and my husband received Christ when he was 19.
Acts 16:31; And they said, "Believe In the Lord Jesus Christ, and YOU WILL BE SAVED...."Christ transformed our lives and gave us a guide for life. I cannot say it has been an easy life, but it has been GOOD. Our life has been different, and I believe better, because we have chosen to serve Jesus Christ.

John 10:10b states: "I have come, that they may have life, AND HAVE IT TO THE FULL."Our life has been full of blessings, not because we were good or deserving but only because of JESUS.

I imagine many reading this devotional could write examples very similar to mine, but going back to Spurgeon's quote "Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation," may I ask, "Are you putting the completion of his promises into circulation"? Are you spreading the word that Jesus is the answer, and He keeps His promises?

MARILYN W. HEAVILIN

Marilyn is a wife and mother, author, and international conference and retreat speaker. She and her husband Glen serve as Counselors-in-Residence at America's KESWICK during the summer months.

DIGGING DEEPER
James 1:13
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one