C.H. Spurgeon's Morning Devotional
Monday June 23, 2025

"Ephraim is a cake not turned."-Hosea 7:8
    
    A cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace: though there was some partial obedience, there was very much rebellion left. My soul, I charge thee, see whether this be thy case. Art thou thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone through the very centre of thy being so as to be felt in its divine operations in all thy powers, thy actions, thy words, and thy thoughts? To be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body, should be thine aim and prayer; and although sanctification may not be perfect in thee anywhere in degree, yet it must be universal in its action; there must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another, else thou, too, wilt be a cake not turned.
    
    A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire, and although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth which they have received, or are charred to a cinder with a vainglorious Pharisaic ostentation of those religious performances which suit their humour. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital godliness. The saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flour by day and in soot by night. The cake which is burned on one side, is dough on the other.
    
    If it be so with me, O Lord, turn me! Turn my unsanctified nature to the fire of Thy love and let it feel the sacred glow, and let my burnt side cool a little while I learn my own weakness and want of heat when I am removed from Thy heavenly flame. Let me not be found a double-minded man, but one entirely under the powerful influence of reigning grace; for well I know if I am left like a cake unturned, and am not on both sides the subject of Thy grace, I must be consumed for ever amid everlasting burnings.
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Saturday, April 7, 2012

My Hiding Place by Shirley Brosius

I snapped this picture a few weeks back and then last week read this devotional and the two just seemed to click. I just had to share it hope you all enjoy it as much as it meant to me when I read it.
~ Devotional taken from p. 6 of Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides


Guilt Trip to Avoid:  Failing to protect myself

For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble.  You surround me with songs of victory.  Psalm 32:7

(since I prefer KJV here is the verse from KJV)
 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.  Psalm 32:7

My Hiding Place 
by Shirley Brosius


As I work at my computer by a window, I watch a squirrel carry bunches of leaves up a tree.  Up and down it goes, load after load.  High in the tree, where a branch forks from the trunk, the squirrel is building a hiding place.  That's because hawks sit high in the trees watching for any bird or small animals that might make a tasty sandwich.  But now the squirrel will have somewhere to hide because a hawk is not likely to attack a squirrel's sanctuary.  The squirrel doesn't wait until the hawk appears.  It establishes its sanctuary on sunny days when all is peaceful and quiet.




Like the squirrel that knows how to build a hiding place by God's grace, I can build a hiding place for my soul-also by God's grace.  The Word of God forms its foundation.  Prayer builds its walls.  The Holy Spirit fills the rooms with a sweet presence.  I am safe in my sanctuary.  When  the hawks of life attack me, I have ready a place to hide.  Who knows what might happen had I not prepared.


Take the Joy Ride:  When King Saul tried to kill David, god hid and protected him while he was on the run because he'd had a long and close relationship with God.  David was a man after God's own heart.  We can be women after God's own heart if we, too, take the time to build a relationship with him-a sanctuary.  How might you build a hiding place?

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2 comments:

  1. Shirley BrosiusMay 22, 2012 at 10:02 PM

    Loved the photo you took that shows exactly what I wrote about. Thank you for sharing it on your blog. You are a blessing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. apple blossomMay 23, 2012 at 7:28 AM

    I took this photo some days before reading the devotion but it just fit and clicked when I read the devotion.

    ReplyDelete

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