A26- You may not be called to die for Christ, but you are called to live for Him. -- David Jeremiah
Adam pointed his finger at Eve, and Eve pointed her finger at the serpent; neither one of them accepted the blame. There have been generations and generations of finger pointers ever since. Somehow, someway, we all buy into the delusion that our biggest problems live outside us, not inside us. -- Paul David Tripp
If you cannot see past men to God, you will encounter much turmoil. --Fenelon
A25-Man punishes the action, but God the intention. Thomas Fuller
A24- Jesus identifies “living water” with the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39), though the metaphor carries multiple layers of meaning. When Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that ordinary water satisfies only temporarily, whereas the water he gives “will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” (John 4:10–14) he contrasts physical thirst with spiritual fulfillment that endures forever.
The image draws on Old Testament precedent. In Jeremiah, God is described as “the fountain of living waters,” (Jer 2:13) and this term denotes both the life God’s people would receive by remaining faithful and the life of the end-time when God reigns over all the earth. The Greek word for “living” (zōē) means both “living” and “flowing,” drawing on Old Testament imagery that signifies divine vitality, revelation, and wisdom.
Scholars recognize that Jesus employs intentional ambiguity here. Since Jesus is presented in John as divine wisdom replacing the Law, his reference to “living water” can denote his revelation; however, there are equally compelling reasons to interpret it as referring to the Spirit, and Jesus likely meant to reference both. The water Jesus gives operates as the life of the Holy Spirit, which wells up as a spring to eternal life—the eschatological life available even now to those who believe.
Water symbolizes the spiritual growth and satisfaction that comes from following God.
A23-A cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to Church, may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither.
C. S. Lewis
A22- God is not working to deliver to you your personal definition of happiness. If you are on that agenda page, you're going to be disappointed with God and you're going to wonder if he loves you. God is after something better- your holiness, that is, the final completion of his redemptive work in you. The difficulties you face are not in the way of God's plan, they do not show the failure of God's plan, they are not signs he has turned his back on you. No, those tough moments are a sure sign of the zeal of his redemptive love.
A21- 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. (Ephesians 1:3–14, NLT)
God's work of rescue and forgiveness didn't begin just before you first believed. It didn't begin just before you were born. It began before the world was born. He placed his grace on you and wrote your story in such a way that, at a certain point in time, you would hear the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe. His love for you is never a result of your character; it is a clear demonstration of his.
A20-“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.”
Martin Luther
A19- He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14, NLT)
It's a grace to regret. Grace allows you to face your sin, to own it and not shift the blame. But it is also grace that forgives what has been exposed. Grace forces you to feel the pain of your regrets, but never asks you to pay for them, because the price has already been paid by Jesus. You can look back, but with your burden lifted by forgiving grace. It is good to look back and celebrate the rescue of grace. It is good to mourn this end of the past. It is not good to be paralyzed by them.
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it tT)
A18- Do not add to the cross in your life by becoming so busy that you have no time to sit quietly before God
A17- Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone
A16- The devil knows the weakness of every Christian, and and it is in the weak places that he strikes. Had Peter been arrested, bound, and dragged into the judgment hall along with Jesus, he might have stood true; but under the circumstances, standing alone among the enemies of Jesus, he was open to the attack of Satan and he vowed that he had never known Jesus.
A15- Why do I need the daily intervention of the body of Christ? The answer is as simple as it is humbling, I need this daily ministry because I am a blind man. As much as I would like to think that I see and know myself well, it just isn't true. Because sin blinds me to me, as long as there is still sin inside me there will be pockets of blindness in my view of me. It's actually more serious than what I have just described, because whereas every physically blind person knows that he is blind, spiritually blind people are blind to their blindness; they actually think that they see, when in fact they don't.
A14- God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But he also sees our value. What did Jesus know that enabled Him to do what He did? Here's part of the answer. He knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because He did, people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy. Max Lucado
A13-Jesus can get past locked doors; He can get through to hardened hearts. Through His death and resurrection, He was able to bridge the gap that sin had opened between rebellious humanity and a righteous God. We must receive the salvation He freely offers. It must be fresh in our minds each day.
A12- if God is your Father, the Son is your Savior, and the Spirit is your indwelling Helper, you have hope no matter what you're facing
A11- You must never look down as someone who is not called to walk the way you are. God does what he wants with each one.
A10- Although your goal is to love God purely for Himself, and for His sake alone, you have to realize that in this life it is almost impossible to love God with total unselfishness. God has to do that miraculous work in you, and it takes a long time
A9-
”Simply trust God. If you come to Him, He will give you all that you need to serve Him. You really need to believe that God keeps His word. The more you trust Him, the more He will be able to give you. If you were lost in an uncrossable desert, bread would fall from heaven for you alone.
Fear nothing but to fail God. And do not even fear that so much that you let it upset you. Learn to live with your failures, and bear with the failures of your neighbours. Do you know what would be best for you? Stop trying to appear so mentally and spiritually perfect to God and man. There is a lot of refined selfishness and complacency in not allowing your faults to be revealed. Be simple with God. Live day by day, not in your own strength but by completely surrendering to God.”
A8- Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect.
A7-God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21, NLT)
A6-You have a temper. There is nothing unique about that. Most people have tempers, in varying degrees, of course. God does not ask that you get rid of that temper. But He does say that if you are to be happy, it must be brought under control and rechanneled to proper use. God cannot use a man without a temper as well as one with a controlled temper. Too many professed Christians never get “wrought up” about anything; they never get indignant with injustice, with corruption in high places, or with the godless traffics which barter away the souls and bodies of men.
A5-14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (Hebrews 2:14–15, NLT)
A4-And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here. Augustine
A3-Even if we cannot feel God in our darkest and most dry times, he is still there. And so there is no more basic way to face suffering than this: Like Job, you must seek him, go to him. Pray even if you are dry. Read the Scriptures even if it is an agony. Eventually, you will sense him again—the darkness won’t last forever. The strength you need for suffering comes in the doing of the responsibilities and duties God…
A2-If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters. Jaroslav Pelikan
A1 - references to the Second Coming outnumber references to jesus's birth by a ratio of 8 to 1
M31- It would be unwise to look back at Christ's death and Resurrection and belief, but not look forward to His second coming with expectation.
M30- The message of the Cross is not only that the vilest man or woman may be saved, or the foulest wretch on this earth be presented before the throne of God whiter than snow; but it is that God may have His way through everyone who will let Him.
M29-God comes into our lives to take them over, not to make us feel good. Jim Miller
M28- The Cross of Jesus stands unique and alone. It is not our cross. Our cross is what is manifested before the world- the fact that we are sanctified to do nothing but the will of God. Our cross becomes our divinely appointed privilege by means of His Cross. (Oswald Chambers)
M27- To want to serve God in some conditions, but not others, is to serve Him in your own way. But to put no limits on your submission to God is truly dying to yourself. This is how to worship God! Fenelon
M26-Searching for true happiness in the context of a godless life is like looking for a needle in a haystack that doesn’t have any. W. T. Purkiser
M25-Psalm 73:25-26
New International Version
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
M24- When your pastimes start to distract you from God, return to Him. The world is critical of people who condemn its ways, while living by its rules.
M23- 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” (Mark 16:6–7, NLT) Does He not always go before us today? Does He not prepare the way for us? We need to realize that the way we walk and the events that befall us are arranged by the tender hand of our Lord and Savior who walked life' road ahead of us.
6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
)M22-
How can a young man stay pure? By reading your Word and following its rules.
—Psalm 119:9 (TLB)
Many of the difficulties we experience as Christians can be traced to a lack of Bible study and reading. We should not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy our conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart! A little portion well digested is of greater value to the soul than a lengthy portion scanned hurriedly. Do not be discouraged because you cannot understand it all. Go on reading. As you read, the Holy Spirit will enlighten the passages for you. Reading the Bible has a purifying effect upon the heart and mind. Billy Graham
M21- 1Peter 2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Every person who suffers can measure, according to the depths of his own suffering, the sublimity and divinity of our Lord- who, when he suffered," threatened not." Jesus did not retaliate or make threats toward the person or group who caused Him to suffer.
Jesus did not suffer because he was a wrongdoer. Oftentimes you and I have. One who suffers is a wrongdoer often responds in rancorous spite and with threats. Suffering, when the heart knows nothing of trust in God nor love for Him, is damning, not saving; it will respond in venomous threats and evil deeds.
Sarcasm, cynicism, slander, murder, war, and lawsuits spring from suffering- which springs from wrongdoing at a wrong temper.
Suffering is the heritage of the bad, the penitent, and the sons of God. All end at the Cross. The bad thief was crucified, the penitent thief was crucified, and the son of God was crucified. All three represent the widespread history of suffering in our world.
M20-This Day's Thought
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, or regeneration, occurs when the sinner abandons himself wholly to Christ, in mind, heart, will, thus appropriating Christ’s imputed righteousness, and when, upon that surrender of the sinner to him, Christ imparts to the sinner the life of God, changing him from a carnal to a spiritual creature. J. C. Massee
This Day's Verse- I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. Psalm 138:1-3; The English Standard Version
This Day's Reprise - A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution. Billy Graham
M19-It is hard to say what is worse, to injure others by words or to listen to one who does. Bernard of Clairvaux
M18- if you fail to take seriously what the Bible has to say about the world in which you live and you fail to take seriously what the Bible has to say about what still lives inside you, you won't seek the forgiving, rescuing, protecting, transforming, and delivering Grace that is your only hope. That grace alone as the power to protect you from evil outside you and to deliver you from the evil that lives inside you.
M17- The closer we draw to Him, the more we can trust in His perfect love. Who can really phantom what perfect love means, because our best attempts at understanding God's flawless love are marred by our sinful nature.
Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. No one was there.
M16- Teaching is not effective without an example. Begin with acting right, then you can speak later. Be patient. By this I am not saying to indulge people's sins, but rather to not be annoyed when someone makes slow progress. You can easily discourage others by being impatient with them. The more forceful you are, the more you need to learn gentleness and kindness. Tried to understand the needs of people you care for and adapt yourself to their needs. Show them your heart is open to them and let them know through experience, that it is safe for them to open their hearts to you without fear. Never be harsh. Be kind and considerate. Decide slowly, but firmly. Correct yourself before you correct others. (Fenelon; The Seeking Heart)
M15- do you want to find peace? Be less infatuated with yourself, and more concerned with pleasing God. Unless you meet God at the altar, He will never alter you.
M14-“You will safeguard those who fully lean on you; you will give them continuous peace, because it is in you that they trust.” Isaiah 26:3
M13- God allows disruptive moments in our lives that we almost always question or resist because they are painful, unanticipated, misunderstood, and often not optional. Yet in hindsight, they are always embraced for the good or blessing that results.
M12-The fruit of the Tree of Life would provide physical immortality to Adam and Eve. For their own good and the good of all, God would not allow this. To be spiritually dead while remaining physically alive forever could only bring endless suffering
M11- Don't be depressed when you fail. Just pick yourself up and start all over again. God has a lot of patience with you- learn to have patience with yourself.
M10- We are not saved and filled with the Holy Spirit to do any special work, but simply to let God work through us.
M9- We can be led through the guidance of the Bible. This is why we must preach and teach the Word by The Passion of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Your success consists in being completely loyal to God. If you are loyal, then God is responsible for the fruitage. Whether the results be gladness( as with the 3,000 converts when Peter reached preached on the day of Pentecost) or madness (such as Steven faced when he was stoned and martyred), one is equally as successful in God's sight as the other.
God have mercy on the soul who dares to stand for Jesus Christ and teach any other gospel, any other obedience, than the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers
M8-And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28, NLT)
In difficult times, we are privileged to have the blessed promise penned by the apostle Paul but authored in the heart of God. There is no hesitancy in Paul's assertion. His conviction is firm, born out of a lifetime of suffering and persecution. He declares that we know! We know, deep in our hearts, that bad things do not need to be feared.
M7- Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of. Josh Billings
M6- It is a real danger, and perilous to their souls, to allow people to sympathize so much with us in our suffering that they have resentful thoughts of God.
M5-“Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives us something to do, but we won’t get anywhere.”
M4-“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. (John 5:24, NLT)
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed fromLT)
2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
M2- Waiting on God doesn't mean sitting around and hoping. Waiting means believing he will do what he's promised and then acting with confidence. Waiting on God is an act of life based on confidence in His presence and promises, not a passive existence haunted by occasional doubt.
M1- Fenelon
Depend on God
The best place to be is where God puts you. Any other place is undesirable because you chose it for yourself. Do not think too much about the future. Worrying about things that haven't happened yet is unhealthy for you. God Himself will help you, day by day. There is no need to store things up for the future. Don't you believe that God will take care of you?
A life of faith does two things: Faith helps you see God behind everything that He uses. And faith also keeps you in a place where you are not sure what will happen next. To have faith you cannot always want to know what is happening or going to happen. God wants you to trust Him alone from minute to minute. The strength He gives you in one minute is not intended to carry you through the next. Let God take care of His business. Just be faithful to what God asks of you. To depend on God from moment to moment—especially when all is dark and uncertain—is a true dying to your old self. This process is so slow and inward that it is often hidden from you as well as others.
When God takes something away from you, you can be sure He knows how to replace it. There is a story that when Paul was alone in the desert, a raven brought him half a loaf of bread every day. If Paul's faith wavered and he wanted to be sure to have enough, he might have prayed that the raven would bring enough for two days. Do you think the raven would have come back at all? Eat in peace what God gives you. "Tomorrow will take care of itself." (Matthew 6:34) The One who feeds you today will surely feed you tomorrow
F28- do not let yourself get inwardly irritated by the small troubles and problems that cross your life. Endure them as you would a headache without making them worse than they are. Meanwhile, go about your inward prayer as usual. When things are difficult and your life, prayer will be harder, love will be less tender, and God's presence will be less easily felt. Just learn to be faithful during these trying times- that is all God asks. It is greater strength that carries a boat against the wind for a quarter of a knot than for the entire amount with the wind helping you. Treat the complaints of yourself nature as some people treat their spoiled appetites. Do not listen to them and act as if you did not feel them
F27- You and I will never be at the center of life, because God is. It is never about our will and our way, because it is about His. We will never be the ultimate authority in our lives, because He is. We deny the evidence that is all around us of God's existence and authority. We tell ourselves that we are the only authority that we need. We willingly step over God's wise and protective boundaries. We deny Him as king and set ourselves up as kings of our little worlds. That is why Grace is essential. It requires powerful mercy for me to become a person who surrenders self-appointed authority to the authority of God. It takes grace for me to acknowledge there is a king and that he is not me. It takes God's rescuing hand for me to forsake the purpose of my kingdom and take up the purpose of His. Jesus submitted himself to the father's will even to death so that you and I would have the grace we need to do the same.
F26- And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27)
What is the Christian's cross? It is not the cross Christ carried. We cannot carry that; on that cross God took away the sin of the world. Nor does the Christian's cross consist of the trials one has to bear if one is a Christian. It is distinctly and emphatically the result of being one of the Lord's disciples.
The cross is my sign that I am crucified with Christ, dead to the world. If I am dead, how then can I live as before?
How much provision does one make for a corpse in the house? None. One must bury it. When Christ delivers you from sin, you are able to reckon the death of the " man of sin"; you make no provision for him.
Have you your cross, my friend? The cross is marked from the place of death, not to it. Conviction for sin is not the cross by which Jesus marks his disciples. The sign of the cross is at your crucified with Christ; you are not your own. Jesus is first!
Oswald Chambers 'Devotions For A Deeper Life'; February 26
F25- And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27, NLT)
You can survive if you procrastinate about some things. But a decision about surrendering your life to Christ is not one of them.
Pride is the devil's dragnet, in which he takes more fish than any other, except procrastination. (Charles H Spurgeon)
F24-We must not so much as taste of the devil’s broth, lest at last he bring us to eat of his beef. Thomas Hall
F23-
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE242
Regardless of how tariffs affect the economy, both today and in the long term, their impact doesn’t change the end of the story. Wealth comes and goes—only King Jesus will receive tribute from the whole world.
“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it… They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.”
Revelation 21:23-26
F22- The pity of this modern age goes out to Judas, not to Christ. Pity does not overflow for that lonely Nazarene who came and died to save and sanctify us, but for the one who hated and betrayed Jesus. In the same line of thought, some modern Christians, if they had lived at the time of the Good Samaritan, would have pitied the thieves and left the poor victim still lying on the roadside. Luke 10:30-37
F-21- No Christian should ever fear being separated from the love of God. That is the clear testimony of God Himself written in his inspired Word. Living in a world of imperfect love and falling relationships, we may find it challenging to rest in a love so pure and so permanent. But God's love is indeed pure and permanent. Paul exhausted his creativity trying to think of something that could come between us and God's love- and he failed ( Romans 8:38-39)!
"Be anxious for nothing," Paul writes in Philippians 4 :6 - and that includes a permanence of God's love.
The true measure of God's love is that he loves without measure
F20 -So why start my day reading and reflecting on Job’s deep anguish of heart? Well, in his excellent commentary on Job, Christopher Ash tells us why this would be a wise read:
“A true Christian believer may be taken by God through times of deep and dark despair. He or she may be taken through this darkness even though he or she has not fallen into sin or backslidden from faith in Jesus Christ. This is a very important truth.”
This is a very important truth indeed. However in my experience many Christians are ignorant of this truth and therefore vulnerable to all manner of temptation to think hard thoughts of God when he takes them through a season of darkness. And one doesn’t have to suffer like Job to experience a season of darkness, although suffering is often accompanied by the darkness we hear in Job’s voice in chapter 3. Actually Job’s darkness and lament can become unexpectedly encouraging, particularly if one hasn’t been informed that a genuine believer may be taken by God through a time of deep and dark despair. If God takes a Christian through a season of darkness there is always a purpose and that darkness provides an opportunity. Tim Keller explains why and how a season of darkness can become a redemptive opportunity:
“In the darkness we have a choice that is not really there in better times. We can choose to serve God just because he is God. In the darkest moments we feel we are getting absolutely nothing out of God or out of our relationship to him. But what if then—when it does not seem to be paying or benefitting you at all—you continue to obey, pray to, and seek God, as well as continue to do your duties of love to others? If we do that—we are finally learning to love God for himself, and not for his benefits. And when the darkness lifts or lessens, we will find that our dependence on other things besides God for our happiness has shrunk, and that we have a new strength and contentment in God himself. We’ll find a new fortitude, unflappability, poise, and peace in the face of difficulty.”
So this dark chapter in Job can unexpectedly become a means of hope and grace-empowered resolve to “serve God just because he is God.” Job 3 will prepare you for suffering or a season of darkness and it will sustain you in the midst of painful suffering and perplexing darkness.
One more thing. Though Job 3 is one of the darkest chapters in all of Scripture its not the darkest place in all of Scripture. It does, however, point to the darkest place. That place would be a hill called Calvary where the one who “exceeded Job in innocence and grief” uniquely suffered in our place for our sin. He endured this darkness so that the last word over our lives won’t be darkness.
F19- James 1:12–15, 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
F18-personality, a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people. It includes behavioral characteristics, both inherent and acquired, that distinguish one person from another and that can be observed in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group.
When Jesus saves us, He destroys the personality of sin and give us a personality of Holiness.
F17- Who are the children of Abraham? All who believe in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham. All the promises of God are for every man and woman who believes. Believing is when people make a willful commitment of their all to God, and stake their all on Him.
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus
For you are all children of T) you are afll children of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26, NLT, https://ref.ly/logosres/LLS:1.0.171f=BibleNLT.Ga3.26)NLTF16-To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away (Matthew 25:29, NLT)
F16- Exercise of any part of the body also increases ability. Physical exercise and activity will produce athletic strength Activity of the mind will sharpen the senses and make one mentally more alert and capable.
If God gives light and we refuse to walk in that light, He will not give us more light. If we pass by our God-given opportunities and refuse to take advantage of them to God's glory, He will cease to give us opportunities. It is when we use what God has given us that He increases our gifts, abilities, and opportunities.
F15- The present moment is your sole treasure for here is where the will of God is found. Do not insult today by looking for a better tomorrow.
F14- God, who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet he seems sometimes to be present, sometimes absent. If we do not know him well, we do not realize that he may be more present to us when he is absent than when he is present. Thomas Merton
F13- It is the big delusion, the height of arrogance, the seductive trap, the big, dark danger. It leads nowhere good. It's destiny is death. It sat at the center of the disaster in the garden. It propelled the sad rebellion of Adam and Eve. It tempts us all again and again in situation after situation, location after location, relationship after relationship. We fall into thinking what multitudes of our lost forefathers thought. We buy into this one fateful thought, that perhaps we are smarter than God, that maybe our way is better than His way. Only grace can deliver the deluded from the danger that they are to themselves.
F12-I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life: faith is oil. E. Stanley Jones
Faith isn't natural for us. Doubt is, fear is, and pride is, but faith in the words and the works of another isn't, and for that there's Grace. Faith isn't something you can work up inside yourself. Faith comes to you as God's gift of Grace: "For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God"(Ephesians. 2: 8). Paul David Tripp
F11- We say we believe in the hereafter. We say that this moment in time is not all there is. We say that we are hardwired for forever. But often we live with the compulsion, anxiety, and drivenness of eternity amnesiacs. We get so focused on the opportunities, responsibilities, needs, and desires of the here and now that we lose sight of what is to come. The fact is that you cannot make sense of life unless you look at it from the vantage point of eternity. When you live like there's more to come you live in a radically different way.
F10- Pray not for crutches but for wings. Phillips Brooks
F9- All who aspire to enter and dwell in the Kingdom of God need to know this: if you put God and his Kingdom first in your life's priorities, everything else necessary in life will be added to you. You will be able to trust that God will provide for you.
F8-“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing, and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” CS Lewis
F7-
When outcomes or people in the news disappoint us, we have to remember that our hope is not in others or any system... it’s much more secure than that. As believers, we have reason to praise the incorruptible Leader of leaders. He will never let us down. In all you do, seek to walk in His holy ways.
“God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.”
2 Samuel 22:31
F6- Reward does not depend upon amount or greatness of the service rendered, but upon the faithfulness and sincerity of heart with which it is done.
