So I finally joined the Grace Gems mailing list. It has been a long time, well over 3 years, that I have been reading materials published on the Grace Gems website. It was my friend, Mark "Grace," who first introduced me to them. But now I was again inspired to return to the habit when I saw that Rita had been posting the daily Gems on her blog New Human Life, and Stephanie also got hooked over on Thirsty Soul.The story behind my experience with Grace Gems began on a cold and cloudy day in Pittsburgh (like most days there)... well I could go on with a long story, but the short of it is that Mark "Grace" would print sermons from the Spurgeon Archive and give them to me to read (from the famous and amazing spurgeon.org website by Phil Johnson who also does "Pyromaniacs"). Mark would print out sermons from Grace Gems also and pretty much throw them at me so I would read them after he had read them and left his highlights all over (we were opposed to each other theologically and doctrinally back then). Nevertheless, I would read them anyway.
Now I've read dozens of sermons by authors like Charles Spurgeon, J. C. Ryle, J. R. Miller, Jonathan Edwards, J. C. Philpot, Octavious Winslow and so many more. All I can say is that they have only blessed me abundantly in meditating on the Person and work of my Lord Jesus Christ. They have taught me to know Christ, not just to know about Him. And so I'm pretty excited to get daily quotes from these guys in the mail. That is why I'm posting this today, to share the benefits I reap from reading great authors. I hope others can do the same.
God bless!
Penn ~ a hell-deserving sinner,
saved, satisfied and sanctified
in Christ Jesus my Lord.
Now, here is the one I got from the introduction message:
"Remember that it is not hasty reading—but serious
meditation on holy and heavenly truths, which makes
them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not
the mere touching of the flower by the bee which
gathers honey—but her abiding for a time on the
flower which draws out the sweet. It is not he who
reads most, but he who meditates most—who will
prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest and
strongest Christian." Thomas Brooks
2 comments:
I love grace gems, and usually read the "Today's Grace Gem" on the site every morning. Is that the same as you'd receive on the mailing list?
I like that quote by Thomas Brooks. When I'm in a hurry I can forget the importance of meditating on the Bible, but it's the mornings that I take the time to do that (rather than just reading it) that it seems to "stick with me" for the rest of my day.
Hey, how is your Grandmother doing?
I guess it must be the same on the "Today's Gem" as it is in the inbox. I'm sorry, I just assumed you signed up to get them delivered to you everyday.
You know, if you check out the sermons and other writings under the author's names, you will find a lot of good learning material from wise men and women of the past. :)
God bless.
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