Communion with God

God, in His dealings with His froward children, shows the forbearance of His love; but it is with the obedient that He walks in the fellowship of His love. In both cases He gets glory to Himself. Happy are they who live under His smile of approbation.

Fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Spirit, should be the daily household bread to our souls.

Unless the great truths of God’s eternal purpose of grace, and His electing love, occupy their due place in our hearts, we must of necessity, more or less, misapprehend all truth: we can neither fulfil our obligations to God nor even duly discern them.

If we come forth from the closet of communion, the atmosphere of evil speaking will be to us as the tainted air of some great city to one that has been breathing the pure air of a mountain-top, or the fresh breezes of the seashore.

Unless our souls are living in communion with God, the scriptures will not yield us their strength and nourishment.

There is nothing so teaching as walking with God; nothing so sifting to the heart and conscience as seeking in all things to walk before Him; to hear, to speak, and to act for one great end, namely, to please God, and to do His will from the heart.

The Lord guides us with His eye; that is, He will so guide us, as to assure us of His guidance. He will deal with us as a tender mother with her little ones, who suffers them not out of her sight.

There is no fellowship with God, but through the blood of His dear Son. It is by this He speaks to us, and calls us children; and by it we cry, “Abba, Father,” pouring out our hearts into His bosom. And we can speak to Him as we cannot speak to human ear, because the heart of man is not as the heart of God.

We can never thrive except we seek God in secret; and if we begin in our closets we shall not end there, we shall also seek and find Him in the assemblies of the saints.

It is one of the blessed fruits of the habit of walking with God, that the soul knows what to do when it has displeased God. “A wounded spirit who can bear?” Yet, even that burden God can enable us to cast upon Him.

When Abraham first set foot on his pilgrimage, he knew not what meetings with God were laid up for him: he ventured on the bidding and promise of God, and his mercies multiplied on him as he advanced.

Whenever we are living before man instead of walking before God, there will be restlessness and disquietude.

It is impossible for God to meet His saints in the way of fellowship, except in the path of obedience. When they are out of that path, He meets them with correction, in order to bring them into fellowship with Himself.

If we see the least trace of the mind of Christ in any one, we should remember that in such the heart of God delights.

Carelessness about the friendship of Christ is the crying sin of the church.

When we say, “Lord, bring us near to Thyself,” we pray for many things, which, when they come, will be bitter to our taste. At such times it is well to remember our Forerunner: He asked to be glorified; but before heaven was opened to Him and He received therein, He had to pass through the garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross to cry, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”

It ought to be a grievous thing to us to have a wish, however slight, contrary to the mind of Christ.

As soon as it is our settled purpose to please Christ, He takes us for His bosom friends.

The more we have of Christ in our hearts, the less room for self.

How sweetly, how pleasantly, may a Christian beguile his way to glory, by casting all his burden of sin and care upon Jesus, and walking in love and fellowship with Him all the day long! He who casts his burdens upon the Lord walks lightly and happily, as one who has no burden at all.

Communion with Christ can only be kept up by constant watchfulness. Where there is much love between friends, a cold look is matter of complaint. Let us be very jealous over ourselves for the Lord; watching against the least shyness between the soul and Christ. Keep up constant intercourse with Him; be quick and dexterous in taking small matters to Him; and the fruit will be growth of communion.

Though in a season of temptation we may see nothing in ourselves but what is vile and hateful, our very struggles of love after Christ betoken His Spirit dwelling within us.

If we would have experience of the sympathy of the Lord Jesus, we must be much at His cross, and be much occupied with the sorrows of others.

There is a short road to comfort in affliction that few of God’s people tread; it is to be thinking much more of Christ’s blessedness than of our own sorrow; but, alas! sympathy is for the most part all on one side. Christ has perfect sympathy with us. Oh that we had fellowship with Him in His joy at the right hand of God!

Though Christ can be grieved at a thousand things in us that no eye but His can see, yet none so easily pleased as He by our little endeavours of love.

Our joy in Christ speaks a language that all hearts can understand, and is a testimony for Him, such as mere knowledge and utterance can never give.

It is but a small proof of love to visit a friend who lives next door, but to go to a distance over hill and dale bespeaks love indeed. Let us show our love to Christ, by sparing no pains, no labour, in order to seek Him in prayer, in reading the word, and in meditation thereon. Let us joyfully surmount all difficulties, and joyful communion will be our recompense.

If we do anything without taking counsel of God, we - to speak of Him after the manner of men - hide the matter from Him our Father, and so grieve His Spirit. We do Him wrong, and ourselves also, if in anything we have not fellowship with Him.

When it is whispered by the Spirit of God, that He who is at God’s right hand would be honoured if we do such a thing, or if we do it not - if we disregard the still small voice, although we may not be put to open shame, we shall miss the smile of approval so precious to the obedient child.

The cause of lack of communion with God is summed up in this - disobedience. Another may take away my substance, or my life, but cannot spoil me of my communion with God; if I lack this, I am myself the thief and the robber.

We ought to be always happy in God, and in His ways; if we are not, we mar the quality of our obedience.

We are never so well prepared for effectual service to man, as when we are holding fellowship with God.

Let us be skilful to make God’s matters ours: then shall we see that He makes our matters His.

Those who know what it is to deal much with God, know that their hopes and desires must, as it were, be buried, and that they must leave it with Him to bring about a resurrection in His own time and way.

God measures out His communion of love according to diligence in seeking Him.

It is well for us to shut up our desires within the compass of trusting and pleasing God.

If our fellowship be with the Father and His dear Son, we shall know from the character of our Father what are His wishes. Errors in judgment spring more or less from lack of fellowship with Him. Acquaintance with His heart of love will enlarge ours.

We have access to God with boldness and confidence through Jesus, the Son of the Father. Do we tell out our tale at the throne of grace? Fellowship signifies the opening the heart on both sides, and that without reserve.