F5-A man’s greatest care should be for that place where he lives longest; therefore eternity should be his scope. Thomas Manton
F4-My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 1 Corinthians 4:4, NLT
We dare not judge one another, and certainly not ourselves. When the Bible exhorts us to "walk in the light", it does not mean the light of our own convictions but the light of the Lord. The light of the world is Jesus, and one's own point of view is darkness. What a man is- not what he does or has done or hopes to do- will be the standard of judgment on judgment day. There will be no acquittal or appeal
F3- So often we hear someone say," I have such a little talent (or perhaps no talent) there is nothing I can do that will bring glory to God. So I will just be silent witness." That is not what God wants His servants to do. Remember, Moses offered the same excuse that he could not speak plainly (Exodus. 4:10) therefore he should not be the one to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Five loaves and two fishes in the possession of a little boy seem nothing in view of thousands of hungry people, but in the hands of Jesus that small contribution fed 5,000 men, plus women and children( John 6:1-14) Jesus has promised that even a cup of water, given in His name and because we are His, will not lose its reward (Mark 9:41). So no matter how small our ability, that ability is God-given, and if we use it diligently to His glory we will receive a full reward. (Oliver Greene, The Gospel According to Matthew, Volume 6)
F2- You and I must live temptation aware; to fail to do so is to fail to recognize the fallenness of the world that happens to be the address where we live. What God says is dangerous doesn't always seem dangerous. Evil doesn't always appear so evil in our eyes. So we need protection, not just from external temptation but from our own blind eyes and wandering hearts. You and I are welcomed as God's children to rest in the reality that in this fallen world that throws temptation at us everyday, we are never ever alone. Zephaniah 3:17 " the Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"
F1-“The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not.”. C.S. Lewis
J31- Don't be so upset when things are said about you. Let the world talk; just seek to do the will of God. You will never be able to entirely satisfy people and it isn't worth the painful effort. Silent peace and sweet fellowship with God will repay you for every evil word spoken against you. Love your neighbor without expecting his friendship. People will come and go- let them do as they please. See only God. He is the one that afflicts or comforts you through people and circumstances. He does this for your benefit.
J30- The full fruit of sanctification is biblically demanded of the one who has received the grace of sins forgiven. If the unmerited mercy of God shown to me is not reshown to others, my justification is an old. If unmerited forgiveness of God awarded to me is not exercised toward others, my justification is annulled.
Forgetting is the essence of divine forgiveness. Unless my forgiveness of other people" forgets" they're trespasses against me, the grace of God and me is of a mere painted flower, and I am a play actor.
Matthew 18: 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap
J29- Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ (Matthew 25:8, NLT)
There is no danger of the lamp of a blood washed, redeemed child of God going out for lack of oil, even though neglect on the part of the believer may sometimes cause the light to grow dim. To be saved is to possess Christ, but we cannot share Him with others in redemption. We are saved by grace.
J28 - Even though the night darkens your spirit, its purpose is to impart light. Even though it humbles you, revealing the depth of your wretchedness, its purpose is to exalt and uplift you. Even though it empties you of all feeling and detaches you from all natural pleasures, its purpose is to fill you with spiritual joy and attach you to the source of that joy. Juan Álvarez
J27- God's called to obey is itself a Grace. In this call He is actively rescuing you from you.
J26- There is nothing like reading an illuminated Bible. You may read to all eternity, and never learn anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the word shine forth like stars. The book seems made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond. Oh, it is a blessed thing to read an illuminated Bible lit up by the radiance of the Holy Ghost. Let me tell you a little secret: whenever you cannot understand a text, open your Bible, bend your knee, and pray over that text. Charles H Spurgeon
J25- your deepest aim should be to turn a deaf ear to self, while listening to God in silence. Say little and do much- without wondering if you have been noticed or not. Do you think the way to love God comes by getting more knowledge? You have already more than you can use - practice what you already know rather than looking for more knowledge.
J24- When it is God you love in someone, you stand by that person no matter what.
J23-But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! (Matthew 6:23)
J22-I have not the courage to search through books for beautiful prayers. Unable either to say them all or choose between them, I do as a child would do who cannot read—I say just what I want to say to God, quite simply, and He never fails to understand.
Thérèse of Lisieux
J21- You and I have been hardwired for eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 declares that God has placed eternity in every person's heart. That means everyone hungers for paradise. No one is satisfied with things the way they are. So either you try your hardest to turn your life right here, right now into the paradise it will never be and therefore become driven and disappointed, or you live in this broken world with rest in peace that comes from knowing that a guaranteed place in paradise is in your future.
J20-“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
J19- Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. Robert H Schuller
J18- - To think today, when your life doesn't work as planned, that it's out of control is to forget the Jesus reigns for your sake and his glory.
J17- The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention. Unknown
The secret of a holy life is not an imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus be manifested in our mortal flesh. Oswald Chambers
True love is deep down in the spirit- simple, peaceful, and silent. Fenelon
J16- God's primary means of evangelism is for people to see the hope of Christ in our daily lifes and to ask us about it. We are to be ready to give an answer when that happens( 1 Peter 3:15). God's method is to let our light shine before men so they can see our good words and glorify our heavenly father( Matthew 5:16). God's message is Christ. His method is you. Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.
J15-If death be terrible, the fault is not in death, but thee. Unknown
J14- Now, if your faith is based on your ability to fully understand your past, present, and future, then your moments of confusion will become moments of weakening faith. But the reality is that you are not left with only two options- understand everything and rest in peace or understand little and be tormented by anxiety. There is a third way. It is really the way of true biblical faith. The Bible tells you that real peace is found in resting in the wisdom of the one who holds all of your "what-ifs" and "if onlys" in His loving hands. Isaiah captures this well with these comforting words: " You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you" (Isaiah. 26: 3)
J13- Devotions for a Deeper Life Oswald Chambers January 13th.
Suggested reading: Galatians 1:15-24
To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood (Galatians. 1:16)
When God told Paul to do something for Him, the apostle did not consult with" flesh and blood." In other words, he did not ask for a human opinion about God's will for him. Do you?
Some people have told us," well, I was ready to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit; but not now." Why? Because they went to their Minister and asked his opinion, even though he is not filled with the spirit. There is no way he can give guidance in an area he doesn't know anything about. Speak with God. Wait for him. Take his way. Confer not with "flesh and blood".
There are some dear people on a foreign field who have no business being there. They should be at home. The reason they went to the mission field is because they listen to the passionate appeal of human pleas, God did not send them. They consulted with" flesh and blood "
Listen to God, not the selfish voice of" flesh and blood".
J12- prayer is when you talk to God. Meditation is when you listen to God. Diana Robertson
J11- Even as we mourn violence and pray for peace around the world, the good news of Jesus’s coming kingdom gives believers hope. His Spirit offers supernatural peace in our hearts today, and His return promises peace in a renewed earth forever.
“For I will create new heavens and a new earth… The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain,’ says the Lord.”
Isaiah 65:17, 25 (CSB)
J10- God doesn't look at just what we give. He also looks at what we keep. Randy Alcorn
J9- A humility that is still talkative does not run very deep. Nothing is as important as lowliness of heart, and detachment from your own opinion and will.
J8- Believers may respectfully disagree about dietary guidelines, but we can agree that our bodies are beautifully designed gifts from the Lord. Stewarding this gift well means both taking care of our own bodies and caring for our neighbors’ physical and spiritual needs. From 'The Pour Over'
J-7 - “The church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.”
John Wesley
J-6 - God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them. A. W. Pink
J5-If you obey for a thousand years, you’re no more accepted than when you first believed; your acceptance is based on Christ’s righteousness and not yours.
The fact is that sin is a bigger disaster than we think it is and grace is more amazing than we seem to be able to grasp that it is. No one who really understands what Scripture has to say about the comprehensive, every-aspect-of-your-personhood-altering nature of sin would ever think that anyone could muster enough motivation and strength to rise to God’s standard of perfection. The thought that any fallen human being would b e able to perform his or her way into acceptance with God has to be the most insane of delusions. Yet we all tend to think we are more righteous than we are, and when we think this, we have taken the first step to embracing the delusion that maybe we’re not so bad in God’s eyes after all.
This is why the reality check of Romans 3:20 is so important. Paul writes, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.” If you prayed every moment of your life, you could not pray enough prayers to earn acceptance with God. If you gave every penny of every dollar that you ever earned in every job you ever had, you could not give enough to deserve acceptance with God. If every word you ever spoke was uttered with the purest of conscientious motivations, you would never be able to speak your way into reconciliation with God. If you gave yourself to an unbroken, moment-by-moment life of ministry, you could never minister enough to achieve God’s favor. Sin is too big. God’s bar is too high. It is beyond the reach of every human being who has ever taken his or her first breath.
This is why God, in love, sent his Son: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). You see, there was and is no other way. There is only one portal to acceptance with God–the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness is given over to our account; sinners are welcomed into the presence of a holy God based on the perfect obedience of another. Christ is our hope, Christ is our rest, Christ is our peace. He perfectly fulfilled God’s requirement so that in our sin, weakness, and failure we would never again have to fear God’s anger. This is what grace does! So as the children of grace, we obey as a service of worship, not in a desperate attempt to do what is impossible–independently earn God’s favor. Galatians 3:1-14
J4-“You are a steward of every moment, of every talent, of every gift, of every resource that God has given you. Choose wisely what you do today!”
Paul Washer
J3- If God has already granted you a place in eternity, then he has also granted you all the grace you need along the way, or you'd never get there. There is Grace for our fickle and easily distracted hearts. There is rescue for our self-absorption and lack of focus. The God of eternity grants you his eternal Grace so you can live with eternity in view.
J-2 in moments when you wish you knew what you can't know, there is rest to be found. There is one who knows. He loves you and rules what you don't understand with your good in mind. Paul Tripp
J-1 The peace of God is not the Peace of stoicism or passivity. It is the most intense activity. Some people say that they are tired of Life; they mean to say that they are tired of dying. They are tired of the spiritual death that stops activity. May the Lord have a new year in you
D30- (Streams in the Desert December 30th ) Peter was in prison awaiting his execution, and the church had no human power or influence that could save him. There was no earthly help available, but help could be obtained by way of heaven. So the church gave themselves to fervent and persistent prayer. And God sent an angel, who “struck Peter on the side and woke him up” (v. 7). Then the angel led him past “the first and second guards and [they] came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself” (v. 10), and Peter was free.
Perhaps there is some “iron gate” in your life, blocking your way. Like a caged bird, you have often beaten against the bars, but instead of helping your situation, you have become even more tired and exhausted and caused yourself more heartache. There is a secret for you to learn— the secret of believing prayer. Then when you come to the iron gate, it will open as it did for Peter: “by itself.”
How much wasted energy and painful disappointment will be saved once you learn to pray as the early church did in the “upper room” (Acts 1: 13 KJV)! Insurmountable difficulties will disappear and adverse circumstances will turn favorable once you learn to pray—not with your own faith but with the faith of God. Many of your loved ones have been bound by Satan and imprisoned by him for years, and they are simply waiting for the gates to be opened. They will be set free in Christ when you pray fervently and persistently in faith to God.
~C. H. P.
Emergencies call for intense prayer. When the person himself becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch. Elijah bowed to the ground on Mount Carmel with his face between his knees, and he became the prayer. Spoken prayer is not always needed, for prayer can often be too intense for words. In the case of Elijah, his entire being was in touch with God and was aligned with Him against the powers of evil. And Elijah’s evil enemies could not withstand this kind of prayer in human form—something that is greatly needed today.
~from The Bent-knee Time
“Groans that words cannot express” (Rom. 8: 26) are often prayers that God cannot refuse.
~Charles H. Spurgeon
D29- You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
D-28 Outside of the will of God, there's nothing I want, and in the will of God there's nothing I fear
D27- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else." — C.S. Lewis
D26- I can only hope that you are wise enough, desirous enough and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that everyday is another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with our heavenly destination in mind. Tozer
D25-
His Birth and Our New Birth
By Oswald Chambers
December 25
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” —Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ
D24- We should have intervals of time when we do nothing, think nothing, and plan nothing but simply lie on the green lap of nature and" rest a while" (Mark 6:31)
D23- Happiness is Not the Goal
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.—2 Timothy 2:3-4
That we are born to be happy is scarcely questioned by anyone. No one bothers to prove that fallen men have any moral right to happiness, or that they are in the long run any better off happy. The only question before the house is how to get the most happiness out of life. Almost all popular books and plays assume that personal happiness is the legitimate end of the dramatic human struggle.
Now I submit that the whole hectic scramble after happiness is an evil as certainly as is the scramble after money or fame or success....
How far wrong all this is will be discovered easily by the simple act of reading the New Testament through once with meditation. There the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness. God is more concerned with the state of people's hearts than with the state of their feelings. Undoubtedly the will of God brings final happiness to those who obey, but the most important matter is not how happy we are but how holy. The soldier does not seek to be happy in the field; he seeks rather to get the fighting over with, to win the war and get back home to his loved ones. There he may enjoy himself to the full
D22- (James 1:2–4, NLT) 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
D21- Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you've had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God's revealed truth is the only faith there is.
D20- Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me. Psalm 139:23-24
Make your thoughts a clean sanctuary. To God our thoughts are things. Our thoughts are the decorations inside the sanctuary where we live. If our thoughts are purified by the blood of Christ, we are living in a clean room no matter if we are wearing overalls covered with grease.
Your thoughts pretty much decide the mood and weather and climate inside your heart, and God considers your thoughts as part of you.
Thoughts of Peace, thoughts of pity, thoughts of mercy, thoughts of kindness, thoughts of charity, thoughts of God, thoughts of the Son of God- these are pure things, good things, and high things.
Therefore, if you would cultivate the Spirits acquaintance, you must get a hold of your thoughts and not allow your mind to be a wilderness in which every kind of unclean beast roams and bird flies. You must have a clean heart.
And evil thought is the forerunner of the devil; for Satan knows that if a Christian will allow the evil thought he will in time allow the originator of the temptation to come in. (Tozer on the Holy Spirit)
D19- As children of God, we can always afford to wait. A saint of God does not have to be concerned about time when he is in the will of God.
D18- The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to humankind than the ministry of thrones.
D17 - I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to me, but I found something deep within me that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. I did what I could to keep those traits suppressed, but they were still there. Finally I sought Jesus for help, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and removed everything that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. And then He shut the door. George Fox
D16- There was also a prophetess, Anna. . . . She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. (Luke 2: 36– 37)
There is no doubt that it is by praying that we learn to pray, and that the more we pray, the better our prayers will be. People who pray in spurts are never likely to attain to the kind of prayer described in the Scriptures as “powerful and effective” (James 5: 16).
Great power in prayer is within our reach, but we must work to obtain it. We should never even imagine that Abraham could have interceded so successfully for Sodom if he had not communed with God throughout the previous years of his life. Jacob’s entire night of wrestling at Peniel was certainly not the first encounter he had with his God. And we can even look at our Lord’s most beautiful and wonderful prayer in John 17, before His suffering and death, as the fruit of His many nights of devotion, and of His rising often before daybreak to pray.
If a person believes he can become powerful in prayer without making a commitment to it, he is living under a great delusion. The prayer of Elijah, which stopped the rain from heaven and later opened heaven’s floodgates, was only one example of a long series of his mighty pleadings with God. Oh, if only we Christians would remember that perseverance in prayer is necessary for it to be effective and victorious!
The great intercessors, who are seldom mentioned in connection with the heroes and martyrs of the faith, were nevertheless the greatest benefactors of the church. Yet their becoming the channels of the blessings of mercy to others was only made possible by their abiding at the mercy seat of God.
Remember, we must pray to pray, and continue in prayer so our prayers may continue.
~Charles H. Spurgeon
D15- God's ministers should speak kind, sympathetic words, but if those ministers are true to the Word of God they will also speak words that are sharper than a two-edged sword. Oliver Greene
D14- My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how he will unravel my problems. Tozer
D13- I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in dark places... Isaiah 45:3
If you seem to be living in deep darkness because God is working in strange and mysterious ways, to not be afraid. Simply go forward in faith and in love, never doubting Him. He is watching and will bring goodness and beauty from all your pain and tears. J. R. Miller
D12-Too many people are ready to carry the stool when the piano needs moving.
D11- “Without dark clouds in our lives, we would never know the joy of sunshine. We can become callous and unteachable if we do not learn from pain.”
“Sometimes life touches one person with a bouquet and another with a thorn bush. But the first may find a wasp in the flowers, and the second may discover roses among the thorns.” Billy Graham
D10- The Lord has many lovers of his crown but few lovers of his cross. Thomas Kempis
D9- Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. Chambers
D8- The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.
D7-Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed. Blaise Pascal
D6- “If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.”
CS Lewis
D5- He went up on the mountainside by himself (Matthew 14:23)
One of the blessings of the old time Sabbath day was the calmness, restfulness, and holy peace that came from having a time of quiet solitude away from the world. There is a special strength that is born in solitude. Strength is found not in business and noise but in quietness. For a lake to reflect the heavens on its surface, it must be calm. (Streams in the Desert)
D4- A determination to know what cannot be known always works harm to the Christian heart. Human curiosity and pride often combine to drive us to try to understand acts of God which are plainly outside the field of human understanding. A blind confidence which trusts without seeing is far dear to God than any fancy knowledge that can explain everything.
D3- It was for me that holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. For me Christ died-- and when He arose on the third day, it was for me. When the promised Holy Spirit came, it was to continue in me the work He had been doing for me since the morning of the creation!
So I have every right to claim all of the riches of the Godhead in mercy given. What a blessed thought-- that an infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children!
He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of himself as fully as if there were no others.
D2- But when he—the Spirit of truth—comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak from himself, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you the things to come (John 16:13)
The Holy Spirit is often thought of as a beneficent wind that blows across the Church. If you think of the Holy Spirit as being literally a wind, a breath, then you think of Him as non-personal and non-individual. But the Holy Spirit has will and intelligence and feeling and knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think and hear and speak and desire the same as any person has.....
D-1
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL
Chambers
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" James 2:10
The moral law does not consider us as weak human beings at all, it takes no account of our heredity and infirmities, it demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never alters, either for the noblest or for the weakest, it is eternally and abidingly the same. The moral law ordained by God does not make itself weak to the weak, it does not palliate our shortcomings, it remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we do not realize this, it is because we are less than alive; Once we do realize it, life becomes a tragedy. "I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." (Romans 7:9). When we realize this, then the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a man gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Jesus Christ is a farce to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful binding sense of the law, it makes a man hopeless - "sold under sin." (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never get right with God, it is impossible. There is only one way in which I can get right with God, and that is by the Death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the lurking idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience - which of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only realize the power of the moral law when it comes with an "if." God never coerces us. In one mood we wish He would make us do the right thing, and in another mood we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God's will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. When we choose deliberately to obey Him, then He will reach to the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all His almighty power.
N30- The most relieving, enriching, wholesome, wondrous things we can know is that sudden sense of the lifting of the burden as the conscience grows free--- God giving freedom to that conscious which has been evil, diseased and protesting.
N29-For many years, I was a man riding an ox, looking for an ox to ride on. Meister Eckhart
N28- We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into his kingdom through the door of destitution. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was" beyond" us and places it "within" us. And immediately, once "the beyond" has come "within," it rises up to the "the above" and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns. Chambers
N27-And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
N26-“These bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come… cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”
Abraham Lincoln
N25- if the Spirit takes charge of your life He will expect unquestioning obedience in everything. He will not tolerate in you the self- sins even though they are permitted and excused by most Christians. By the self sins I mean self-love, self-pity, self- – seeking, self-confidence, self- righteousness, self-aggrandizement, self-defense.
Self-denial consists in the voluntary renunciation of everything which is inconsistent with the glory of God and the highest good of our fellow men. Gardiner Spring
N24- The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion. Tozer
N23-Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Augustine
N22- Happiness is nothing but that inward sweet delight, which will arise from the harmonious agreement between our wills and the will of God. Mary Tileston
N21-When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind. C. S. Lewis
N20- It is well to remember that a new heart is one thing, and a pure heart is another. They are not synonymous. Any man can have a new heart which loves God and yet not possess a pure heart from which self, man- fear, love of praise and other like things are banished. Tozer
N19- Once the seeking heart finds God in personal experience there will be no further problem about loving Him. To know Him is to love Him and to know Him better is to love Him more.
N18-Real glory springs from the silent conquest of ourselves. Joseph P. Thompson
N17-“If we grow wiser and more learned in our intercourse with wise and learned persons, how much more will we gain in our inner life by communicating with God in prayer.” Huldrych Zwingli
N16-
If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on; and nobody would know the difference.
– AW Tozer –
N14- My little children, let us not love and word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.(1 John 3:18)
The blight of the Pharisees heart in olden times was doctrine without love. With the teaching of the Pharisees Christ had little quarrel, but with the pharisaic spirit He carried on unceasing warfare to the end. It was religion that put Christ on the cross, religion without the indwelling spirit.
N13- There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find to those who knock, it is opened. C.S. Lewis
N12- Our hope is never contingent on a political outcome; it’s much more secure than that. Regardless of whether things get worse or better during your lifetime, everything eventually ends well for followers of Christ.
“The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.” Job 12:10
N11-God doesn’t call people who are qualified. He calls people who are willing, and then He qualifies them. Richard Parker
N10 - Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping .....(Romans 4:18)
N9-When we say," what a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!" then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him ( John 12:32). Oswald Chambers
N8- Regeneration is like building a house and having the work done well. Sanctification is having the owner come and dwell in the house and fill it with gladness and life and beauty. A. B. Simpson
N7- Made as we were in the image of God we scarcely find it strange to take again our God as our All. God was our original habitat and our hearts cannot but feel at home when they enter again that ancient and beautiful abode.
N6- The regenerate man often has a more difficult time of it than the unregenerate, for he is not one man but two. He feels within him a power that tends toward holiness and God, while at the same time he is still a child of Adam's flesh and the son of the red clay. This moral dualism is to him a source of distress and struggle wholly unknown to the once born man. Of course the classic critique upon this is Paul's testimony in the 7th chapter of the Roman Epistle.
N5- More spiritual progress can be made in one short moment of speechless silence in the awesome presence of God that in years of mere study... The exposure may be brief, but the results are permanent.
N4-The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer, with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Edmund P. Clowney
N3- In everything that belongs to the excellence of real religion, the true believer is in a state of progression. He seeks and strives, he wrestles and fights. He is ever aiming at the prize..... His obedience, though not perfect, is habitual. Gardiner Spring
N2- Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12: 5.
Prayer is the link that connects us with God it is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need.
Think of the significance of this story of the first-century
church: Everything seemed to be coming against it, for Peter
was in prison,the Jews appeared triumphant,Herod still reigned
supreme, and the arena of martyrdom was eagerly awaiting the
next morning so it could drink the apostle’s blood. “But the
church was earnestly praying to God for him.” So what was the
outcome? The prison was miraculously opened, the apostle
freed,the Jews bewildered,and as a display of God’s punishment,
wicked King Herod “was eaten by worms and died.”And rolling
on to even greater victory, “the word of God continued to
increase and spread” (Act 12:23–24).
Do we truly know the power of our supernatural weapon
of prayer? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith
that not only asks but also commands? God baptizes us with
holy boldness and divine confidence, for He is looking not for
great people but for people who will dare to prove the great-
ness of their God! “But the church was earnestly praying.” A. B.
Simpson
N1- It is the Spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of the world will not care much what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us-- the presence of God's Spirit in our hearts... Satan will never cease to make war on the man child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks
O31- Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him -- a faith that says," I will remain true to God's character whatever he may do." The highest and greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is-- "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him". ( Job 13:15)
O30- to be entirely safe from the devil snares the man of God must be completely obedient to the Word of the Lord
The driver on the highway is safe, not when he reads the signs but when he obeys them.
O29- a quiet spirit is of priceless value when performing outward activities. Nothing so greatly hinders the work of God's unseen spiritual forces, upon which our success in everything truly depends, as the spirit of unrest and anxiety
O28- Life as we know it in our painfully intricate civilization can be deadly unless we learn to distinguish the things that matter from those that do not. It is never the major things that destroy us, but invariably the multitude of trifling things which are mistakenly thought to be a major importance. There are so many that, unless we get out from under them, there will crush us body and soul...
O27- We need to learn that truth consists not in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. (Tozer - The Pursuit of Man)
O26- We should be aware of the comfortable habit of assuming that idolatry is found only in heathen lands and that civilized people are free from it. This is an error and results from pride and superficial thinking. The truth is that idolatry is found wherever mankind is found. Whoever entertains an unworthy conception of God is throwing his or her heart wide open to the sin of idolatry. Let that person go on to personalize his or her low mental image of the Deity and pray to it, and he or she has become an idolater- and this is regardless of his or her nominal profession of Christianity. Chambers
O25-You didn’t choose me. I chose you (John 15:16, NLT) . Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as he chooses.
O24- Our life is very mysterious. In fact, it would be totally unexplainable unless we believed that God was preparing us for events and ministries that lie unseen beyond the veil of the eternal world- where spirits like tempered steel will be required for special service
O23-The London Times asked various writers for essays on the topic “What’s Wrong with the World?” G. K. Chesterton replied (in perhaps the shortest essay in history),
Dear Sirs:
I am.
Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton
O22- some Christians think they must be on the mountaintop of extraordinary joy and revelation, but this is not God's way. Those high spiritual times and wonderful communication with the unseen world are not promised to us, but a daily life of communion with Him is. And it is enough for us, for He will give us those times of exceptional revelation if it is the right thing for us
O21- Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God's nature. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God- but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people- and this is not learned in 5 minutes. Chambers
O20- When a person is convicted of sin and feels the need for repentance yet fails to repent, that person becomes even more sinful. The heart becomes harder and the mind increases in dullness. Oliver Greene
O19-“What worries you, masters you.” John Locke
O18-“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” – Francis Chan
O17-Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground. Dante Alighieri
O16-Rabbi Eleazar said: “Repent one day before your death.” Said his pupils: “Does man know when he would die?” He answered: “Then he surely must repent today, lest he die tomorrow.”
Eliezer ben Hyrcanus
O15-Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters. Thomas Chalmers
O14- The hammer is a useful tool, but the nail, if it had feeling and intelligence, could present another side of the story. For the nail knows the hammer only as an opponent, are brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, to beat it down out of sight and clinch it into place. That is the nails view of the hammer, and it is accurate except for one thing: the nail forgets that both it and the hammer are servants of the same workman. Let the nail but remember that the hammer is held by the workman and all resentment toward it will disappear. The carpenter decides whose head shall be beaten next and what Hammer shall be used in the beating. That is his sovereign right. When the nail has surrendered to the will of the workman and has gotten a little glimpse of his benign plans for its future it will yield to the hammer without complaint.
O13- Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own Spirit he started to write the wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for 40 years. In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God. Chambers
O12-
If knowing answers to life's questions is absolutely necessary to you, then forget the journey. You will never make it. For this is a journey of unknowables -- of unanswered questions, enigmas, incomprehensibles, and most of all, things unfair.
Jeanne GuyonO11-“Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives.”. Nancy Leigh Demoss
O10- Said the Robin to the Sparrow: " I should really like to know Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so."
Said the Sparrow to the Robin: "Friend, I think that it must be. That they have no Heavenly Father. Such as cares for you and me."
Elizabeth Cheney
O9-“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick along side it.” D. L. Moody
O8- The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here.
O7- Sin is a fundamental relationship- it is not wrong doing, but it is wrong being- it is deliberate and determined independence from God. The first thing Jesus Christ confronted in people was the heredity of sin, and it is because we have ignored this in our presentation of the Gospel that the message of the Gospel has lost its sting and explosive power. The revealed truth of the Bible is not that Jesus Christ took on himself our fleshly sins, but that He took on Himself the heredity of sin that no man can even touch
O6-God has a peace plan. It doesn’t need Israel’s or Hamas’s approval. It doesn’t merely cover Gaza or even the Middle East. It can’t be undone by rebels, and it won’t unravel decades later.
The Lord’s peace has been a done deal from the beginning of time, sealed with the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s global, it’s unending, and it’s open to all who would lay down their weapons.
“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid… Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when he lifts his voice. The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
Psalm 46:1-2, 6-7
O5- condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let him do so
O4- no human being knows human beings as God does
O3- The best repentance for a wrong act is not to do it again
O2- Are you allowing Satan to magnify the memories of your spiritual failures? He will always keep them before you unless you take your stand and move up in the faith.
The devil will whisper," you didn't get very far along toward their deeper life, did you?"
He will say," you made a big to do about wanting to be filled with the Spirit and you're really flopped, didn't you?"
He will taunt you with the fact that you may have stumbled in the faith- and perhaps more than once! The devil wants you to live in a state of discourage chagrin and remorse.
Remember, the Bible does not teach that if a man falls down, he can never rise again. The fact that he falls is not the most important thing- but rather that he is forgiven and allows God to lift him up! Tozer
O1- We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of Life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.
S30- No man is worthy to succeed until he is willing to fail. No man is morally worthy of success in religious activities until he is willing that the honor of succeeding should go to another if God so wills. Tozer
S29-“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.”
St. Jerome
S28 -“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” – Francis Chan
S27-“My job is to take care of the possible and to trust God with the impossible.” Ruth Graham
S26- , "But when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" Matthew 6:6
Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us- that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it is given......
S25- There can be no surer way to success than by disclaiming all confidence in ourselves, and referring the events of things to God with an implicit affiance. Francis Atterbury
S24- Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies a stronghold of obstinacy, and you say," I will not give up my right to myself"- the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
S23- prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts no offering from His creatures that is not accompanied by obedience.
S22- True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie. It is enough that God said it, and if the statement should contradict every one of the five senses in all of the conclusions of logic as well, still the believer continues to believe." Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4 ), is the language of true faith. Heaven approved such faith because it rises above mere proofs and rests in the bosom of God
S21- "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing" CS Lewis
S20 -Death for the Christian is a turning off the light because the dawn has come.Leon Jaworski
S19-Verse to consider when you’re evaluating how you use social media… “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:8-9
S18- Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things- he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
S17- temptation is not something we can escape; in fact it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else- what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations- he sustains us in the midst of them. (Hebrews 2:18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested)
Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested
(LT)S16-Think how completely all the griefs of this mortal life will be compensated by one age, for instance, of the felicities beyond the grave, and then think that one age multiplied ten thousand times is not so much to eternity as one grain of sand is to the whole material universe. Think what a state it will be to be growing happier and happier still as ages pass away, and yet leave something still happier to come! John Foster
S15- 3,000 persons were converted at Pentecost, but each one met his sin and his Savior alone. The spiritual birth, like the natural one, is for each one a unique, separate experience shared by in by no one. And so with that uprush of resurgent life we call revival. It can come to the individual only.
S14- I know that You are risen, because You live in me today!
S13-Exodus 34:2 "Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain".
The "morning" is the time I have to meet with the Lord. "Morning"- the very word itself is like a cluster of luscious grapes to crush into sacred wine for me to drink. In the morning! This is when God wants me at my best in strength and hope so that I may begin my daily climb, not in weakness but in strength. Last night I buried yesterday's fatigue, and this morning I took on a new supply of energy. Blessed is the day when the morning is sanctified- set apart to God! Successful is a day when the first victory is one in prayer! Holy is the day when the dawn finds me on the mountaintop with God! ( L.B. Cowman; Streams in the Desert - Sept 14)
S12- Apart from God nothing matters
S11- The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
S10- We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us- it simply reveals what we are made of already.
S9- The whole Bible and all past history unite to teach that battles are always won before the armies take the field. The critical moment for any army is not the day it engages the foe in actual combat; it is the day before or the month before or the year before.....
Preparation is vital.... We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose.
S8-Direct contact with the power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely wonderful, but do not forget that “ankle deep” is God’s minimum! It is a tragedy that so many Christians seem to park in this position. It is sound advice never to follow a parked vehicle because you will go nowhere.
S7- Matthew 20:32-" And Jesus stood still, and called them and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?" "Jesus stood still....." Jesus always has time to hear the cry of a needy soul. The voice of sincere prayer from the poor, lost souls will cause the Son of God to "standstill" and hear the plea of that prayer. He is equally able to supply the need of his born-again ones."
"..... and called them, and said, what will ye that I shall do unto you?" This meant that whatever the need, Jesus was able to supply that need. They should make their requests known- although, because He was God in the flesh, Jesus already knew what that request would be. (Greene - The Gospel According to Matthew)
S6-He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38
A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe…” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.
A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.
Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others. (Chambers; My Utmost For His Highest - Sept. 6).
S5-They were services like no others, these times in Barracks 28, within our concentration camp. A single meeting night might include a recital of the Magnificat in Latin by a group of Roman Catholics, a whispered hymn by some Lutherans, and a sotto-voce chant by Eastern Orthodox women. With each moment the crowd around us would swell, packing the nearby platforms, hanging over the edges, until the high structures groaned and swayed. At last either Betsie or I would open the Bible. Because only the Hollanders could understand the Dutch text we would translate aloud in German. And then we would hear the life-giving words passed back along the aisles in French, Polish, Russian, Czech, back into Dutch. They were little previews of heaven, these evenings beneath the light bulb. Corrie ten Boom
S4-
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.
C.S. Lewis
S3- We have the power within us to reject God's instruction- but where else shall we go? If we turn away from the authority of God's Word, to whose authority do we yield?
S2-The secret of perpetual revival is the constant offering of thanksgiving in every circumstance.
S1- It is the spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of the world will not much care what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us- the presence of God's spirit in our hearts.
They may not know the cause of that strange feeling of antagonism which rises within them, but it will be nonetheless real and dangerous. Satan will never cease to make war on the man- child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks.
Immediately after a person has received the witness of the spirit, the adversary charges down upon the soul. It is well for all such assaulted individuals to remember that just as soon as the son of God received the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the banks of the Jordan, that He was immediately afterwards driven into the wilderness and there tempted 40 days by the devil. He conquered by faith and in the use of the Word of God. We can do the same.
A31- A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.
A30- to oppose Faith to works is to make the fruit the enemy to the tree
A29-“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis
A28-Most Christians understand that salvation comes by faith, apart from feelings. But they think that the Spirit-controlled life requires some type of mystical experience—a feeling, a surge of power, or being overcome by waves of love. Those experiences are usually not around when you need them. What you need is spiritual power, independent of feelings, experiences, or circumstances. That comes when we give each day to God and anticipate his blessing. Erwin W. Lutzer
A27- The only true Christian is the practicing Christian.
A26- that Faith which passively accepts all the pleasant texts of the Scriptures while it overlooks or rejects the stern warnings and commandments of those same Scriptures is not the faith of which Christ and His apostles spoke
A25- True Faith requires that we believe everything God has said about Himself, but also that we believe everything He has said about us. Until we believe that we are as bad as God says we are, we can never believe that He will do for us what he says he will do.
Right here is where popular religion breaks down. It never quite accepts the severity of God or the depravity of man. It stresses the goodness of God and mans' misfortune. Sin is a pardonable frailty and God is not tomuch concerned about it. He merely wants us to trust in His goodness.
To believe this is to ground faith upon falsehood and build our eternal hope upon sand. No man has any right to pick and choose among revealed truths. God has spoken....
A24- The natural man is forever crying out," what do I get out of this?". But when we become spiritual, when the Spirit of God abides in our bosom, then the desire of the heart should be," what can I do to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ who has done so much for me?" We do not then think of what we will receive, we praise God for what we have already received- the forgiveness of sins.
A23- Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idol and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on the willful, deliberate prayer. Jesus says to "shut your door ". Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him.
A22 -God's promises and His providence do not lift us from the world of common sense in everyday trials, for it is through these very things that our faith is perfected. And it is in this world that God loves to interweave the golden threads of His love with the twists and turns of our common, everyday experiences. (Hard Places in the Way of Faith)
A21-Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us. A. J. Cronin
A20-It would seem, after having been a Christian for almost 80 years, that I would no longer do ugly things that need forgiving. Yet I am constantly doing things to others that cause me to have to go back and ask their forgiveness. Sometimes these are things I actually do—other times they are simply attitudes I let creep in which break the circle of God’s perfect love. Corrie ten Boom
A19-Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve…You don’t have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Martin Luther King, Jr
A18- It is well to remember that a new heart is one thing, and a pure heart is another. They are not synonymous. Any man can have a new heart which loves God and yet not possess a pure heart from which self, man- fear, love of praise and other like things are banished. B. Carrandine
A17-“We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them.”
Charles West
A16-Proverbs 1:17
17 How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it
We have such a short time to prepare for such a long time. Failing to get ready in time for eternity, and failing to get ready now for the great then that lies out yonder, is a trapping plain sight
A15- Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations…of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Wilferd Arlan Peterson
A14- Isn't it glorious to know that no matter how unjust something may be, even when it seems to have come from Satan himself, by the time it reaches us it is God's will for us and will ultimately work to our good?
A13- It cannot but be a major tragedy in the life of any man or woman to live in a church from childhood to old age and know nothing more real than some synthetic god compounded of theology and logic, but having no eyes to see, no ears to hear- and no heart to love! Tozer
A12-To hold the same views at forty as we held at twenty is to have been stupefied for a score of years, and take rank, not as a prophet, but as an unteachable brat, well birched and none the wiser. Robert Louis Stevenson
A11-“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement.” John O’Donohue
A10- God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.
A9- When the Holy Spirit ceases to be incidental and again becomes fundamental, the power of the Spirit will be asserted once more among the people called Christians.
A8- Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives.
Nancy Leigh Demoss
A7-Fear. His modus operandi is to manipulate you with the mysterious, to taunt you with the unknown. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow—his arsenal is vast. His goal? To create cowardly, joyless souls. He doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. He figures if he can rattle you enough, you will take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands. Max Lucado
A6- God's purpose in all His dealings with us is to make us grow into something higher. The greatest calamity that can come to a soul is to be satisfied with its present condition. A.B. Simpson
A5- Never change God's facts into hope or prayers but simply accept them as realities, and you will find them to be powerful as you believe them. H.W. Webb Peploe
A4- God's friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all- we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God's compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack. Chambers
A3- never pray for an easier life- pray to be a stronger person
A2-“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Augustine
A1- The truest and most acceptable repentance is to reverse the acts and attitudes of which we repent....
J31- The event is certain- the timing is uncertain. When the mighty Angel of Revelation shouts a signal and raises his hand having a word, it'll be eternally too late for unrepentant centers.
J30- What shall I do? I expect to pass through this world but once. Therefore any good work, kindness, or service I can render to any person or animal, let me do it now. Let me not neglect or delay to do it, for I will not pass this way again. (An old Quaker saying)
J29- “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Abraham Lincoln
J28- An old Italian proverb says," He that will have none but a perfect brother must behind himself to remain brotherless." However earnestly we may desire that our Christian brother go on toward perfection, we must accept him as he is and learn to get along with him. To treat an imperfect brother impatiently is to advertise our own imperfections.
J27- Of all the calamities that have been visited upon this world and its inhabitants, the willing surrender of the human spirit to materialistic values is the worst! We who were made for higher worlds are accepting the ways of this world as the ultimate. This is a tragedy of staggering proportions. Tozer
J26- The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolutely unblemished purity.
J25-When a man resists sin on human motives only, he will not hold out long. Daniel Wilson
J24- The world says that "seeing is believing," but God wants us to believe in order to see.
J23- Sanctification means nothing less than the Holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
J22- There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized- something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately
J21- If you are too sit with Christ upon His throne, you must go with Him through His Gethsemane.
J20- The problems that vex us here will be fully solved hereafter; eternity will explain this brief life. This is the wondrous music which we wring from the jarring notes of the world’s pain and sin. Morris Joseph
J19-Do not want things to turn out as they seem best to you, but as God pleases. Then you will be free from confusion, and thankful in prayer. The Desert Fathers
J18- We try to substitute praying for obeying; and it simply will not work. Prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience.
J17-Many years ago, a courageous and devoted American broadcast a message to his listeners that served as a harbinger for where the nation was headed societally and culturally. In his broadcast he revealed what he would do if he were “the devil,” to destroy our culture and undermine our collective societal standards and social mores. That man was Paul Harvey Aurandt, known to the nation simply as Paul Harvey, and his message not only has proven to be prophetic, but serves as a warning to Americans today of where our society continues to trend.
“If I Were The Devil": A Warning to America From Paul Harvey
“If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of its real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.
To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…
And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.
If I were the devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.
Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography — soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.
If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.
And what do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich? I would caution against extremes and hard work in Patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on the TV is the way to be. And thus, I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.”
Paul Harvey, good day
J16- Patience is the guardian of faith, the preserver of peace, the cherisher of love, the teacher of humility; Patience governs the flesh, strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride; she bridles the tongue, refrains the hand, tramples upon temptations, endures persecutions, consummates martyrdom: Patience produces unity in the church, loyalty in the State, harmony in families and societies; she comforts the poor and moderates the rich; she makes us humble in prosperity, cheerful in adversity, unmoved by calumny and reproach; she teaches us to forgive those who have injured us, and to be the first in asking forgiveness of those whom we have injured; she delights the faithful, and invites the unbelieving; she adorns the woman, and approves the man; Is loved in a child, praised in a young man, admired in an old man; she is beautiful in either sex and every age. George Horne
J15-It is one thing to see the land of peace from a wooded ridge…and another to tread the road that leads to it. Augustine
J14-“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter (Matthew 7:21, NLT)
Because the human mind as two compartments, the practical and the ideal, people are able to live comfortably with their dreamy, romantic conception of Jesus while paying no attention whatsoever to His words. It is this neat division between the fanciful and the real that enables countless thousands of persons to say "Lord, Lord" in all sincerity while living every moment and flat defiance of His authority.
J13- My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can be revealed to me. Before I can say" I saw the Lord," there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God surgical procedure- His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification. Chambers
J12- Even among those who acknowledge the deity of Christ there is often a failure to recognize His manhood. We are quick to assert that when He walked the Earth He was God with men, but we overlook a truth equally as important, that where He sits now on His mediatorial throne he is man with God. Tozer
J11-“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”
Ruth Graham
J10-“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick along side it.”. D. L. Moody
J9-“When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.” CS Lewis
J8- No matter how overwhelming, any burden God has lovingly placed with His own hands on our shoulders is a blessing. Frederick William Faber
J7- God's grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
J6- It is such a comfort to drop the entanglements and perplexities of life into God's hands and leave them there.
J5- People remark how favored the churches in this country. It does not have to face persecution and rejection. If the truth were known, our freedom from persecution is because we have taken the easy, the popular way.
If we would love righteousness until it became an overpowering passion, if we would renounce everything that is evil, our day of popularity and pleasantness would uickly end. The world would soon turn on us. - Tozer on the Holy Spirit
J4- We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree while they are still green, yet God wants us to wait until they are fully right." The Lord longs to be gracious to you..... Blessed are all who wait for Him" Isaiah 30:18
J3- The ideal Christian is one who knows he is free to do as he will- and wills to be a servant.
J2- Where adequate power is present almost any means will suffice, but where the power is absent not all the means in the world can secure the desired end. The Spirit of God may use a song, a sermon, a good deed, a text or the mystery and majesty of nature, but always the final work will be done by the pressure of the inliving Spirit upon the human heart.
J1-Learning from Bartimaeus’ example of persistence, we should not let people keep us back when we have a goal. When we are certain of what we want to achieve in life, like Bartimaeus, we should push even harder when we face opposition. Some criticism may be worth paying attention to. Hear those and be cautious if necessary. But don’t let baseless critiques keep you back. Use them as fuel to go harder.
J30- “In all of our deeds God looks at the intention, whether we do it for His sake, or for the sake of some other intention.”
Maximus the Confessor
J29- God would have His people learn regular holy habits and follow them right along day by day. He doesn't ask us to become slaves to habits, but He does insist that our holy habits of life should become servants of His grace and Glory
J28- Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are- you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
J27- never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say" why should I be treated like this?" If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust.
J26- Prayer without faith quickly degenerates into an aimless routine or heartless hypocrisy. However, prayer with faith brings the omnipotence of God to the support of our petitions. It is better not to pray until your entire being responds to, and understands, the power of prayer. When genuine prayer is even whispered, Earth and Heaven, and the past and the future say," Amen!" This is the kind of prayer Christ prayed. Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except those things outside the will of God
J25- If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people. - Chambers
J24- It is our understanding that God's patience and His time of grace will endure until the world's cup of iniquity overflows. According to the Scriptures, patience -the ability to wait- is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
J23- If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed.
J22- You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things (Romans 2:1) God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts
J21-“The point of the Bible is not simply education, though there is much to learn. Its point is not simply entertainment, though its stories and songs are inspirational. Its point is not simply ethical improvement, though it has shaped the moral life of civilizations. The point of the Bible is to encounter Jesus.”
J20-“Unity does not mean sameness. It means oneness of purpose.”Priscilla Shirer
J19- Isaiah 28:27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;caraway is beaten out with a rod,and cumin with a stick.
The farmer's wisdo
God's measured app
Gentle coJ18-Our response to things outside our control should reflect our faith in Christ and encourage others. In the face of anxiety-inducing news, seek to reflect the peace of God, which surpasses understanding.
“On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.”
Edward Mote, 1863 (Scriptural basis: Hebrews 13:8, Matthew 7:24, Psalm 18:2)
J17- The answer to our prayer may be coming, although we may not discern its approach. A seed that is underground during the winter, although hidden and seemingly dead and lost, is never the last taken root for a later spring and harvest. (Bickersteth).Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of Faith; they also give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in him even when facing the apparent denial of our request.(Spurgeon).
J16- Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it costs God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult.
J15-“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
Billy Graham
J14-“You should be careful about criticizing other churches. Yes, there are places where your church’s practices or secondary doctrines might differ from those of other churches. . . . But keep in mind that those secondary matters over which your church might disagree with other churches are never as important as the gospel we all share.”Mark Dever
J13- My peace I give you. (John 14:27). Two painters were once asked to paint a picture illustrating his own idea of rest. The first chose for his scene a quiet, lonely lake, nestled among mountains far away. The second, using Swift, broad strokes on his canvas, painted a thundering waterfall. Beneath The falls were a fragile birch tree, bending over the phone. On its branches, nearly wet with the spray from the falls, such a robin on its nest.
The first painting was simply a picture of stagnation and inactivity. The second, however, depicted rest.
Outwardly, Christ endured one of the most troubled lives ever lived. Storms and turmoil, turmoil and storm- wave after wave broke over Him until His worn body was laid in the tomb. Yet His inner life was as smooth as a sea of glass, and a great calm was always there.
Anyone could have gone to Him at any time and found rest. Even as the human bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, He turned to His disciples, offering them a final legacy:" My peace."
Rest is not some holy feeling that comes upon us in church. It is a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God. Henry Drummond
J12- God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we might look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don't dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him- self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased. Put no conditions on your life- let Jesus be everywhere to you and he will take you home with him not only for a day, but for eternity.
J11-“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.” Jerome
J10- We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. What a tremendous claim Paul makes in this verse! He does not say," we know that in some things,"" most things," or even" joyful things" but "all things." This promise spans from the very smallest detail of life to the most important, and from the most humbling of daily tasks to God's greatest works of Grace performed during a crisis Paul states this in the present tense:" God works," he does not say," worked" or" will work." It is a continuing operation.
J9 -
There's a stream of trouble across my path;
It is dark and deep and wide.
Bitter the hour the future hath.
When I cross its swelling tide.
But I smile and sing and say:
"I will hope and trust alway;
I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow,
But I'll borrow none today."
Tomorrow's bridge is a dangerous thing;
I dare not cross it now.
I can see it's timbers sway and swing,
And its arches reel and bow.
O heart, you must hope alway;
You must sing and trust and say:
" I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow,
But I'll borrow none today."
Hannah Whitall Smith
J-8-Jesus is not committed to repairing Adam’s old world. He is committed to raising up his new world. It’s more glorious this way—not simply to heal the illness but to turn the funeral into a homecoming. What Jesus does for Lazarus is a picture of his plans for the world. He is not committed to repairing this fallen world, but to raising it from the dead. Glen Scrivener
J7-"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
C.S. Lewis
J6-Do I believe that almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it. Chambers
J5- it is not within our power to create the wind or to change its direction, but we can raise our sails to catch it when it comes. We do not create electricity, yet we can tap into it with a wire that will conduct it, allowing it to work. We do not control God's Spirit, but we can place ourselves before the Lord out of obedience to what He has called us to do, and we will come under the influence and power of His mighty breath.
J4- We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing- that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God's assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorify Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.
J3-Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. (Psalm 25:12, NLT). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying," I wonder why I shouldn't do this?" God instructs us and what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teaching and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking," now, Lord, what is your will?"
J2- I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this Earth who was bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven. (Whatever Happened to Worship - Tozer)
J1- Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm. You would not even be able to adjust the sails, yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. Be quiet, dear soul- God is the Master. (Spurgeon)
M31- When Victor Hugo was more than 80 years old, he expressed his faith in this beautiful way:" Within my soul I feel the evidence of my future life. I am like a forest that has been cut down more than once, yet the new growth has more life than ever. I am always rising toward the sky, with the sun shining down on my head. The Earth provides abundance sap for me, but the heaven lights my way to worlds unknown. People say the soul is nothing but the effect of our bodily powers at work. If that were true, then why is my soul becoming brighter as my body begins to fail? Winter may be filling my head, but an eternals frame raises from my heart. At the this late hour of my life, I smell the fragrance of lilacs, violets, and roses, just as I did when I was 20. And the closer I come to the immortal symphonies of eternal world inviting me to come. It is awe-inspiring yet profoundly simple."
M30- There are few unqualified things in our lives, but I believe that the reverential fear of God, mixed with love and fascination and astonishment and adoration, is the most enjoyable state in the most purifying emotion the human soul can know. A true fear of God is a beautiful thing, for it is worship, it is love, it is veneration. It is a high moral happiness because God is! A.W. Tozer
M29- We should thank God for giving us our own individual personalities and temperaments and abilities. We should never waste time and energy trying to fashion ourselves after someone else no matter how much we admire that person. God does not expect us to become identical copies of our spiritual heroes.... In only these respects should we all try to be alike: we should love God more than anything else or anyone else, we should hate sin and iniquity even as Jesus hated them, and we should be willing to always to obey God through the leading of His Word and His Spirit. Apart from that, it is perfectly natural for us to be ourselves, that is, different from each other. (Jesus, Author of Our Faith)
M28- “Christ has taken our nature into Heaven to represent us; and has left us on earth, with His nature, to represent Him.”
John Newton
M27-We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ -- it is evidence of the ascended Christ.
M26 -“As we think of the selflessness and heroism of [soldiers], we are reminded of the words of Jesus Christ who said: ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”
Billy Graham
M25- " If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left" (Genesis 13:9). God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you are not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully wave your right and allow God to make your choice for you.
M24- As passengers, it is not for us to interfere with the charts and the compass. We should leave the masterful Captain alone to do His own work. Robert Hall
M23- No one can know the truth except the one who obeys truth. You think you know truth. People memorize the scriptures by the yard, but that is not a guarantee of knowing the truth. Truth is not a text. Truth is in the text, but it takes the text plus the Holy Spirit to bring truth to a human soul...(Faith Beyond Reason)
M22- John 17
M-21Our prayers can go where we cannot… there are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.”
Brother Andrew
M20- Massive weather events and natural disasters remind us that all of the world is not as it should be. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there’s redemption not just for people, but for creation itself.
“For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
Romans 8:20-21
M19 - When you ask in faith and in Christ's name- that is, in oneness with Him and His will-" it will be giving you" (John 15:7). Since God's word cannot fail, whenever we meet these simple conditions, the answer to our prayer has already been granted and is complete in heaven as we pray, even though it may not be revealed on Earth until much later.
M18 - Truth divorced from life is not truth in its biblical sense, but something else and something less. If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live- yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of him
M17- The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God- He returned to his Father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited his omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Oswald Chambers
M16- Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives. C. S. Lewis
M15- instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for delayed obedience is disobedience.
M14- “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” CS Lewis
M13- God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do?
M12- philosophy and science have not always been friendly toward the idea of God, the reason being that they are dedicated to the task of accounting for things and are impatient with anything that refuses to give an account of itself. The philosopher and the scientist will admit that there is much they do not know; but that is quite another thing from admitting that there is something which they can never know..... To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason... this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage him
M11 -
The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.M10 - “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”’ Mr. Rogers
M9- He who does not seek and find God everywhere, and in everything, finds Him nowhere and in nothing. And he who is not at the Lord's service in everything, is at His service in nothing. Mary Tileston
M8- This is a word of caution in the matter of Christian experience- there is no pattern or formula for identical Christian experiences. It is actually a tragic thing for believers to try to be exactly like each other in their Christian faith and life. God has given us each and individual temperament and distinct characteristics. Therefore it is the office of the Holy Spirit to work out as He will the details of Christian experience. They will vary with personality. Tozer
M7- None of us can approach a serious study and consideration of the Eternal nature and person of Jesus Christ without sensing and confessing our complete inadequacy in the face of the divine revelation
M6- God may send you some valuable gifts wrapped in unattractive paper. But do not worry about the wrappings, for you can be sure that inside He has hidden treasures of love, kindness, and wisdom. If we will simply take what He sends and trust Him for the blessings inside, we will learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence, even in times of darkness. A. B. Simpson
M5- Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.
M4- My situation is urgent, and I cannot see how I will ever be delivered. Yet this is not my concern, for He who made the promise we'll find a way to keep it. My part is simply to obey His commands, not to direct His ways. I am his servant, not His advisor. I call upon him and he will deliver me. Charles H Spurgeon
M3-“You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.” Athanasius of Alexandria
M2- Obedience is always followed by blessing. Willoughby
M1- listen to no man who fails to listen to God. No man has any right to offer advice who has not first heard God speak. No man has any right to counsel others who is not ready to hear and follow the counsel of the Lord.
A30- The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. It is absurd to think that the love of God is naturally in our hearts, as a result of our own nature. His love is there only because it "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit..." Romans 5:5
A29- Our natural inclination is to be so precise- trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next- that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Chambers
A28- Holiness depends upon contact with God. Anything that breaks or impairs his vital contact, however slight it may be, interrupts our communion with Christ and brings defeat instead of victory into our lives. Pardington (The Crisis of the Deeper Life)
A27-There are no promises of earthly riches or easy living. In fact, Jesus leads us into a suffering world to engage with it more, not less. While most people spend their lives keeping back, filling up, and clinging on, Jesus teaches us to press it, pour out, and give away. The way of Jesus is not a trouble-free existence—far from it. But Jesus does promise that, in giving ourselves away, we will truly find ourselves
A26- If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of himself
A25- The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate.
A24- “Jesus entered our hell so we could have his heaven. . . . Jesus joins us in our failures so we can join him in his family.”
A23 - God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work." Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might ..."Ecclesiastes 9:10
A22- The secret of the servant's life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
A21- Are there any among Us who have an honest desire to be Christ-like? We should all be aware that everyday is a day of testing. Some come to their own Kadesh Barnea and turn back. Tozer
A20- “The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.” - Kate McGahan
A19 - We must recognize the character of our self-life....We must consent to its destruction....and lay it at the feet of God in willing sacrifice.
A18- nothing is impossible to the man who prays in faith, just as nothing is impossible with God.
A17- Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God—the Creator of the universe, Great Innovator, and Inventor of everything. However you engage with social media, remember to use technology to point others to eternal hope in him.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.”
Colossians 1:15-16
A16 - Christiandom as a whole is just as blinded by the devil as were those poor Jews 2,000 years ago. We are well aware that the majority of churches today are liberal, denying the signs of the times and the power of God; but we can thank God for the minority who are true to the cardinal truths of Christianity and the fundamentals of the faith. Oliver Greene (The Gospel According to Matthew Vol 4)
A15 - you no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating.
A14- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
C.S. Lewis
A13- Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1.
Christian churches are never told to carry on their proclamation of the Savior in a spirit of competition with other Jesus churches. The Holy Spirit tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus not on others who are also running the race.
A12- when a person has the fullness of the Spirit of God, he will experience great conflicts with the Tempter. God allows temptation because it does for us what storms do for oak trees, rooting us deeper, and it does for us what he does for paint on porcelain, giving us long-lasting endurance.
A11- I have enjoyed already enough of God's benefits to supply me with matter for constant praise for at least a thousand years to come.
A9 - God wants us to worship Him. He doesn't need us, for He couldn't be a self-sufficient God and need anything or anybody, but He wants us. When Adam sinned it was not he who cried, "God, where art thou?" It was God who cried, "Adam, where art thou?" Tozer
A8 - “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.”
Desiderius Erasmus
A7 - We represent Christ well when we are not only kind to people we agree with but also to people we believe are wrong, going out of our way to serve and care for them. This is what it means to “love your enemies.”
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:44-45
A6-Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. Spurgeon
A5-Verse to consider when your bank statement sends you spiraling… “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food… yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The LORD my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!”
Habakkuk 3:17-19
A4 When in our hearts we prove to God that we are willing to accept crumbs, he always gives us a loaf. Greene
Matthew 15:21-28
New International Version
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment
A3- The three men who were thrown into the fiery furnace came out just as they went in- except for the ropes that had bound them. How often God removes our shackles in the furnace of affliction! Daniel 3:25
A2- The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others.
A1- True prayer cannot be imitated nor can it be learned from someone else. (God Tells the Man Who Cares)
M31 - Jesus Christ is not my security against the storms of life, but He is my perfect security in the storms. He has never promised me an easy passage, only a safe landing.
M30- It is better to walk in the dark with God than walk alone in the light. (The Still Small Voice)
M29- Many years ago there was a monk who needed olive oil, so he planted an olive tree sapling. After he finished planting it, he prayed," Lord, my tree needs rain so it's tender roots may drink and grow. Send gentle showers ". And the Lord sent gentle showers. Then the monk prayed," Lord my tree needs sun. Please send it sun." And the sun shown, gilding the once dripping clouds." Now send frost, dear Lord, to strengthen the branches" cried the monk. And soon the little tree was covered in sparkling frost, but by evening it had died. Then the monk sought out a brother Monk in his cell and told him of his strange experience. After hearing the story, the other monk said," I also have planted a little tree. See how it is thriving! But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better than a man like me what it needs. I gave God no constraints or conditions, except to pray," Lord, send me what it needs whether that be a storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. You made it, and you know best what it needs."
M28- The only remedy for human nature is to destroy it and receive instead the divine nature. God does not improve man. He crucifies the natural life with Christ and creates the new man in Christ Jesus. A.B. Simpson
M27- What a joyful experience it is for us in this church age to be part of a congregation drawn together by the desire to know God's presence, to sense His awareness. (Tozer)
M26- Improve your mind for the honor of God. When you are chopping wood, and you have a dull ax you must work all the harder to cut the log. A sharp ax makes easy work. So sharpen your ax all you can. Andy Dolbow
M25 - goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ.
M24 -Verse to consider when your plans go sideways… “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
M23- If the spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn't ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of Truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of darkness will say" oh I can explain that" . When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
M22 - It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart, unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus. (Chambers)
M-21- let us remember that no earthly circumstances can hinder the fulfillment of God's Word
M20- The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.
M19
- “It is the most counterintuitive aspect of
Christianity, that we are declared right with God not once we begin to get our act together but once we collapse into honest acknowledgment that we never will.”
Dane C. Ortlund
M18 -John 6:65-66
65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
Zphaniahh 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
This is but one verse among thousands which serve to form our rational picture of what God is like, and they tell us plainly that God feels something like our love, like our joy, and what He feels makes Him act very much as we would in a similar situation; He rejoices over His loved ones with joy and singing. Here is emotion on a as high a plane as it can ever be seen, emotion flowing out of the heart of God himself.
A26- You may not be called to die for Christ, but you are called to live for Him. -- David Jeremiah
Adam pointed his finger at Eve, and Eve pointed her finger at the serpent; neither one of them accepted the blame. There have been generations and generations of finger pointers ever since. Somehow, someway, we all buy into the delusion that our biggest problems live outside us, not inside us. -- Paul David Tripp
If you cannot see past men to God, you will encounter much turmoil. --Fenelon
A25-Man punishes the action, but God the intention. Thomas Fuller
A24- Jesus identifies “living water” with the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39), though the metaphor carries multiple layers of meaning. When Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that ordinary water satisfies only temporarily, whereas the water he gives “will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” (John 4:10–14) he contrasts physical thirst with spiritual fulfillment that endures forever.
The image draws on Old Testament precedent. In Jeremiah, God is described as “the fountain of living waters,” (Jer 2:13) and this term denotes both the life God’s people would receive by remaining faithful and the life of the end-time when God reigns over all the earth. The Greek word for “living” (zōē) means both “living” and “flowing,” drawing on Old Testament imagery that signifies divine vitality, revelation, and wisdom.
Scholars recognize that Jesus employs intentional ambiguity here. Since Jesus is presented in John as divine wisdom replacing the Law, his reference to “living water” can denote his revelation; however, there are equally compelling reasons to interpret it as referring to the Spirit, and Jesus likely meant to reference both. The water Jesus gives operates as the life of the Holy Spirit, which wells up as a spring to eternal life—the eschatological life available even now to those who believe.
Water symbolizes the spiritual growth and satisfaction that comes from following God.
A23-A cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to Church, may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither.
C. S. Lewis
A22- God is not working to deliver to you your personal definition of happiness. If you are on that agenda page, you're going to be disappointed with God and you're going to wonder if he loves you. God is after something better- your holiness, that is, the final completion of his redemptive work in you. The difficulties you face are not in the way of God's plan, they do not show the failure of God's plan, they are not signs he has turned his back on you. No, those tough moments are a sure sign of the zeal of his redemptive love.
A21- 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. (Ephesians 1:3–14, NLT)
God's work of rescue and forgiveness didn't begin just before you first believed. It didn't begin just before you were born. It began before the world was born. He placed his grace on you and wrote your story in such a way that, at a certain point in time, you would hear the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe. His love for you is never a result of your character; it is a clear demonstration of his.
A20-“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.”
Martin Luther
A19- He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14, NLT)
It's a grace to regret. Grace allows you to face your sin, to own it and not shift the blame. But it is also grace that forgives what has been exposed. Grace forces you to feel the pain of your regrets, but never asks you to pay for them, because the price has already been paid by Jesus. You can look back, but with your burden lifted by forgiving grace. It is good to look back and celebrate the rescue of grace. It is good to mourn this end of the past. It is not good to be paralyzed by them.
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it tT)
A18- Do not add to the cross in your life by becoming so busy that you have no time to sit quietly before God
A17- Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone
A16- The devil knows the weakness of every Christian, and and it is in the weak places that he strikes. Had Peter been arrested, bound, and dragged into the judgment hall along with Jesus, he might have stood true; but under the circumstances, standing alone among the enemies of Jesus, he was open to the attack of Satan and he vowed that he had never known Jesus.
A15- Why do I need the daily intervention of the body of Christ? The answer is as simple as it is humbling, I need this daily ministry because I am a blind man. As much as I would like to think that I see and know myself well, it just isn't true. Because sin blinds me to me, as long as there is still sin inside me there will be pockets of blindness in my view of me. It's actually more serious than what I have just described, because whereas every physically blind person knows that he is blind, spiritually blind people are blind to their blindness; they actually think that they see, when in fact they don't.
A14- God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But he also sees our value. What did Jesus know that enabled Him to do what He did? Here's part of the answer. He knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because He did, people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy. Max Lucado
A13-Jesus can get past locked doors; He can get through to hardened hearts. Through His death and resurrection, He was able to bridge the gap that sin had opened between rebellious humanity and a righteous God. We must receive the salvation He freely offers. It must be fresh in our minds each day.
A12- if God is your Father, the Son is your Savior, and the Spirit is your indwelling Helper, you have hope no matter what you're facing
A11- You must never look down as someone who is not called to walk the way you are. God does what he wants with each one.
A10- Although your goal is to love God purely for Himself, and for His sake alone, you have to realize that in this life it is almost impossible to love God with total unselfishness. God has to do that miraculous work in you, and it takes a long time
A9-
”Simply trust God. If you come to Him, He will give you all that you need to serve Him. You really need to believe that God keeps His word. The more you trust Him, the more He will be able to give you. If you were lost in an uncrossable desert, bread would fall from heaven for you alone.
Fear nothing but to fail God. And do not even fear that so much that you let it upset you. Learn to live with your failures, and bear with the failures of your neighbours. Do you know what would be best for you? Stop trying to appear so mentally and spiritually perfect to God and man. There is a lot of refined selfishness and complacency in not allowing your faults to be revealed. Be simple with God. Live day by day, not in your own strength but by completely surrendering to God.”
A8- Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect.
A7-God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21, NLT)
A6-You have a temper. There is nothing unique about that. Most people have tempers, in varying degrees, of course. God does not ask that you get rid of that temper. But He does say that if you are to be happy, it must be brought under control and rechanneled to proper use. God cannot use a man without a temper as well as one with a controlled temper. Too many professed Christians never get “wrought up” about anything; they never get indignant with injustice, with corruption in high places, or with the godless traffics which barter away the souls and bodies of men.
A5-14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (Hebrews 2:14–15, NLT)
A4-And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here. Augustine
A3-Even if we cannot feel God in our darkest and most dry times, he is still there. And so there is no more basic way to face suffering than this: Like Job, you must seek him, go to him. Pray even if you are dry. Read the Scriptures even if it is an agony. Eventually, you will sense him again—the darkness won’t last forever. The strength you need for suffering comes in the doing of the responsibilities and duties God…
A2-If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters. Jaroslav Pelikan
A1 - references to the Second Coming outnumber references to jesus's birth by a ratio of 8 to 1
M31- It would be unwise to look back at Christ's death and Resurrection and belief, but not look forward to His second coming with expectation.
M30- The message of the Cross is not only that the vilest man or woman may be saved, or the foulest wretch on this earth be presented before the throne of God whiter than snow; but it is that God may have His way through everyone who will let Him.
M29-God comes into our lives to take them over, not to make us feel good. Jim Miller
M28- The Cross of Jesus stands unique and alone. It is not our cross. Our cross is what is manifested before the world- the fact that we are sanctified to do nothing but the will of God. Our cross becomes our divinely appointed privilege by means of His Cross. (Oswald Chambers)
M27- To want to serve God in some conditions, but not others, is to serve Him in your own way. But to put no limits on your submission to God is truly dying to yourself. This is how to worship God! Fenelon
M26-Searching for true happiness in the context of a godless life is like looking for a needle in a haystack that doesn’t have any. W. T. Purkiser
M25-Psalm 73:25-26
New International Version
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
M24- When your pastimes start to distract you from God, return to Him. The world is critical of people who condemn its ways, while living by its rules.
M23- 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” (Mark 16:6–7, NLT) Does He not always go before us today? Does He not prepare the way for us? We need to realize that the way we walk and the events that befall us are arranged by the tender hand of our Lord and Savior who walked life' road ahead of us.
6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
)M22-
How can a young man stay pure? By reading your Word and following its rules.
—Psalm 119:9 (TLB)
Many of the difficulties we experience as Christians can be traced to a lack of Bible study and reading. We should not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy our conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart! A little portion well digested is of greater value to the soul than a lengthy portion scanned hurriedly. Do not be discouraged because you cannot understand it all. Go on reading. As you read, the Holy Spirit will enlighten the passages for you. Reading the Bible has a purifying effect upon the heart and mind. Billy Graham
M21- 1Peter 2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Every person who suffers can measure, according to the depths of his own suffering, the sublimity and divinity of our Lord- who, when he suffered," threatened not." Jesus did not retaliate or make threats toward the person or group who caused Him to suffer.
Jesus did not suffer because he was a wrongdoer. Oftentimes you and I have. One who suffers is a wrongdoer often responds in rancorous spite and with threats. Suffering, when the heart knows nothing of trust in God nor love for Him, is damning, not saving; it will respond in venomous threats and evil deeds.
Sarcasm, cynicism, slander, murder, war, and lawsuits spring from suffering- which springs from wrongdoing at a wrong temper.
Suffering is the heritage of the bad, the penitent, and the sons of God. All end at the Cross. The bad thief was crucified, the penitent thief was crucified, and the son of God was crucified. All three represent the widespread history of suffering in our world.
M20-This Day's Thought
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, or regeneration, occurs when the sinner abandons himself wholly to Christ, in mind, heart, will, thus appropriating Christ’s imputed righteousness, and when, upon that surrender of the sinner to him, Christ imparts to the sinner the life of God, changing him from a carnal to a spiritual creature. J. C. Massee
This Day's Verse- I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. Psalm 138:1-3; The English Standard Version
This Day's Reprise - A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution. Billy Graham
M19-It is hard to say what is worse, to injure others by words or to listen to one who does. Bernard of Clairvaux
M18- if you fail to take seriously what the Bible has to say about the world in which you live and you fail to take seriously what the Bible has to say about what still lives inside you, you won't seek the forgiving, rescuing, protecting, transforming, and delivering Grace that is your only hope. That grace alone as the power to protect you from evil outside you and to deliver you from the evil that lives inside you.
M17- The closer we draw to Him, the more we can trust in His perfect love. Who can really phantom what perfect love means, because our best attempts at understanding God's flawless love are marred by our sinful nature.
Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. No one was there.
M16- Teaching is not effective without an example. Begin with acting right, then you can speak later. Be patient. By this I am not saying to indulge people's sins, but rather to not be annoyed when someone makes slow progress. You can easily discourage others by being impatient with them. The more forceful you are, the more you need to learn gentleness and kindness. Tried to understand the needs of people you care for and adapt yourself to their needs. Show them your heart is open to them and let them know through experience, that it is safe for them to open their hearts to you without fear. Never be harsh. Be kind and considerate. Decide slowly, but firmly. Correct yourself before you correct others. (Fenelon; The Seeking Heart)
M15- do you want to find peace? Be less infatuated with yourself, and more concerned with pleasing God. Unless you meet God at the altar, He will never alter you.
M14-“You will safeguard those who fully lean on you; you will give them continuous peace, because it is in you that they trust.” Isaiah 26:3
M13- God allows disruptive moments in our lives that we almost always question or resist because they are painful, unanticipated, misunderstood, and often not optional. Yet in hindsight, they are always embraced for the good or blessing that results.
M12-The fruit of the Tree of Life would provide physical immortality to Adam and Eve. For their own good and the good of all, God would not allow this. To be spiritually dead while remaining physically alive forever could only bring endless suffering
M11- Don't be depressed when you fail. Just pick yourself up and start all over again. God has a lot of patience with you- learn to have patience with yourself.
M10- We are not saved and filled with the Holy Spirit to do any special work, but simply to let God work through us.
M9- We can be led through the guidance of the Bible. This is why we must preach and teach the Word by The Passion of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Your success consists in being completely loyal to God. If you are loyal, then God is responsible for the fruitage. Whether the results be gladness( as with the 3,000 converts when Peter reached preached on the day of Pentecost) or madness (such as Steven faced when he was stoned and martyred), one is equally as successful in God's sight as the other.
God have mercy on the soul who dares to stand for Jesus Christ and teach any other gospel, any other obedience, than the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers
M8-And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28, NLT)
In difficult times, we are privileged to have the blessed promise penned by the apostle Paul but authored in the heart of God. There is no hesitancy in Paul's assertion. His conviction is firm, born out of a lifetime of suffering and persecution. He declares that we know! We know, deep in our hearts, that bad things do not need to be feared.
M7- Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of. Josh Billings
M6- It is a real danger, and perilous to their souls, to allow people to sympathize so much with us in our suffering that they have resentful thoughts of God.
M5-“Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives us something to do, but we won’t get anywhere.”
M4-“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. (John 5:24, NLT)
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed fromLT)
2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
M2- Waiting on God doesn't mean sitting around and hoping. Waiting means believing he will do what he's promised and then acting with confidence. Waiting on God is an act of life based on confidence in His presence and promises, not a passive existence haunted by occasional doubt.
M1- Fenelon
Depend on God
The best place to be is where God puts you. Any other place is undesirable because you chose it for yourself. Do not think too much about the future. Worrying about things that haven't happened yet is unhealthy for you. God Himself will help you, day by day. There is no need to store things up for the future. Don't you believe that God will take care of you?
A life of faith does two things: Faith helps you see God behind everything that He uses. And faith also keeps you in a place where you are not sure what will happen next. To have faith you cannot always want to know what is happening or going to happen. God wants you to trust Him alone from minute to minute. The strength He gives you in one minute is not intended to carry you through the next. Let God take care of His business. Just be faithful to what God asks of you. To depend on God from moment to moment—especially when all is dark and uncertain—is a true dying to your old self. This process is so slow and inward that it is often hidden from you as well as others.
When God takes something away from you, you can be sure He knows how to replace it. There is a story that when Paul was alone in the desert, a raven brought him half a loaf of bread every day. If Paul's faith wavered and he wanted to be sure to have enough, he might have prayed that the raven would bring enough for two days. Do you think the raven would have come back at all? Eat in peace what God gives you. "Tomorrow will take care of itself." (Matthew 6:34) The One who feeds you today will surely feed you tomorrow
F28- do not let yourself get inwardly irritated by the small troubles and problems that cross your life. Endure them as you would a headache without making them worse than they are. Meanwhile, go about your inward prayer as usual. When things are difficult and your life, prayer will be harder, love will be less tender, and God's presence will be less easily felt. Just learn to be faithful during these trying times- that is all God asks. It is greater strength that carries a boat against the wind for a quarter of a knot than for the entire amount with the wind helping you. Treat the complaints of yourself nature as some people treat their spoiled appetites. Do not listen to them and act as if you did not feel them
F27- You and I will never be at the center of life, because God is. It is never about our will and our way, because it is about His. We will never be the ultimate authority in our lives, because He is. We deny the evidence that is all around us of God's existence and authority. We tell ourselves that we are the only authority that we need. We willingly step over God's wise and protective boundaries. We deny Him as king and set ourselves up as kings of our little worlds. That is why Grace is essential. It requires powerful mercy for me to become a person who surrenders self-appointed authority to the authority of God. It takes grace for me to acknowledge there is a king and that he is not me. It takes God's rescuing hand for me to forsake the purpose of my kingdom and take up the purpose of His. Jesus submitted himself to the father's will even to death so that you and I would have the grace we need to do the same.
F26- And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27)
What is the Christian's cross? It is not the cross Christ carried. We cannot carry that; on that cross God took away the sin of the world. Nor does the Christian's cross consist of the trials one has to bear if one is a Christian. It is distinctly and emphatically the result of being one of the Lord's disciples.
The cross is my sign that I am crucified with Christ, dead to the world. If I am dead, how then can I live as before?
How much provision does one make for a corpse in the house? None. One must bury it. When Christ delivers you from sin, you are able to reckon the death of the " man of sin"; you make no provision for him.
Have you your cross, my friend? The cross is marked from the place of death, not to it. Conviction for sin is not the cross by which Jesus marks his disciples. The sign of the cross is at your crucified with Christ; you are not your own. Jesus is first!
Oswald Chambers 'Devotions For A Deeper Life'; February 26
F25- And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27, NLT)
You can survive if you procrastinate about some things. But a decision about surrendering your life to Christ is not one of them.
Pride is the devil's dragnet, in which he takes more fish than any other, except procrastination. (Charles H Spurgeon)
F24-We must not so much as taste of the devil’s broth, lest at last he bring us to eat of his beef. Thomas Hall
F23-
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE242
Regardless of how tariffs affect the economy, both today and in the long term, their impact doesn’t change the end of the story. Wealth comes and goes—only King Jesus will receive tribute from the whole world.
“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it… They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.”
Revelation 21:23-26
F22- The pity of this modern age goes out to Judas, not to Christ. Pity does not overflow for that lonely Nazarene who came and died to save and sanctify us, but for the one who hated and betrayed Jesus. In the same line of thought, some modern Christians, if they had lived at the time of the Good Samaritan, would have pitied the thieves and left the poor victim still lying on the roadside. Luke 10:30-37
F-21- No Christian should ever fear being separated from the love of God. That is the clear testimony of God Himself written in his inspired Word. Living in a world of imperfect love and falling relationships, we may find it challenging to rest in a love so pure and so permanent. But God's love is indeed pure and permanent. Paul exhausted his creativity trying to think of something that could come between us and God's love- and he failed ( Romans 8:38-39)!
"Be anxious for nothing," Paul writes in Philippians 4 :6 - and that includes a permanence of God's love.
The true measure of God's love is that he loves without measure
F20 -So why start my day reading and reflecting on Job’s deep anguish of heart? Well, in his excellent commentary on Job, Christopher Ash tells us why this would be a wise read:
“A true Christian believer may be taken by God through times of deep and dark despair. He or she may be taken through this darkness even though he or she has not fallen into sin or backslidden from faith in Jesus Christ. This is a very important truth.”
This is a very important truth indeed. However in my experience many Christians are ignorant of this truth and therefore vulnerable to all manner of temptation to think hard thoughts of God when he takes them through a season of darkness. And one doesn’t have to suffer like Job to experience a season of darkness, although suffering is often accompanied by the darkness we hear in Job’s voice in chapter 3. Actually Job’s darkness and lament can become unexpectedly encouraging, particularly if one hasn’t been informed that a genuine believer may be taken by God through a time of deep and dark despair. If God takes a Christian through a season of darkness there is always a purpose and that darkness provides an opportunity. Tim Keller explains why and how a season of darkness can become a redemptive opportunity:
“In the darkness we have a choice that is not really there in better times. We can choose to serve God just because he is God. In the darkest moments we feel we are getting absolutely nothing out of God or out of our relationship to him. But what if then—when it does not seem to be paying or benefitting you at all—you continue to obey, pray to, and seek God, as well as continue to do your duties of love to others? If we do that—we are finally learning to love God for himself, and not for his benefits. And when the darkness lifts or lessens, we will find that our dependence on other things besides God for our happiness has shrunk, and that we have a new strength and contentment in God himself. We’ll find a new fortitude, unflappability, poise, and peace in the face of difficulty.”
So this dark chapter in Job can unexpectedly become a means of hope and grace-empowered resolve to “serve God just because he is God.” Job 3 will prepare you for suffering or a season of darkness and it will sustain you in the midst of painful suffering and perplexing darkness.
One more thing. Though Job 3 is one of the darkest chapters in all of Scripture its not the darkest place in all of Scripture. It does, however, point to the darkest place. That place would be a hill called Calvary where the one who “exceeded Job in innocence and grief” uniquely suffered in our place for our sin. He endured this darkness so that the last word over our lives won’t be darkness.
F19- James 1:12–15, 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
F18-personality, a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people. It includes behavioral characteristics, both inherent and acquired, that distinguish one person from another and that can be observed in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group.
When Jesus saves us, He destroys the personality of sin and give us a personality of Holiness.
F17- Who are the children of Abraham? All who believe in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham. All the promises of God are for every man and woman who believes. Believing is when people make a willful commitment of their all to God, and stake their all on Him.
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus
For you are all children of T) you are afll children of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26, NLT, https://ref.ly/logosres/LLS:1.0.171f=BibleNLT.Ga3.26)NLTF16-To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away (Matthew 25:29, NLT)
F16- Exercise of any part of the body also increases ability. Physical exercise and activity will produce athletic strength Activity of the mind will sharpen the senses and make one mentally more alert and capable.
If God gives light and we refuse to walk in that light, He will not give us more light. If we pass by our God-given opportunities and refuse to take advantage of them to God's glory, He will cease to give us opportunities. It is when we use what God has given us that He increases our gifts, abilities, and opportunities.
F15- The present moment is your sole treasure for here is where the will of God is found. Do not insult today by looking for a better tomorrow.
F14- God, who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet he seems sometimes to be present, sometimes absent. If we do not know him well, we do not realize that he may be more present to us when he is absent than when he is present. Thomas Merton
F13- It is the big delusion, the height of arrogance, the seductive trap, the big, dark danger. It leads nowhere good. It's destiny is death. It sat at the center of the disaster in the garden. It propelled the sad rebellion of Adam and Eve. It tempts us all again and again in situation after situation, location after location, relationship after relationship. We fall into thinking what multitudes of our lost forefathers thought. We buy into this one fateful thought, that perhaps we are smarter than God, that maybe our way is better than His way. Only grace can deliver the deluded from the danger that they are to themselves.
F12-I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life: faith is oil. E. Stanley Jones
Faith isn't natural for us. Doubt is, fear is, and pride is, but faith in the words and the works of another isn't, and for that there's Grace. Faith isn't something you can work up inside yourself. Faith comes to you as God's gift of Grace: "For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God"(Ephesians. 2: 8). Paul David Tripp
F11- We say we believe in the hereafter. We say that this moment in time is not all there is. We say that we are hardwired for forever. But often we live with the compulsion, anxiety, and drivenness of eternity amnesiacs. We get so focused on the opportunities, responsibilities, needs, and desires of the here and now that we lose sight of what is to come. The fact is that you cannot make sense of life unless you look at it from the vantage point of eternity. When you live like there's more to come you live in a radically different way.
F10- Pray not for crutches but for wings. Phillips Brooks
F9- All who aspire to enter and dwell in the Kingdom of God need to know this: if you put God and his Kingdom first in your life's priorities, everything else necessary in life will be added to you. You will be able to trust that God will provide for you.
F8-“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing, and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” CS Lewis
F7-
When outcomes or people in the news disappoint us, we have to remember that our hope is not in others or any system... it’s much more secure than that. As believers, we have reason to praise the incorruptible Leader of leaders. He will never let us down. In all you do, seek to walk in His holy ways.
“God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.”
2 Samuel 22:31
F6- Reward does not depend upon amount or greatness of the service rendered, but upon the faithfulness and sincerity of heart with which it is done.
F5-A man’s greatest care should be for that place where he lives longest; therefore eternity should be his scope. Thomas Manton
F4-My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 1 Corinthians 4:4, NLT
We dare not judge one another, and certainly not ourselves. When the Bible exhorts us to "walk in the light", it does not mean the light of our own convictions but the light of the Lord. The light of the world is Jesus, and one's own point of view is darkness. What a man is- not what he does or has done or hopes to do- will be the standard of judgment on judgment day. There will be no acquittal or appeal
F3- So often we hear someone say," I have such a little talent (or perhaps no talent) there is nothing I can do that will bring glory to God. So I will just be silent witness." That is not what God wants His servants to do. Remember, Moses offered the same excuse that he could not speak plainly (Exodus. 4:10) therefore he should not be the one to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Five loaves and two fishes in the possession of a little boy seem nothing in view of thousands of hungry people, but in the hands of Jesus that small contribution fed 5,000 men, plus women and children( John 6:1-14) Jesus has promised that even a cup of water, given in His name and because we are His, will not lose its reward (Mark 9:41). So no matter how small our ability, that ability is God-given, and if we use it diligently to His glory we will receive a full reward. (Oliver Greene, The Gospel According to Matthew, Volume 6)
F2- You and I must live temptation aware; to fail to do so is to fail to recognize the fallenness of the world that happens to be the address where we live. What God says is dangerous doesn't always seem dangerous. Evil doesn't always appear so evil in our eyes. So we need protection, not just from external temptation but from our own blind eyes and wandering hearts. You and I are welcomed as God's children to rest in the reality that in this fallen world that throws temptation at us everyday, we are never ever alone. Zephaniah 3:17 " the Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"
F1-“The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not.”. C.S. Lewis
J31- Don't be so upset when things are said about you. Let the world talk; just seek to do the will of God. You will never be able to entirely satisfy people and it isn't worth the painful effort. Silent peace and sweet fellowship with God will repay you for every evil word spoken against you. Love your neighbor without expecting his friendship. People will come and go- let them do as they please. See only God. He is the one that afflicts or comforts you through people and circumstances. He does this for your benefit.
J30- The full fruit of sanctification is biblically demanded of the one who has received the grace of sins forgiven. If the unmerited mercy of God shown to me is not reshown to others, my justification is an old. If unmerited forgiveness of God awarded to me is not exercised toward others, my justification is annulled.
Forgetting is the essence of divine forgiveness. Unless my forgiveness of other people" forgets" they're trespasses against me, the grace of God and me is of a mere painted flower, and I am a play actor.
Matthew 18: 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap
J29- Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ (Matthew 25:8, NLT)
There is no danger of the lamp of a blood washed, redeemed child of God going out for lack of oil, even though neglect on the part of the believer may sometimes cause the light to grow dim. To be saved is to possess Christ, but we cannot share Him with others in redemption. We are saved by grace.
J28 - Even though the night darkens your spirit, its purpose is to impart light. Even though it humbles you, revealing the depth of your wretchedness, its purpose is to exalt and uplift you. Even though it empties you of all feeling and detaches you from all natural pleasures, its purpose is to fill you with spiritual joy and attach you to the source of that joy. Juan Álvarez
J27- God's called to obey is itself a Grace. In this call He is actively rescuing you from you.
J26- There is nothing like reading an illuminated Bible. You may read to all eternity, and never learn anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the word shine forth like stars. The book seems made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond. Oh, it is a blessed thing to read an illuminated Bible lit up by the radiance of the Holy Ghost. Let me tell you a little secret: whenever you cannot understand a text, open your Bible, bend your knee, and pray over that text. Charles H Spurgeon
J25- your deepest aim should be to turn a deaf ear to self, while listening to God in silence. Say little and do much- without wondering if you have been noticed or not. Do you think the way to love God comes by getting more knowledge? You have already more than you can use - practice what you already know rather than looking for more knowledge.
J24- When it is God you love in someone, you stand by that person no matter what.
J23-But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! (Matthew 6:23)
J22-I have not the courage to search through books for beautiful prayers. Unable either to say them all or choose between them, I do as a child would do who cannot read—I say just what I want to say to God, quite simply, and He never fails to understand.
Thérèse of Lisieux
J21- You and I have been hardwired for eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 declares that God has placed eternity in every person's heart. That means everyone hungers for paradise. No one is satisfied with things the way they are. So either you try your hardest to turn your life right here, right now into the paradise it will never be and therefore become driven and disappointed, or you live in this broken world with rest in peace that comes from knowing that a guaranteed place in paradise is in your future.
J20-“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
J19- Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. Robert H Schuller
J18- - To think today, when your life doesn't work as planned, that it's out of control is to forget the Jesus reigns for your sake and his glory.
J17- The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention. Unknown
The secret of a holy life is not an imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus be manifested in our mortal flesh. Oswald Chambers
True love is deep down in the spirit- simple, peaceful, and silent. Fenelon
J16- God's primary means of evangelism is for people to see the hope of Christ in our daily lifes and to ask us about it. We are to be ready to give an answer when that happens( 1 Peter 3:15). God's method is to let our light shine before men so they can see our good words and glorify our heavenly father( Matthew 5:16). God's message is Christ. His method is you. Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.
J15-If death be terrible, the fault is not in death, but thee. Unknown
J14- Now, if your faith is based on your ability to fully understand your past, present, and future, then your moments of confusion will become moments of weakening faith. But the reality is that you are not left with only two options- understand everything and rest in peace or understand little and be tormented by anxiety. There is a third way. It is really the way of true biblical faith. The Bible tells you that real peace is found in resting in the wisdom of the one who holds all of your "what-ifs" and "if onlys" in His loving hands. Isaiah captures this well with these comforting words: " You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you" (Isaiah. 26: 3)
J13- Devotions for a Deeper Life Oswald Chambers January 13th.
Suggested reading: Galatians 1:15-24
To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood (Galatians. 1:16)
When God told Paul to do something for Him, the apostle did not consult with" flesh and blood." In other words, he did not ask for a human opinion about God's will for him. Do you?
Some people have told us," well, I was ready to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit; but not now." Why? Because they went to their Minister and asked his opinion, even though he is not filled with the spirit. There is no way he can give guidance in an area he doesn't know anything about. Speak with God. Wait for him. Take his way. Confer not with "flesh and blood".
There are some dear people on a foreign field who have no business being there. They should be at home. The reason they went to the mission field is because they listen to the passionate appeal of human pleas, God did not send them. They consulted with" flesh and blood "
Listen to God, not the selfish voice of" flesh and blood".
J12- prayer is when you talk to God. Meditation is when you listen to God. Diana Robertson
J11- Even as we mourn violence and pray for peace around the world, the good news of Jesus’s coming kingdom gives believers hope. His Spirit offers supernatural peace in our hearts today, and His return promises peace in a renewed earth forever.
“For I will create new heavens and a new earth… The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain,’ says the Lord.”
Isaiah 65:17, 25 (CSB)
J10- God doesn't look at just what we give. He also looks at what we keep. Randy Alcorn
J9- A humility that is still talkative does not run very deep. Nothing is as important as lowliness of heart, and detachment from your own opinion and will.
J8- Believers may respectfully disagree about dietary guidelines, but we can agree that our bodies are beautifully designed gifts from the Lord. Stewarding this gift well means both taking care of our own bodies and caring for our neighbors’ physical and spiritual needs. From 'The Pour Over'
J-7 - “The church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.”
John Wesley
J-6 - God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them. A. W. Pink
J5-If you obey for a thousand years, you’re no more accepted than when you first believed; your acceptance is based on Christ’s righteousness and not yours.
The fact is that sin is a bigger disaster than we think it is and grace is more amazing than we seem to be able to grasp that it is. No one who really understands what Scripture has to say about the comprehensive, every-aspect-of-your-personhood-altering nature of sin would ever think that anyone could muster enough motivation and strength to rise to God’s standard of perfection. The thought that any fallen human being would b e able to perform his or her way into acceptance with God has to be the most insane of delusions. Yet we all tend to think we are more righteous than we are, and when we think this, we have taken the first step to embracing the delusion that maybe we’re not so bad in God’s eyes after all.
This is why the reality check of Romans 3:20 is so important. Paul writes, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.” If you prayed every moment of your life, you could not pray enough prayers to earn acceptance with God. If you gave every penny of every dollar that you ever earned in every job you ever had, you could not give enough to deserve acceptance with God. If every word you ever spoke was uttered with the purest of conscientious motivations, you would never be able to speak your way into reconciliation with God. If you gave yourself to an unbroken, moment-by-moment life of ministry, you could never minister enough to achieve God’s favor. Sin is too big. God’s bar is too high. It is beyond the reach of every human being who has ever taken his or her first breath.
This is why God, in love, sent his Son: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). You see, there was and is no other way. There is only one portal to acceptance with God–the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness is given over to our account; sinners are welcomed into the presence of a holy God based on the perfect obedience of another. Christ is our hope, Christ is our rest, Christ is our peace. He perfectly fulfilled God’s requirement so that in our sin, weakness, and failure we would never again have to fear God’s anger. This is what grace does! So as the children of grace, we obey as a service of worship, not in a desperate attempt to do what is impossible–independently earn God’s favor. Galatians 3:1-14
J4-“You are a steward of every moment, of every talent, of every gift, of every resource that God has given you. Choose wisely what you do today!”
Paul Washer
J3- If God has already granted you a place in eternity, then he has also granted you all the grace you need along the way, or you'd never get there. There is Grace for our fickle and easily distracted hearts. There is rescue for our self-absorption and lack of focus. The God of eternity grants you his eternal Grace so you can live with eternity in view.
J-2 in moments when you wish you knew what you can't know, there is rest to be found. There is one who knows. He loves you and rules what you don't understand with your good in mind. Paul Tripp
J-1 The peace of God is not the Peace of stoicism or passivity. It is the most intense activity. Some people say that they are tired of Life; they mean to say that they are tired of dying. They are tired of the spiritual death that stops activity. May the Lord have a new year in you
D30- (Streams in the Desert December 30th ) Peter was in prison awaiting his execution, and the church had no human power or influence that could save him. There was no earthly help available, but help could be obtained by way of heaven. So the church gave themselves to fervent and persistent prayer. And God sent an angel, who “struck Peter on the side and woke him up” (v. 7). Then the angel led him past “the first and second guards and [they] came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself” (v. 10), and Peter was free.
Perhaps there is some “iron gate” in your life, blocking your way. Like a caged bird, you have often beaten against the bars, but instead of helping your situation, you have become even more tired and exhausted and caused yourself more heartache. There is a secret for you to learn— the secret of believing prayer. Then when you come to the iron gate, it will open as it did for Peter: “by itself.”
How much wasted energy and painful disappointment will be saved once you learn to pray as the early church did in the “upper room” (Acts 1: 13 KJV)! Insurmountable difficulties will disappear and adverse circumstances will turn favorable once you learn to pray—not with your own faith but with the faith of God. Many of your loved ones have been bound by Satan and imprisoned by him for years, and they are simply waiting for the gates to be opened. They will be set free in Christ when you pray fervently and persistently in faith to God.
~C. H. P.
Emergencies call for intense prayer. When the person himself becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch. Elijah bowed to the ground on Mount Carmel with his face between his knees, and he became the prayer. Spoken prayer is not always needed, for prayer can often be too intense for words. In the case of Elijah, his entire being was in touch with God and was aligned with Him against the powers of evil. And Elijah’s evil enemies could not withstand this kind of prayer in human form—something that is greatly needed today.
~from The Bent-knee Time
“Groans that words cannot express” (Rom. 8: 26) are often prayers that God cannot refuse.
~Charles H. Spurgeon
D29- You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
D-28 Outside of the will of God, there's nothing I want, and in the will of God there's nothing I fear
D27- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else." — C.S. Lewis
D26- I can only hope that you are wise enough, desirous enough and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that everyday is another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with our heavenly destination in mind. Tozer
D25-
His Birth and Our New Birth
By Oswald Chambers
December 25
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” —Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ
D24- We should have intervals of time when we do nothing, think nothing, and plan nothing but simply lie on the green lap of nature and" rest a while" (Mark 6:31)
D23- Happiness is Not the Goal
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.—2 Timothy 2:3-4
That we are born to be happy is scarcely questioned by anyone. No one bothers to prove that fallen men have any moral right to happiness, or that they are in the long run any better off happy. The only question before the house is how to get the most happiness out of life. Almost all popular books and plays assume that personal happiness is the legitimate end of the dramatic human struggle.
Now I submit that the whole hectic scramble after happiness is an evil as certainly as is the scramble after money or fame or success....
How far wrong all this is will be discovered easily by the simple act of reading the New Testament through once with meditation. There the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness. God is more concerned with the state of people's hearts than with the state of their feelings. Undoubtedly the will of God brings final happiness to those who obey, but the most important matter is not how happy we are but how holy. The soldier does not seek to be happy in the field; he seeks rather to get the fighting over with, to win the war and get back home to his loved ones. There he may enjoy himself to the full
D22- (James 1:2–4, NLT) 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
D21- Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you've had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God's revealed truth is the only faith there is.
D20- Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me. Psalm 139:23-24
Make your thoughts a clean sanctuary. To God our thoughts are things. Our thoughts are the decorations inside the sanctuary where we live. If our thoughts are purified by the blood of Christ, we are living in a clean room no matter if we are wearing overalls covered with grease.
Your thoughts pretty much decide the mood and weather and climate inside your heart, and God considers your thoughts as part of you.
Thoughts of Peace, thoughts of pity, thoughts of mercy, thoughts of kindness, thoughts of charity, thoughts of God, thoughts of the Son of God- these are pure things, good things, and high things.
Therefore, if you would cultivate the Spirits acquaintance, you must get a hold of your thoughts and not allow your mind to be a wilderness in which every kind of unclean beast roams and bird flies. You must have a clean heart.
And evil thought is the forerunner of the devil; for Satan knows that if a Christian will allow the evil thought he will in time allow the originator of the temptation to come in. (Tozer on the Holy Spirit)
D19- As children of God, we can always afford to wait. A saint of God does not have to be concerned about time when he is in the will of God.
D18- The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to humankind than the ministry of thrones.
D17 - I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to me, but I found something deep within me that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. I did what I could to keep those traits suppressed, but they were still there. Finally I sought Jesus for help, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and removed everything that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. And then He shut the door. George Fox
D16- There was also a prophetess, Anna. . . . She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. (Luke 2: 36– 37)
There is no doubt that it is by praying that we learn to pray, and that the more we pray, the better our prayers will be. People who pray in spurts are never likely to attain to the kind of prayer described in the Scriptures as “powerful and effective” (James 5: 16).
Great power in prayer is within our reach, but we must work to obtain it. We should never even imagine that Abraham could have interceded so successfully for Sodom if he had not communed with God throughout the previous years of his life. Jacob’s entire night of wrestling at Peniel was certainly not the first encounter he had with his God. And we can even look at our Lord’s most beautiful and wonderful prayer in John 17, before His suffering and death, as the fruit of His many nights of devotion, and of His rising often before daybreak to pray.
If a person believes he can become powerful in prayer without making a commitment to it, he is living under a great delusion. The prayer of Elijah, which stopped the rain from heaven and later opened heaven’s floodgates, was only one example of a long series of his mighty pleadings with God. Oh, if only we Christians would remember that perseverance in prayer is necessary for it to be effective and victorious!
The great intercessors, who are seldom mentioned in connection with the heroes and martyrs of the faith, were nevertheless the greatest benefactors of the church. Yet their becoming the channels of the blessings of mercy to others was only made possible by their abiding at the mercy seat of God.
Remember, we must pray to pray, and continue in prayer so our prayers may continue.
~Charles H. Spurgeon
D15- God's ministers should speak kind, sympathetic words, but if those ministers are true to the Word of God they will also speak words that are sharper than a two-edged sword. Oliver Greene
D14- My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how he will unravel my problems. Tozer
D13- I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in dark places... Isaiah 45:3
If you seem to be living in deep darkness because God is working in strange and mysterious ways, to not be afraid. Simply go forward in faith and in love, never doubting Him. He is watching and will bring goodness and beauty from all your pain and tears. J. R. Miller
D12-Too many people are ready to carry the stool when the piano needs moving.
D11- “Without dark clouds in our lives, we would never know the joy of sunshine. We can become callous and unteachable if we do not learn from pain.”
“Sometimes life touches one person with a bouquet and another with a thorn bush. But the first may find a wasp in the flowers, and the second may discover roses among the thorns.” Billy Graham
D10- The Lord has many lovers of his crown but few lovers of his cross. Thomas Kempis
D9- Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. Chambers
D8- The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.
D7-Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed. Blaise Pascal
D6- “If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.”
CS Lewis
D5- He went up on the mountainside by himself (Matthew 14:23)
One of the blessings of the old time Sabbath day was the calmness, restfulness, and holy peace that came from having a time of quiet solitude away from the world. There is a special strength that is born in solitude. Strength is found not in business and noise but in quietness. For a lake to reflect the heavens on its surface, it must be calm. (Streams in the Desert)
D4- A determination to know what cannot be known always works harm to the Christian heart. Human curiosity and pride often combine to drive us to try to understand acts of God which are plainly outside the field of human understanding. A blind confidence which trusts without seeing is far dear to God than any fancy knowledge that can explain everything.
D3- It was for me that holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. For me Christ died-- and when He arose on the third day, it was for me. When the promised Holy Spirit came, it was to continue in me the work He had been doing for me since the morning of the creation!
So I have every right to claim all of the riches of the Godhead in mercy given. What a blessed thought-- that an infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children!
He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of himself as fully as if there were no others.
D2- But when he—the Spirit of truth—comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak from himself, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you the things to come (John 16:13)
The Holy Spirit is often thought of as a beneficent wind that blows across the Church. If you think of the Holy Spirit as being literally a wind, a breath, then you think of Him as non-personal and non-individual. But the Holy Spirit has will and intelligence and feeling and knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think and hear and speak and desire the same as any person has.....
D-1
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL
Chambers
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" James 2:10
The moral law does not consider us as weak human beings at all, it takes no account of our heredity and infirmities, it demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never alters, either for the noblest or for the weakest, it is eternally and abidingly the same. The moral law ordained by God does not make itself weak to the weak, it does not palliate our shortcomings, it remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we do not realize this, it is because we are less than alive; Once we do realize it, life becomes a tragedy. "I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." (Romans 7:9). When we realize this, then the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a man gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Jesus Christ is a farce to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful binding sense of the law, it makes a man hopeless - "sold under sin." (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never get right with God, it is impossible. There is only one way in which I can get right with God, and that is by the Death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the lurking idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience - which of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only realize the power of the moral law when it comes with an "if." God never coerces us. In one mood we wish He would make us do the right thing, and in another mood we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God's will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. When we choose deliberately to obey Him, then He will reach to the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all His almighty power.
N30- The most relieving, enriching, wholesome, wondrous things we can know is that sudden sense of the lifting of the burden as the conscience grows free--- God giving freedom to that conscious which has been evil, diseased and protesting.
N29-For many years, I was a man riding an ox, looking for an ox to ride on. Meister Eckhart
N28- We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into his kingdom through the door of destitution. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was" beyond" us and places it "within" us. And immediately, once "the beyond" has come "within," it rises up to the "the above" and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns. Chambers
N27-And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
N26-“These bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come… cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”
Abraham Lincoln
N25- if the Spirit takes charge of your life He will expect unquestioning obedience in everything. He will not tolerate in you the self- sins even though they are permitted and excused by most Christians. By the self sins I mean self-love, self-pity, self- – seeking, self-confidence, self- righteousness, self-aggrandizement, self-defense.
Self-denial consists in the voluntary renunciation of everything which is inconsistent with the glory of God and the highest good of our fellow men. Gardiner Spring
N24- The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion. Tozer
N23-Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Augustine
N22- Happiness is nothing but that inward sweet delight, which will arise from the harmonious agreement between our wills and the will of God. Mary Tileston
N21-When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind. C. S. Lewis
N20- It is well to remember that a new heart is one thing, and a pure heart is another. They are not synonymous. Any man can have a new heart which loves God and yet not possess a pure heart from which self, man- fear, love of praise and other like things are banished. Tozer
N19- Once the seeking heart finds God in personal experience there will be no further problem about loving Him. To know Him is to love Him and to know Him better is to love Him more.
N18-Real glory springs from the silent conquest of ourselves. Joseph P. Thompson
N17-“If we grow wiser and more learned in our intercourse with wise and learned persons, how much more will we gain in our inner life by communicating with God in prayer.” Huldrych Zwingli
N16-
If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on; and nobody would know the difference.
– AW Tozer –
N14- My little children, let us not love and word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.(1 John 3:18)
The blight of the Pharisees heart in olden times was doctrine without love. With the teaching of the Pharisees Christ had little quarrel, but with the pharisaic spirit He carried on unceasing warfare to the end. It was religion that put Christ on the cross, religion without the indwelling spirit.
N13- There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find to those who knock, it is opened. C.S. Lewis
N12- Our hope is never contingent on a political outcome; it’s much more secure than that. Regardless of whether things get worse or better during your lifetime, everything eventually ends well for followers of Christ.
“The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.” Job 12:10
N11-God doesn’t call people who are qualified. He calls people who are willing, and then He qualifies them. Richard Parker
N10 - Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping .....(Romans 4:18)
N9-When we say," what a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!" then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him ( John 12:32). Oswald Chambers
N8- Regeneration is like building a house and having the work done well. Sanctification is having the owner come and dwell in the house and fill it with gladness and life and beauty. A. B. Simpson
N7- Made as we were in the image of God we scarcely find it strange to take again our God as our All. God was our original habitat and our hearts cannot but feel at home when they enter again that ancient and beautiful abode.
N6- The regenerate man often has a more difficult time of it than the unregenerate, for he is not one man but two. He feels within him a power that tends toward holiness and God, while at the same time he is still a child of Adam's flesh and the son of the red clay. This moral dualism is to him a source of distress and struggle wholly unknown to the once born man. Of course the classic critique upon this is Paul's testimony in the 7th chapter of the Roman Epistle.
N5- More spiritual progress can be made in one short moment of speechless silence in the awesome presence of God that in years of mere study... The exposure may be brief, but the results are permanent.
N4-The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer, with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Edmund P. Clowney
N3- In everything that belongs to the excellence of real religion, the true believer is in a state of progression. He seeks and strives, he wrestles and fights. He is ever aiming at the prize..... His obedience, though not perfect, is habitual. Gardiner Spring
N2- Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12: 5.
Prayer is the link that connects us with God it is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need.
Think of the significance of this story of the first-century
church: Everything seemed to be coming against it, for Peter
was in prison,the Jews appeared triumphant,Herod still reigned
supreme, and the arena of martyrdom was eagerly awaiting the
next morning so it could drink the apostle’s blood. “But the
church was earnestly praying to God for him.” So what was the
outcome? The prison was miraculously opened, the apostle
freed,the Jews bewildered,and as a display of God’s punishment,
wicked King Herod “was eaten by worms and died.”And rolling
on to even greater victory, “the word of God continued to
increase and spread” (Act 12:23–24).
Do we truly know the power of our supernatural weapon
of prayer? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith
that not only asks but also commands? God baptizes us with
holy boldness and divine confidence, for He is looking not for
great people but for people who will dare to prove the great-
ness of their God! “But the church was earnestly praying.” A. B.
Simpson
N1- It is the Spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of the world will not care much what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us-- the presence of God's Spirit in our hearts... Satan will never cease to make war on the man child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks
O31- Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him -- a faith that says," I will remain true to God's character whatever he may do." The highest and greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is-- "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him". ( Job 13:15)
O30- to be entirely safe from the devil snares the man of God must be completely obedient to the Word of the Lord
The driver on the highway is safe, not when he reads the signs but when he obeys them.
O29- a quiet spirit is of priceless value when performing outward activities. Nothing so greatly hinders the work of God's unseen spiritual forces, upon which our success in everything truly depends, as the spirit of unrest and anxiety
O28- Life as we know it in our painfully intricate civilization can be deadly unless we learn to distinguish the things that matter from those that do not. It is never the major things that destroy us, but invariably the multitude of trifling things which are mistakenly thought to be a major importance. There are so many that, unless we get out from under them, there will crush us body and soul...
O27- We need to learn that truth consists not in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. (Tozer - The Pursuit of Man)
O26- We should be aware of the comfortable habit of assuming that idolatry is found only in heathen lands and that civilized people are free from it. This is an error and results from pride and superficial thinking. The truth is that idolatry is found wherever mankind is found. Whoever entertains an unworthy conception of God is throwing his or her heart wide open to the sin of idolatry. Let that person go on to personalize his or her low mental image of the Deity and pray to it, and he or she has become an idolater- and this is regardless of his or her nominal profession of Christianity. Chambers
O25-You didn’t choose me. I chose you (John 15:16, NLT) . Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as he chooses.
O24- Our life is very mysterious. In fact, it would be totally unexplainable unless we believed that God was preparing us for events and ministries that lie unseen beyond the veil of the eternal world- where spirits like tempered steel will be required for special service
O23-The London Times asked various writers for essays on the topic “What’s Wrong with the World?” G. K. Chesterton replied (in perhaps the shortest essay in history),
Dear Sirs:
I am.
Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton
O22- some Christians think they must be on the mountaintop of extraordinary joy and revelation, but this is not God's way. Those high spiritual times and wonderful communication with the unseen world are not promised to us, but a daily life of communion with Him is. And it is enough for us, for He will give us those times of exceptional revelation if it is the right thing for us
O21- Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God's nature. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God- but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people- and this is not learned in 5 minutes. Chambers
O20- When a person is convicted of sin and feels the need for repentance yet fails to repent, that person becomes even more sinful. The heart becomes harder and the mind increases in dullness. Oliver Greene
O19-“What worries you, masters you.” John Locke
O18-“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” – Francis Chan
O17-Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground. Dante Alighieri
O16-Rabbi Eleazar said: “Repent one day before your death.” Said his pupils: “Does man know when he would die?” He answered: “Then he surely must repent today, lest he die tomorrow.”
Eliezer ben Hyrcanus
O15-Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters. Thomas Chalmers
O14- The hammer is a useful tool, but the nail, if it had feeling and intelligence, could present another side of the story. For the nail knows the hammer only as an opponent, are brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, to beat it down out of sight and clinch it into place. That is the nails view of the hammer, and it is accurate except for one thing: the nail forgets that both it and the hammer are servants of the same workman. Let the nail but remember that the hammer is held by the workman and all resentment toward it will disappear. The carpenter decides whose head shall be beaten next and what Hammer shall be used in the beating. That is his sovereign right. When the nail has surrendered to the will of the workman and has gotten a little glimpse of his benign plans for its future it will yield to the hammer without complaint.
O13- Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own Spirit he started to write the wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for 40 years. In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God. Chambers
O12-
If knowing answers to life's questions is absolutely necessary to you, then forget the journey. You will never make it. For this is a journey of unknowables -- of unanswered questions, enigmas, incomprehensibles, and most of all, things unfair.
Jeanne GuyonO11-“Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives.”. Nancy Leigh Demoss
O10- Said the Robin to the Sparrow: " I should really like to know Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so."
Said the Sparrow to the Robin: "Friend, I think that it must be. That they have no Heavenly Father. Such as cares for you and me."
Elizabeth Cheney
O9-“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick along side it.” D. L. Moody
O8- The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here.
O7- Sin is a fundamental relationship- it is not wrong doing, but it is wrong being- it is deliberate and determined independence from God. The first thing Jesus Christ confronted in people was the heredity of sin, and it is because we have ignored this in our presentation of the Gospel that the message of the Gospel has lost its sting and explosive power. The revealed truth of the Bible is not that Jesus Christ took on himself our fleshly sins, but that He took on Himself the heredity of sin that no man can even touch
O6-God has a peace plan. It doesn’t need Israel’s or Hamas’s approval. It doesn’t merely cover Gaza or even the Middle East. It can’t be undone by rebels, and it won’t unravel decades later.
The Lord’s peace has been a done deal from the beginning of time, sealed with the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s global, it’s unending, and it’s open to all who would lay down their weapons.
“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid… Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when he lifts his voice. The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
Psalm 46:1-2, 6-7
O5- condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let him do so
O4- no human being knows human beings as God does
O3- The best repentance for a wrong act is not to do it again
O2- Are you allowing Satan to magnify the memories of your spiritual failures? He will always keep them before you unless you take your stand and move up in the faith.
The devil will whisper," you didn't get very far along toward their deeper life, did you?"
He will say," you made a big to do about wanting to be filled with the Spirit and you're really flopped, didn't you?"
He will taunt you with the fact that you may have stumbled in the faith- and perhaps more than once! The devil wants you to live in a state of discourage chagrin and remorse.
Remember, the Bible does not teach that if a man falls down, he can never rise again. The fact that he falls is not the most important thing- but rather that he is forgiven and allows God to lift him up! Tozer
O1- We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of Life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.
S30- No man is worthy to succeed until he is willing to fail. No man is morally worthy of success in religious activities until he is willing that the honor of succeeding should go to another if God so wills. Tozer
S29-“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.”
St. Jerome
S28 -“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” – Francis Chan
S27-“My job is to take care of the possible and to trust God with the impossible.” Ruth Graham
S26- , "But when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" Matthew 6:6
Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us- that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it is given......
S25- There can be no surer way to success than by disclaiming all confidence in ourselves, and referring the events of things to God with an implicit affiance. Francis Atterbury
S24- Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies a stronghold of obstinacy, and you say," I will not give up my right to myself"- the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
S23- prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts no offering from His creatures that is not accompanied by obedience.
S22- True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie. It is enough that God said it, and if the statement should contradict every one of the five senses in all of the conclusions of logic as well, still the believer continues to believe." Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4 ), is the language of true faith. Heaven approved such faith because it rises above mere proofs and rests in the bosom of God
S21- "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing" CS Lewis
S20 -Death for the Christian is a turning off the light because the dawn has come.Leon Jaworski
S19-Verse to consider when you’re evaluating how you use social media… “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:8-9
S18- Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things- he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
S17- temptation is not something we can escape; in fact it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else- what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations- he sustains us in the midst of them. (Hebrews 2:18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested)
Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested
(LT)S16-Think how completely all the griefs of this mortal life will be compensated by one age, for instance, of the felicities beyond the grave, and then think that one age multiplied ten thousand times is not so much to eternity as one grain of sand is to the whole material universe. Think what a state it will be to be growing happier and happier still as ages pass away, and yet leave something still happier to come! John Foster
S15- 3,000 persons were converted at Pentecost, but each one met his sin and his Savior alone. The spiritual birth, like the natural one, is for each one a unique, separate experience shared by in by no one. And so with that uprush of resurgent life we call revival. It can come to the individual only.
S14- I know that You are risen, because You live in me today!
S13-Exodus 34:2 "Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain".
The "morning" is the time I have to meet with the Lord. "Morning"- the very word itself is like a cluster of luscious grapes to crush into sacred wine for me to drink. In the morning! This is when God wants me at my best in strength and hope so that I may begin my daily climb, not in weakness but in strength. Last night I buried yesterday's fatigue, and this morning I took on a new supply of energy. Blessed is the day when the morning is sanctified- set apart to God! Successful is a day when the first victory is one in prayer! Holy is the day when the dawn finds me on the mountaintop with God! ( L.B. Cowman; Streams in the Desert - Sept 14)
S12- Apart from God nothing matters
S11- The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
S10- We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us- it simply reveals what we are made of already.
S9- The whole Bible and all past history unite to teach that battles are always won before the armies take the field. The critical moment for any army is not the day it engages the foe in actual combat; it is the day before or the month before or the year before.....
Preparation is vital.... We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose.
S8-Direct contact with the power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely wonderful, but do not forget that “ankle deep” is God’s minimum! It is a tragedy that so many Christians seem to park in this position. It is sound advice never to follow a parked vehicle because you will go nowhere.
S7- Matthew 20:32-" And Jesus stood still, and called them and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?" "Jesus stood still....." Jesus always has time to hear the cry of a needy soul. The voice of sincere prayer from the poor, lost souls will cause the Son of God to "standstill" and hear the plea of that prayer. He is equally able to supply the need of his born-again ones."
"..... and called them, and said, what will ye that I shall do unto you?" This meant that whatever the need, Jesus was able to supply that need. They should make their requests known- although, because He was God in the flesh, Jesus already knew what that request would be. (Greene - The Gospel According to Matthew)
S6-He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38
A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe…” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.
A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.
Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others. (Chambers; My Utmost For His Highest - Sept. 6).
S5-They were services like no others, these times in Barracks 28, within our concentration camp. A single meeting night might include a recital of the Magnificat in Latin by a group of Roman Catholics, a whispered hymn by some Lutherans, and a sotto-voce chant by Eastern Orthodox women. With each moment the crowd around us would swell, packing the nearby platforms, hanging over the edges, until the high structures groaned and swayed. At last either Betsie or I would open the Bible. Because only the Hollanders could understand the Dutch text we would translate aloud in German. And then we would hear the life-giving words passed back along the aisles in French, Polish, Russian, Czech, back into Dutch. They were little previews of heaven, these evenings beneath the light bulb. Corrie ten Boom
S4-
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.
C.S. Lewis
S3- We have the power within us to reject God's instruction- but where else shall we go? If we turn away from the authority of God's Word, to whose authority do we yield?
S2-The secret of perpetual revival is the constant offering of thanksgiving in every circumstance.
S1- It is the spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of the world will not much care what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us- the presence of God's spirit in our hearts.
They may not know the cause of that strange feeling of antagonism which rises within them, but it will be nonetheless real and dangerous. Satan will never cease to make war on the man- child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks.
Immediately after a person has received the witness of the spirit, the adversary charges down upon the soul. It is well for all such assaulted individuals to remember that just as soon as the son of God received the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the banks of the Jordan, that He was immediately afterwards driven into the wilderness and there tempted 40 days by the devil. He conquered by faith and in the use of the Word of God. We can do the same.
A31- A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.
A30- to oppose Faith to works is to make the fruit the enemy to the tree
A29-“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis
A28-Most Christians understand that salvation comes by faith, apart from feelings. But they think that the Spirit-controlled life requires some type of mystical experience—a feeling, a surge of power, or being overcome by waves of love. Those experiences are usually not around when you need them. What you need is spiritual power, independent of feelings, experiences, or circumstances. That comes when we give each day to God and anticipate his blessing. Erwin W. Lutzer
A27- The only true Christian is the practicing Christian.
A26- that Faith which passively accepts all the pleasant texts of the Scriptures while it overlooks or rejects the stern warnings and commandments of those same Scriptures is not the faith of which Christ and His apostles spoke
A25- True Faith requires that we believe everything God has said about Himself, but also that we believe everything He has said about us. Until we believe that we are as bad as God says we are, we can never believe that He will do for us what he says he will do.
Right here is where popular religion breaks down. It never quite accepts the severity of God or the depravity of man. It stresses the goodness of God and mans' misfortune. Sin is a pardonable frailty and God is not tomuch concerned about it. He merely wants us to trust in His goodness.
To believe this is to ground faith upon falsehood and build our eternal hope upon sand. No man has any right to pick and choose among revealed truths. God has spoken....
A24- The natural man is forever crying out," what do I get out of this?". But when we become spiritual, when the Spirit of God abides in our bosom, then the desire of the heart should be," what can I do to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ who has done so much for me?" We do not then think of what we will receive, we praise God for what we have already received- the forgiveness of sins.
A23- Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idol and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on the willful, deliberate prayer. Jesus says to "shut your door ". Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him.
A22 -God's promises and His providence do not lift us from the world of common sense in everyday trials, for it is through these very things that our faith is perfected. And it is in this world that God loves to interweave the golden threads of His love with the twists and turns of our common, everyday experiences. (Hard Places in the Way of Faith)
A21-Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us. A. J. Cronin
A20-It would seem, after having been a Christian for almost 80 years, that I would no longer do ugly things that need forgiving. Yet I am constantly doing things to others that cause me to have to go back and ask their forgiveness. Sometimes these are things I actually do—other times they are simply attitudes I let creep in which break the circle of God’s perfect love. Corrie ten Boom
A19-Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve…You don’t have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Martin Luther King, Jr
A18- It is well to remember that a new heart is one thing, and a pure heart is another. They are not synonymous. Any man can have a new heart which loves God and yet not possess a pure heart from which self, man- fear, love of praise and other like things are banished. B. Carrandine
A17-“We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them.”
Charles West
A16-Proverbs 1:17
17 How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it
We have such a short time to prepare for such a long time. Failing to get ready in time for eternity, and failing to get ready now for the great then that lies out yonder, is a trapping plain sight
A15- Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations…of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Wilferd Arlan Peterson
A14- Isn't it glorious to know that no matter how unjust something may be, even when it seems to have come from Satan himself, by the time it reaches us it is God's will for us and will ultimately work to our good?
A13- It cannot but be a major tragedy in the life of any man or woman to live in a church from childhood to old age and know nothing more real than some synthetic god compounded of theology and logic, but having no eyes to see, no ears to hear- and no heart to love! Tozer
A12-To hold the same views at forty as we held at twenty is to have been stupefied for a score of years, and take rank, not as a prophet, but as an unteachable brat, well birched and none the wiser. Robert Louis Stevenson
A11-“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement.” John O’Donohue
A10- God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.
A9- When the Holy Spirit ceases to be incidental and again becomes fundamental, the power of the Spirit will be asserted once more among the people called Christians.
A8- Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives.
Nancy Leigh Demoss
A7-Fear. His modus operandi is to manipulate you with the mysterious, to taunt you with the unknown. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow—his arsenal is vast. His goal? To create cowardly, joyless souls. He doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. He figures if he can rattle you enough, you will take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands. Max Lucado
A6- God's purpose in all His dealings with us is to make us grow into something higher. The greatest calamity that can come to a soul is to be satisfied with its present condition. A.B. Simpson
A5- Never change God's facts into hope or prayers but simply accept them as realities, and you will find them to be powerful as you believe them. H.W. Webb Peploe
A4- God's friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all- we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God's compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack. Chambers
A3- never pray for an easier life- pray to be a stronger person
A2-“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Augustine
A1- The truest and most acceptable repentance is to reverse the acts and attitudes of which we repent....
J31- The event is certain- the timing is uncertain. When the mighty Angel of Revelation shouts a signal and raises his hand having a word, it'll be eternally too late for unrepentant centers.
J30- What shall I do? I expect to pass through this world but once. Therefore any good work, kindness, or service I can render to any person or animal, let me do it now. Let me not neglect or delay to do it, for I will not pass this way again. (An old Quaker saying)
J29- “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Abraham Lincoln
J28- An old Italian proverb says," He that will have none but a perfect brother must behind himself to remain brotherless." However earnestly we may desire that our Christian brother go on toward perfection, we must accept him as he is and learn to get along with him. To treat an imperfect brother impatiently is to advertise our own imperfections.
J27- Of all the calamities that have been visited upon this world and its inhabitants, the willing surrender of the human spirit to materialistic values is the worst! We who were made for higher worlds are accepting the ways of this world as the ultimate. This is a tragedy of staggering proportions. Tozer
J26- The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolutely unblemished purity.
J25-When a man resists sin on human motives only, he will not hold out long. Daniel Wilson
J24- The world says that "seeing is believing," but God wants us to believe in order to see.
J23- Sanctification means nothing less than the Holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
J22- There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized- something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately
J21- If you are too sit with Christ upon His throne, you must go with Him through His Gethsemane.
J20- The problems that vex us here will be fully solved hereafter; eternity will explain this brief life. This is the wondrous music which we wring from the jarring notes of the world’s pain and sin. Morris Joseph
J19-Do not want things to turn out as they seem best to you, but as God pleases. Then you will be free from confusion, and thankful in prayer. The Desert Fathers
J18- We try to substitute praying for obeying; and it simply will not work. Prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience.
J17-Many years ago, a courageous and devoted American broadcast a message to his listeners that served as a harbinger for where the nation was headed societally and culturally. In his broadcast he revealed what he would do if he were “the devil,” to destroy our culture and undermine our collective societal standards and social mores. That man was Paul Harvey Aurandt, known to the nation simply as Paul Harvey, and his message not only has proven to be prophetic, but serves as a warning to Americans today of where our society continues to trend.
“If I Were The Devil": A Warning to America From Paul Harvey
“If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of its real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.
To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…
And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.
If I were the devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.
Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography — soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.
If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.
And what do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich? I would caution against extremes and hard work in Patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on the TV is the way to be. And thus, I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.”
Paul Harvey, good day
J16- Patience is the guardian of faith, the preserver of peace, the cherisher of love, the teacher of humility; Patience governs the flesh, strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride; she bridles the tongue, refrains the hand, tramples upon temptations, endures persecutions, consummates martyrdom: Patience produces unity in the church, loyalty in the State, harmony in families and societies; she comforts the poor and moderates the rich; she makes us humble in prosperity, cheerful in adversity, unmoved by calumny and reproach; she teaches us to forgive those who have injured us, and to be the first in asking forgiveness of those whom we have injured; she delights the faithful, and invites the unbelieving; she adorns the woman, and approves the man; Is loved in a child, praised in a young man, admired in an old man; she is beautiful in either sex and every age. George Horne
J15-It is one thing to see the land of peace from a wooded ridge…and another to tread the road that leads to it. Augustine
J14-“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter (Matthew 7:21, NLT)
Because the human mind as two compartments, the practical and the ideal, people are able to live comfortably with their dreamy, romantic conception of Jesus while paying no attention whatsoever to His words. It is this neat division between the fanciful and the real that enables countless thousands of persons to say "Lord, Lord" in all sincerity while living every moment and flat defiance of His authority.
J13- My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can be revealed to me. Before I can say" I saw the Lord," there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God surgical procedure- His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification. Chambers
J12- Even among those who acknowledge the deity of Christ there is often a failure to recognize His manhood. We are quick to assert that when He walked the Earth He was God with men, but we overlook a truth equally as important, that where He sits now on His mediatorial throne he is man with God. Tozer
J11-“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”
Ruth Graham
J10-“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick along side it.”. D. L. Moody
J9-“When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.” CS Lewis
J8- No matter how overwhelming, any burden God has lovingly placed with His own hands on our shoulders is a blessing. Frederick William Faber
J7- God's grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
J6- It is such a comfort to drop the entanglements and perplexities of life into God's hands and leave them there.
J5- People remark how favored the churches in this country. It does not have to face persecution and rejection. If the truth were known, our freedom from persecution is because we have taken the easy, the popular way.
If we would love righteousness until it became an overpowering passion, if we would renounce everything that is evil, our day of popularity and pleasantness would uickly end. The world would soon turn on us. - Tozer on the Holy Spirit
J4- We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree while they are still green, yet God wants us to wait until they are fully right." The Lord longs to be gracious to you..... Blessed are all who wait for Him" Isaiah 30:18
J3- The ideal Christian is one who knows he is free to do as he will- and wills to be a servant.
J2- Where adequate power is present almost any means will suffice, but where the power is absent not all the means in the world can secure the desired end. The Spirit of God may use a song, a sermon, a good deed, a text or the mystery and majesty of nature, but always the final work will be done by the pressure of the inliving Spirit upon the human heart.
J1-Learning from Bartimaeus’ example of persistence, we should not let people keep us back when we have a goal. When we are certain of what we want to achieve in life, like Bartimaeus, we should push even harder when we face opposition. Some criticism may be worth paying attention to. Hear those and be cautious if necessary. But don’t let baseless critiques keep you back. Use them as fuel to go harder.
J30- “In all of our deeds God looks at the intention, whether we do it for His sake, or for the sake of some other intention.”
Maximus the Confessor
J29- God would have His people learn regular holy habits and follow them right along day by day. He doesn't ask us to become slaves to habits, but He does insist that our holy habits of life should become servants of His grace and Glory
J28- Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are- you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
J27- never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say" why should I be treated like this?" If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust.
J26- Prayer without faith quickly degenerates into an aimless routine or heartless hypocrisy. However, prayer with faith brings the omnipotence of God to the support of our petitions. It is better not to pray until your entire being responds to, and understands, the power of prayer. When genuine prayer is even whispered, Earth and Heaven, and the past and the future say," Amen!" This is the kind of prayer Christ prayed. Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except those things outside the will of God
J25- If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people. - Chambers
J24- It is our understanding that God's patience and His time of grace will endure until the world's cup of iniquity overflows. According to the Scriptures, patience -the ability to wait- is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
J23- If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed.
J22- You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things (Romans 2:1) God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts
J21-“The point of the Bible is not simply education, though there is much to learn. Its point is not simply entertainment, though its stories and songs are inspirational. Its point is not simply ethical improvement, though it has shaped the moral life of civilizations. The point of the Bible is to encounter Jesus.”
J20-“Unity does not mean sameness. It means oneness of purpose.”Priscilla Shirer
J19- Isaiah 28:27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;caraway is beaten out with a rod,and cumin with a stick.
The farmer's wisdo
God's measured app
Gentle coJ18-Our response to things outside our control should reflect our faith in Christ and encourage others. In the face of anxiety-inducing news, seek to reflect the peace of God, which surpasses understanding.
“On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.”
Edward Mote, 1863 (Scriptural basis: Hebrews 13:8, Matthew 7:24, Psalm 18:2)
J17- The answer to our prayer may be coming, although we may not discern its approach. A seed that is underground during the winter, although hidden and seemingly dead and lost, is never the last taken root for a later spring and harvest. (Bickersteth).Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of Faith; they also give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in him even when facing the apparent denial of our request.(Spurgeon).
J16- Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it costs God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult.
J15-“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
Billy Graham
J14-“You should be careful about criticizing other churches. Yes, there are places where your church’s practices or secondary doctrines might differ from those of other churches. . . . But keep in mind that those secondary matters over which your church might disagree with other churches are never as important as the gospel we all share.”Mark Dever
J13- My peace I give you. (John 14:27). Two painters were once asked to paint a picture illustrating his own idea of rest. The first chose for his scene a quiet, lonely lake, nestled among mountains far away. The second, using Swift, broad strokes on his canvas, painted a thundering waterfall. Beneath The falls were a fragile birch tree, bending over the phone. On its branches, nearly wet with the spray from the falls, such a robin on its nest.
The first painting was simply a picture of stagnation and inactivity. The second, however, depicted rest.
Outwardly, Christ endured one of the most troubled lives ever lived. Storms and turmoil, turmoil and storm- wave after wave broke over Him until His worn body was laid in the tomb. Yet His inner life was as smooth as a sea of glass, and a great calm was always there.
Anyone could have gone to Him at any time and found rest. Even as the human bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, He turned to His disciples, offering them a final legacy:" My peace."
Rest is not some holy feeling that comes upon us in church. It is a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God. Henry Drummond
J12- God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we might look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don't dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him- self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased. Put no conditions on your life- let Jesus be everywhere to you and he will take you home with him not only for a day, but for eternity.
J11-“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.” Jerome
J10- We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. What a tremendous claim Paul makes in this verse! He does not say," we know that in some things,"" most things," or even" joyful things" but "all things." This promise spans from the very smallest detail of life to the most important, and from the most humbling of daily tasks to God's greatest works of Grace performed during a crisis Paul states this in the present tense:" God works," he does not say," worked" or" will work." It is a continuing operation.
J9 -
There's a stream of trouble across my path;
It is dark and deep and wide.
Bitter the hour the future hath.
When I cross its swelling tide.
But I smile and sing and say:
"I will hope and trust alway;
I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow,
But I'll borrow none today."
Tomorrow's bridge is a dangerous thing;
I dare not cross it now.
I can see it's timbers sway and swing,
And its arches reel and bow.
O heart, you must hope alway;
You must sing and trust and say:
" I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow,
But I'll borrow none today."
Hannah Whitall Smith
J-8-Jesus is not committed to repairing Adam’s old world. He is committed to raising up his new world. It’s more glorious this way—not simply to heal the illness but to turn the funeral into a homecoming. What Jesus does for Lazarus is a picture of his plans for the world. He is not committed to repairing this fallen world, but to raising it from the dead. Glen Scrivener
J7-"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
C.S. Lewis
J6-Do I believe that almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it. Chambers
J5- it is not within our power to create the wind or to change its direction, but we can raise our sails to catch it when it comes. We do not create electricity, yet we can tap into it with a wire that will conduct it, allowing it to work. We do not control God's Spirit, but we can place ourselves before the Lord out of obedience to what He has called us to do, and we will come under the influence and power of His mighty breath.
J4- We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing- that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God's assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorify Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.
J3-Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. (Psalm 25:12, NLT). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying," I wonder why I shouldn't do this?" God instructs us and what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teaching and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking," now, Lord, what is your will?"
J2- I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this Earth who was bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven. (Whatever Happened to Worship - Tozer)
J1- Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm. You would not even be able to adjust the sails, yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. Be quiet, dear soul- God is the Master. (Spurgeon)
M31- When Victor Hugo was more than 80 years old, he expressed his faith in this beautiful way:" Within my soul I feel the evidence of my future life. I am like a forest that has been cut down more than once, yet the new growth has more life than ever. I am always rising toward the sky, with the sun shining down on my head. The Earth provides abundance sap for me, but the heaven lights my way to worlds unknown. People say the soul is nothing but the effect of our bodily powers at work. If that were true, then why is my soul becoming brighter as my body begins to fail? Winter may be filling my head, but an eternals frame raises from my heart. At the this late hour of my life, I smell the fragrance of lilacs, violets, and roses, just as I did when I was 20. And the closer I come to the immortal symphonies of eternal world inviting me to come. It is awe-inspiring yet profoundly simple."
M30- There are few unqualified things in our lives, but I believe that the reverential fear of God, mixed with love and fascination and astonishment and adoration, is the most enjoyable state in the most purifying emotion the human soul can know. A true fear of God is a beautiful thing, for it is worship, it is love, it is veneration. It is a high moral happiness because God is! A.W. Tozer
M29- We should thank God for giving us our own individual personalities and temperaments and abilities. We should never waste time and energy trying to fashion ourselves after someone else no matter how much we admire that person. God does not expect us to become identical copies of our spiritual heroes.... In only these respects should we all try to be alike: we should love God more than anything else or anyone else, we should hate sin and iniquity even as Jesus hated them, and we should be willing to always to obey God through the leading of His Word and His Spirit. Apart from that, it is perfectly natural for us to be ourselves, that is, different from each other. (Jesus, Author of Our Faith)
M28- “Christ has taken our nature into Heaven to represent us; and has left us on earth, with His nature, to represent Him.”
John Newton
M27-We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ -- it is evidence of the ascended Christ.
M26 -“As we think of the selflessness and heroism of [soldiers], we are reminded of the words of Jesus Christ who said: ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”
Billy Graham
M25- " If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left" (Genesis 13:9). God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you are not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully wave your right and allow God to make your choice for you.
M24- As passengers, it is not for us to interfere with the charts and the compass. We should leave the masterful Captain alone to do His own work. Robert Hall
M23- No one can know the truth except the one who obeys truth. You think you know truth. People memorize the scriptures by the yard, but that is not a guarantee of knowing the truth. Truth is not a text. Truth is in the text, but it takes the text plus the Holy Spirit to bring truth to a human soul...(Faith Beyond Reason)
M22- John 17
M-21Our prayers can go where we cannot… there are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.”
Brother Andrew
M20- Massive weather events and natural disasters remind us that all of the world is not as it should be. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there’s redemption not just for people, but for creation itself.
“For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
Romans 8:20-21
M19 - When you ask in faith and in Christ's name- that is, in oneness with Him and His will-" it will be giving you" (John 15:7). Since God's word cannot fail, whenever we meet these simple conditions, the answer to our prayer has already been granted and is complete in heaven as we pray, even though it may not be revealed on Earth until much later.
M18 - Truth divorced from life is not truth in its biblical sense, but something else and something less. If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live- yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of him
M17- The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God- He returned to his Father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited his omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Oswald Chambers
M16- Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives. C. S. Lewis
M15- instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for delayed obedience is disobedience.
M14- “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” CS Lewis
M13- God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do?
M12- philosophy and science have not always been friendly toward the idea of God, the reason being that they are dedicated to the task of accounting for things and are impatient with anything that refuses to give an account of itself. The philosopher and the scientist will admit that there is much they do not know; but that is quite another thing from admitting that there is something which they can never know..... To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason... this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage him
M11 -
The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.M10 - “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”’ Mr. Rogers
M9- He who does not seek and find God everywhere, and in everything, finds Him nowhere and in nothing. And he who is not at the Lord's service in everything, is at His service in nothing. Mary Tileston
M8- This is a word of caution in the matter of Christian experience- there is no pattern or formula for identical Christian experiences. It is actually a tragic thing for believers to try to be exactly like each other in their Christian faith and life. God has given us each and individual temperament and distinct characteristics. Therefore it is the office of the Holy Spirit to work out as He will the details of Christian experience. They will vary with personality. Tozer
M7- None of us can approach a serious study and consideration of the Eternal nature and person of Jesus Christ without sensing and confessing our complete inadequacy in the face of the divine revelation
M6- God may send you some valuable gifts wrapped in unattractive paper. But do not worry about the wrappings, for you can be sure that inside He has hidden treasures of love, kindness, and wisdom. If we will simply take what He sends and trust Him for the blessings inside, we will learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence, even in times of darkness. A. B. Simpson
M5- Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.
M4- My situation is urgent, and I cannot see how I will ever be delivered. Yet this is not my concern, for He who made the promise we'll find a way to keep it. My part is simply to obey His commands, not to direct His ways. I am his servant, not His advisor. I call upon him and he will deliver me. Charles H Spurgeon
M3-“You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.” Athanasius of Alexandria
M2- Obedience is always followed by blessing. Willoughby
M1- listen to no man who fails to listen to God. No man has any right to offer advice who has not first heard God speak. No man has any right to counsel others who is not ready to hear and follow the counsel of the Lord.
A30- The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. It is absurd to think that the love of God is naturally in our hearts, as a result of our own nature. His love is there only because it "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit..." Romans 5:5
A29- Our natural inclination is to be so precise- trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next- that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Chambers
A28- Holiness depends upon contact with God. Anything that breaks or impairs his vital contact, however slight it may be, interrupts our communion with Christ and brings defeat instead of victory into our lives. Pardington (The Crisis of the Deeper Life)
A27-There are no promises of earthly riches or easy living. In fact, Jesus leads us into a suffering world to engage with it more, not less. While most people spend their lives keeping back, filling up, and clinging on, Jesus teaches us to press it, pour out, and give away. The way of Jesus is not a trouble-free existence—far from it. But Jesus does promise that, in giving ourselves away, we will truly find ourselves
A26- If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of himself
A25- The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate.
A24- “Jesus entered our hell so we could have his heaven. . . . Jesus joins us in our failures so we can join him in his family.”
A23 - God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work." Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might ..."Ecclesiastes 9:10
A22- The secret of the servant's life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
A21- Are there any among Us who have an honest desire to be Christ-like? We should all be aware that everyday is a day of testing. Some come to their own Kadesh Barnea and turn back. Tozer
A20- “The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.” - Kate McGahan
A19 - We must recognize the character of our self-life....We must consent to its destruction....and lay it at the feet of God in willing sacrifice.
A18- nothing is impossible to the man who prays in faith, just as nothing is impossible with God.
A17- Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God—the Creator of the universe, Great Innovator, and Inventor of everything. However you engage with social media, remember to use technology to point others to eternal hope in him.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.”
Colossians 1:15-16
A16 - Christiandom as a whole is just as blinded by the devil as were those poor Jews 2,000 years ago. We are well aware that the majority of churches today are liberal, denying the signs of the times and the power of God; but we can thank God for the minority who are true to the cardinal truths of Christianity and the fundamentals of the faith. Oliver Greene (The Gospel According to Matthew Vol 4)
A15 - you no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating.
A14- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
C.S. Lewis
A13- Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1.
Christian churches are never told to carry on their proclamation of the Savior in a spirit of competition with other Jesus churches. The Holy Spirit tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus not on others who are also running the race.
A12- when a person has the fullness of the Spirit of God, he will experience great conflicts with the Tempter. God allows temptation because it does for us what storms do for oak trees, rooting us deeper, and it does for us what he does for paint on porcelain, giving us long-lasting endurance.
A11- I have enjoyed already enough of God's benefits to supply me with matter for constant praise for at least a thousand years to come.
A9 - God wants us to worship Him. He doesn't need us, for He couldn't be a self-sufficient God and need anything or anybody, but He wants us. When Adam sinned it was not he who cried, "God, where art thou?" It was God who cried, "Adam, where art thou?" Tozer
A8 - “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.”
Desiderius Erasmus
A7 - We represent Christ well when we are not only kind to people we agree with but also to people we believe are wrong, going out of our way to serve and care for them. This is what it means to “love your enemies.”
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:44-45
A6-Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. Spurgeon
A5-Verse to consider when your bank statement sends you spiraling… “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food… yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The LORD my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!”
Habakkuk 3:17-19
A4 When in our hearts we prove to God that we are willing to accept crumbs, he always gives us a loaf. Greene
Matthew 15:21-28
New International Version
A26- You may not be called to die for Christ, but you are called to live for Him. -- David Jeremiah Adam pointed his finger at Eve, and Eve pointed her finger at the serpent; neither one of them accepted the blame. There have been generations and generations of finger pointers ever since. Somehow, someway, we all buy into the delusion that our biggest problems live outside us, not inside us. -- Paul David Tripp If you cannot see past men to God, you will encounter much turmoil. --Fenelon A25-Man punishes the action, but God the intention. Thomas Fuller A24- Jesus identifies “living water” with the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39), though the metaphor carries multiple layers of meaning. When Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that ordinary water satisfies only temporarily, whereas the water he gives “will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” (John 4:10–14) he contrasts physical thirst with spiritual fulfillment that endures forever. The image draws on Old Testament precedent. In Jeremiah, God is described as “the fountain of living waters,” (Jer 2:13) and this term denotes both the life God’s people would receive by remaining faithful and the life of the end-time when God reigns over all the earth. The Greek word for “living” (zōē) means both “living” and “flowing,” drawing on Old Testament imagery that signifies divine vitality, revelation, and wisdom. Scholars recognize that Jesus employs intentional ambiguity here. Since Jesus is presented in John as divine wisdom replacing the Law, his reference to “living water” can denote his revelation; however, there are equally compelling reasons to interpret it as referring to the Spirit, and Jesus likely meant to reference both. The water Jesus gives operates as the life of the Holy Spirit, which wells up as a spring to eternal life—the eschatological life available even now to those who believe. Water symbolizes the spiritual growth and satisfaction that comes from following God. A23-A cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to Church, may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither. C. S. Lewis A22- God is not working to deliver to you your personal definition of happiness. If you are on that agenda page, you're going to be disappointed with God and you're going to wonder if he loves you. God is after something better- your holiness, that is, the final completion of his redemptive work in you. The difficulties you face are not in the way of God's plan, they do not show the failure of God's plan, they are not signs he has turned his back on you. No, those tough moments are a sure sign of the zeal of his redemptive love. A21- 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. (Ephesians 1:3–14, NLT) God's work of rescue and forgiveness didn't begin just before you first believed. It didn't begin just before you were born. It began before the world was born. He placed his grace on you and wrote your story in such a way that, at a certain point in time, you would hear the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe. His love for you is never a result of your character; it is a clear demonstration of his. A20-“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.” Martin Luther A19- He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14, NLT) It's a grace to regret. Grace allows you to face your sin, to own it and not shift the blame. But it is also grace that forgives what has been exposed. Grace forces you to feel the pain of your regrets, but never asks you to pay for them, because the price has already been paid by Jesus. You can look back, but with your burden lifted by forgiving grace. It is good to look back and celebrate the rescue of grace. It is good to mourn this end of the past. It is not good to be paralyzed by them. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it tT) A18- Do not add to the cross in your life by becoming so busy that you have no time to sit quietly before God A17- Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone A16- The devil knows the weakness of every Christian, and and it is in the weak places that he strikes. Had Peter been arrested, bound, and dragged into the judgment hall along with Jesus, he might have stood true; but under the circumstances, standing alone among the enemies of Jesus, he was open to the attack of Satan and he vowed that he had never known Jesus. A15- Why do I need the daily intervention of the body of Christ? The answer is as simple as it is humbling, I need this daily ministry because I am a blind man. As much as I would like to think that I see and know myself well, it just isn't true. Because sin blinds me to me, as long as there is still sin inside me there will be pockets of blindness in my view of me. It's actually more serious than what I have just described, because whereas every physically blind person knows that he is blind, spiritually blind people are blind to their blindness; they actually think that they see, when in fact they don't. A14- God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But he also sees our value. What did Jesus know that enabled Him to do what He did? Here's part of the answer. He knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because He did, people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy. Max Lucado A13-Jesus can get past locked doors; He can get through to hardened hearts. Through His death and resurrection, He was able to bridge the gap that sin had opened between rebellious humanity and a righteous God. We must receive the salvation He freely offers. It must be fresh in our minds each day. A12- if God is your Father, the Son is your Savior, and the Spirit is your indwelling Helper, you have hope no matter what you're facing A11- You must never look down as someone who is not called to walk the way you are. God does what he wants with each one. A10- Although your goal is to love God purely for Himself, and for His sake alone, you have to realize that in this life it is almost impossible to love God with total unselfishness. God has to do that miraculous work in you, and it takes a long time A9- ”Simply trust God. If you come to Him, He will give you all that you need to serve Him. You really need to believe that God keeps His word. The more you trust Him, the more He will be able to give you. If you were lost in an uncrossable desert, bread would fall from heaven for you alone. Fear nothing but to fail God. And do not even fear that so much that you let it upset you. Learn to live with your failures, and bear with the failures of your neighbours. Do you know what would be best for you? Stop trying to appear so mentally and spiritually perfect to God and man. There is a lot of refined selfishness and complacency in not allowing your faults to be revealed. Be simple with God. Live day by day, not in your own strength but by completely surrendering to God.” A8- Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect. A7-God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21, NLT) A6-You have a temper. There is nothing unique about that. Most people have tempers, in varying degrees, of course. God does not ask that you get rid of that temper. But He does say that if you are to be happy, it must be brought under control and rechanneled to proper use. God cannot use a man without a temper as well as one with a controlled temper. Too many professed Christians never get “wrought up” about anything; they never get indignant with injustice, with corruption in high places, or with the godless traffics which barter away the souls and bodies of men. A5-14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (Hebrews 2:14–15, NLT) A4-And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here. Augustine A3-Even if we cannot feel God in our darkest and most dry times, he is still there. And so there is no more basic way to face suffering than this: Like Job, you must seek him, go to him. Pray even if you are dry. Read the Scriptures even if it is an agony. Eventually, you will sense him again—the darkness won’t last forever. The strength you need for suffering comes in the doing of the responsibilities and duties God… A2-If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters. Jaroslav Pelikan A1 - references to the Second Coming outnumber references to jesus's birth by a ratio of 8 to 1 M31- It would be unwise to look back at Christ's death and Resurrection and belief, but not look forward to His second coming with expectation. M30- The message of the Cross is not only that the vilest man or woman may be saved, or the foulest wretch on this earth be presented before the throne of God whiter than snow; but it is that God may have His way through everyone who will let Him. M29-God comes into our lives to take them over, not to make us feel good. Jim Miller M28- The Cross of Jesus stands unique and alone. It is not our cross. Our cross is what is manifested before the world- the fact that we are sanctified to do nothing but the will of God. Our cross becomes our divinely appointed privilege by means of His Cross. (Oswald Chambers) M27- To want to serve God in some conditions, but not others, is to serve Him in your own way. But to put no limits on your submission to God is truly dying to yourself. This is how to worship God! Fenelon M26-Searching for true happiness in the context of a godless life is like looking for a needle in a haystack that doesn’t have any. W. T. Purkiser M25-Psalm 73:25-26 New International Version 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. M24- When your pastimes start to distract you from God, return to Him. The world is critical of people who condemn its ways, while living by its rules. M23- 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” (Mark 16:6–7, NLT) Does He not always go before us today? Does He not prepare the way for us? We need to realize that the way we walk and the events that befall us are arranged by the tender hand of our Lord and Savior who walked life' road ahead of us. 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” )M22- How can a young man stay pure? By reading your Word and following its rules. —Psalm 119:9 (TLB) Many of the difficulties we experience as Christians can be traced to a lack of Bible study and reading. We should not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy our conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart! A little portion well digested is of greater value to the soul than a lengthy portion scanned hurriedly. Do not be discouraged because you cannot understand it all. Go on reading. As you read, the Holy Spirit will enlighten the passages for you. Reading the Bible has a purifying effect upon the heart and mind. Billy Graham M21- 1Peter 2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. Every person who suffers can measure, according to the depths of his own suffering, the sublimity and divinity of our Lord- who, when he suffered," threatened not." Jesus did not retaliate or make threats toward the person or group who caused Him to suffer. Jesus did not suffer because he was a wrongdoer. Oftentimes you and I have. One who suffers is a wrongdoer often responds in rancorous spite and with threats. Suffering, when the heart knows nothing of trust in God nor love for Him, is damning, not saving; it will respond in venomous threats and evil deeds. Sarcasm, cynicism, slander, murder, war, and lawsuits spring from suffering- which springs from wrongdoing at a wrong temper. Suffering is the heritage of the bad, the penitent, and the sons of God. All end at the Cross. The bad thief was crucified, the penitent thief was crucified, and the son of God was crucified. All three represent the widespread history of suffering in our world. M20-This Day's Thought The baptism of the Holy Spirit, or regeneration, occurs when the sinner abandons himself wholly to Christ, in mind, heart, will, thus appropriating Christ’s imputed righteousness, and when, upon that surrender of the sinner to him, Christ imparts to the sinner the life of God, changing him from a carnal to a spiritual creature. J. C. Massee This Day's Verse- I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. Psalm 138:1-3; The English Standard Version This Day's Reprise - A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution. Billy Graham M19-It is hard to say what is worse, to injure others by words or to listen to one who does. Bernard of Clairvaux M18- if you fail to take seriously what the Bible has to say about the world in which you live and you fail to take seriously what the Bible has to say about what still lives inside you, you won't seek the forgiving, rescuing, protecting, transforming, and delivering Grace that is your only hope. That grace alone as the power to protect you from evil outside you and to deliver you from the evil that lives inside you. M17- The closer we draw to Him, the more we can trust in His perfect love. Who can really phantom what perfect love means, because our best attempts at understanding God's flawless love are marred by our sinful nature. Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. No one was there. M16- Teaching is not effective without an example. Begin with acting right, then you can speak later. Be patient. By this I am not saying to indulge people's sins, but rather to not be annoyed when someone makes slow progress. You can easily discourage others by being impatient with them. The more forceful you are, the more you need to learn gentleness and kindness. Tried to understand the needs of people you care for and adapt yourself to their needs. Show them your heart is open to them and let them know through experience, that it is safe for them to open their hearts to you without fear. Never be harsh. Be kind and considerate. Decide slowly, but firmly. Correct yourself before you correct others. (Fenelon; The Seeking Heart) M15- do you want to find peace? Be less infatuated with yourself, and more concerned with pleasing God. Unless you meet God at the altar, He will never alter you. M14-“You will safeguard those who fully lean on you; you will give them continuous peace, because it is in you that they trust.” Isaiah 26:3 M13- God allows disruptive moments in our lives that we almost always question or resist because they are painful, unanticipated, misunderstood, and often not optional. Yet in hindsight, they are always embraced for the good or blessing that results. M12-The fruit of the Tree of Life would provide physical immortality to Adam and Eve. For their own good and the good of all, God would not allow this. To be spiritually dead while remaining physically alive forever could only bring endless suffering M11- Don't be depressed when you fail. Just pick yourself up and start all over again. God has a lot of patience with you- learn to have patience with yourself. M10- We are not saved and filled with the Holy Spirit to do any special work, but simply to let God work through us. M9- We can be led through the guidance of the Bible. This is why we must preach and teach the Word by The Passion of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Your success consists in being completely loyal to God. If you are loyal, then God is responsible for the fruitage. Whether the results be gladness( as with the 3,000 converts when Peter reached preached on the day of Pentecost) or madness (such as Steven faced when he was stoned and martyred), one is equally as successful in God's sight as the other. God have mercy on the soul who dares to stand for Jesus Christ and teach any other gospel, any other obedience, than the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Oswald Chambers M8-And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28, NLT) In difficult times, we are privileged to have the blessed promise penned by the apostle Paul but authored in the heart of God. There is no hesitancy in Paul's assertion. His conviction is firm, born out of a lifetime of suffering and persecution. He declares that we know! We know, deep in our hearts, that bad things do not need to be feared. M7- Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of. Josh Billings M6- It is a real danger, and perilous to their souls, to allow people to sympathize so much with us in our suffering that they have resentful thoughts of God. M5-“Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives us something to do, but we won’t get anywhere.” M4-“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. (John 5:24, NLT) “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed fromLT) 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. M2- Waiting on God doesn't mean sitting around and hoping. Waiting means believing he will do what he's promised and then acting with confidence. Waiting on God is an act of life based on confidence in His presence and promises, not a passive existence haunted by occasional doubt. M1- Fenelon Depend on God The best place to be is where God puts you. Any other place is undesirable because you chose it for yourself. Do not think too much about the future. Worrying about things that haven't happened yet is unhealthy for you. God Himself will help you, day by day. There is no need to store things up for the future. Don't you believe that God will take care of you? A life of faith does two things: Faith helps you see God behind everything that He uses. And faith also keeps you in a place where you are not sure what will happen next. To have faith you cannot always want to know what is happening or going to happen. God wants you to trust Him alone from minute to minute. The strength He gives you in one minute is not intended to carry you through the next. Let God take care of His business. Just be faithful to what God asks of you. To depend on God from moment to moment—especially when all is dark and uncertain—is a true dying to your old self. This process is so slow and inward that it is often hidden from you as well as others. When God takes something away from you, you can be sure He knows how to replace it. There is a story that when Paul was alone in the desert, a raven brought him half a loaf of bread every day. If Paul's faith wavered and he wanted to be sure to have enough, he might have prayed that the raven would bring enough for two days. Do you think the raven would have come back at all? Eat in peace what God gives you. "Tomorrow will take care of itself." (Matthew 6:34) The One who feeds you today will surely feed you tomorrow F28- do not let yourself get inwardly irritated by the small troubles and problems that cross your life. Endure them as you would a headache without making them worse than they are. Meanwhile, go about your inward prayer as usual. When things are difficult and your life, prayer will be harder, love will be less tender, and God's presence will be less easily felt. Just learn to be faithful during these trying times- that is all God asks. It is greater strength that carries a boat against the wind for a quarter of a knot than for the entire amount with the wind helping you. Treat the complaints of yourself nature as some people treat their spoiled appetites. Do not listen to them and act as if you did not feel them F27- You and I will never be at the center of life, because God is. It is never about our will and our way, because it is about His. We will never be the ultimate authority in our lives, because He is. We deny the evidence that is all around us of God's existence and authority. We tell ourselves that we are the only authority that we need. We willingly step over God's wise and protective boundaries. We deny Him as king and set ourselves up as kings of our little worlds. That is why Grace is essential. It requires powerful mercy for me to become a person who surrenders self-appointed authority to the authority of God. It takes grace for me to acknowledge there is a king and that he is not me. It takes God's rescuing hand for me to forsake the purpose of my kingdom and take up the purpose of His. Jesus submitted himself to the father's will even to death so that you and I would have the grace we need to do the same. F26- And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27) What is the Christian's cross? It is not the cross Christ carried. We cannot carry that; on that cross God took away the sin of the world. Nor does the Christian's cross consist of the trials one has to bear if one is a Christian. It is distinctly and emphatically the result of being one of the Lord's disciples. The cross is my sign that I am crucified with Christ, dead to the world. If I am dead, how then can I live as before? How much provision does one make for a corpse in the house? None. One must bury it. When Christ delivers you from sin, you are able to reckon the death of the " man of sin"; you make no provision for him. Have you your cross, my friend? The cross is marked from the place of death, not to it. Conviction for sin is not the cross by which Jesus marks his disciples. The sign of the cross is at your crucified with Christ; you are not your own. Jesus is first! Oswald Chambers 'Devotions For A Deeper Life'; February 26 F25- And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27, NLT) You can survive if you procrastinate about some things. But a decision about surrendering your life to Christ is not one of them. Pride is the devil's dragnet, in which he takes more fish than any other, except procrastination. (Charles H Spurgeon) F24-We must not so much as taste of the devil’s broth, lest at last he bring us to eat of his beef. Thomas Hall F23-
F22- The pity of this modern age goes out to Judas, not to Christ. Pity does not overflow for that lonely Nazarene who came and died to save and sanctify us, but for the one who hated and betrayed Jesus. In the same line of thought, some modern Christians, if they had lived at the time of the Good Samaritan, would have pitied the thieves and left the poor victim still lying on the roadside. Luke 10:30-37 F-21- No Christian should ever fear being separated from the love of God. That is the clear testimony of God Himself written in his inspired Word. Living in a world of imperfect love and falling relationships, we may find it challenging to rest in a love so pure and so permanent. But God's love is indeed pure and permanent. Paul exhausted his creativity trying to think of something that could come between us and God's love- and he failed ( Romans 8:38-39)! "Be anxious for nothing," Paul writes in Philippians 4 :6 - and that includes a permanence of God's love. The true measure of God's love is that he loves without measure F20 -So why start my day reading and reflecting on Job’s deep anguish of heart? Well, in his excellent commentary on Job, Christopher Ash tells us why this would be a wise read: “A true Christian believer may be taken by God through times of deep and dark despair. He or she may be taken through this darkness even though he or she has not fallen into sin or backslidden from faith in Jesus Christ. This is a very important truth.” This is a very important truth indeed. However in my experience many Christians are ignorant of this truth and therefore vulnerable to all manner of temptation to think hard thoughts of God when he takes them through a season of darkness. And one doesn’t have to suffer like Job to experience a season of darkness, although suffering is often accompanied by the darkness we hear in Job’s voice in chapter 3. Actually Job’s darkness and lament can become unexpectedly encouraging, particularly if one hasn’t been informed that a genuine believer may be taken by God through a time of deep and dark despair. If God takes a Christian through a season of darkness there is always a purpose and that darkness provides an opportunity. Tim Keller explains why and how a season of darkness can become a redemptive opportunity: “In the darkness we have a choice that is not really there in better times. We can choose to serve God just because he is God. In the darkest moments we feel we are getting absolutely nothing out of God or out of our relationship to him. But what if then—when it does not seem to be paying or benefitting you at all—you continue to obey, pray to, and seek God, as well as continue to do your duties of love to others? If we do that—we are finally learning to love God for himself, and not for his benefits. And when the darkness lifts or lessens, we will find that our dependence on other things besides God for our happiness has shrunk, and that we have a new strength and contentment in God himself. We’ll find a new fortitude, unflappability, poise, and peace in the face of difficulty.” So this dark chapter in Job can unexpectedly become a means of hope and grace-empowered resolve to “serve God just because he is God.” Job 3 will prepare you for suffering or a season of darkness and it will sustain you in the midst of painful suffering and perplexing darkness. One more thing. Though Job 3 is one of the darkest chapters in all of Scripture its not the darkest place in all of Scripture. It does, however, point to the darkest place. That place would be a hill called Calvary where the one who “exceeded Job in innocence and grief” uniquely suffered in our place for our sin. He endured this darkness so that the last word over our lives won’t be darkness. F19- James 1:12–15, 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. F18-personality, a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people. It includes behavioral characteristics, both inherent and acquired, that distinguish one person from another and that can be observed in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group. When Jesus saves us, He destroys the personality of sin and give us a personality of Holiness. F17- Who are the children of Abraham? All who believe in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham. All the promises of God are for every man and woman who believes. Believing is when people make a willful commitment of their all to God, and stake their all on Him. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus For you are all children of T) you are afll children of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26, NLT, https://ref.ly/logosres/LLS:1.0.171f=BibleNLT.Ga3.26)NLTF16-To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away (Matthew 25:29, NLT) F16- Exercise of any part of the body also increases ability. Physical exercise and activity will produce athletic strength Activity of the mind will sharpen the senses and make one mentally more alert and capable. If God gives light and we refuse to walk in that light, He will not give us more light. If we pass by our God-given opportunities and refuse to take advantage of them to God's glory, He will cease to give us opportunities. It is when we use what God has given us that He increases our gifts, abilities, and opportunities. F15- The present moment is your sole treasure for here is where the will of God is found. Do not insult today by looking for a better tomorrow. F14- God, who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet he seems sometimes to be present, sometimes absent. If we do not know him well, we do not realize that he may be more present to us when he is absent than when he is present. Thomas Merton F13- It is the big delusion, the height of arrogance, the seductive trap, the big, dark danger. It leads nowhere good. It's destiny is death. It sat at the center of the disaster in the garden. It propelled the sad rebellion of Adam and Eve. It tempts us all again and again in situation after situation, location after location, relationship after relationship. We fall into thinking what multitudes of our lost forefathers thought. We buy into this one fateful thought, that perhaps we are smarter than God, that maybe our way is better than His way. Only grace can deliver the deluded from the danger that they are to themselves. F12-I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life: faith is oil. E. Stanley Jones Faith isn't natural for us. Doubt is, fear is, and pride is, but faith in the words and the works of another isn't, and for that there's Grace. Faith isn't something you can work up inside yourself. Faith comes to you as God's gift of Grace: "For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God"(Ephesians. 2: 8). Paul David Tripp F11- We say we believe in the hereafter. We say that this moment in time is not all there is. We say that we are hardwired for forever. But often we live with the compulsion, anxiety, and drivenness of eternity amnesiacs. We get so focused on the opportunities, responsibilities, needs, and desires of the here and now that we lose sight of what is to come. The fact is that you cannot make sense of life unless you look at it from the vantage point of eternity. When you live like there's more to come you live in a radically different way. F10- Pray not for crutches but for wings. Phillips Brooks F9- All who aspire to enter and dwell in the Kingdom of God need to know this: if you put God and his Kingdom first in your life's priorities, everything else necessary in life will be added to you. You will be able to trust that God will provide for you.
J10- God doesn't look at just what we give. He also looks at what we keep. Randy Alcorn J9- A humility that is still talkative does not run very deep. Nothing is as important as lowliness of heart, and detachment from your own opinion and will. J8- Believers may respectfully disagree about dietary guidelines, but we can agree that our bodies are beautifully designed gifts from the Lord. Stewarding this gift well means both taking care of our own bodies and caring for our neighbors’ physical and spiritual needs. From 'The Pour Over' J-7 - “The church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.” J-6 - God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them. A. W. Pink J5-If you obey for a thousand years, you’re no more accepted than when you first believed; your acceptance is based on Christ’s righteousness and not yours. The fact is that sin is a bigger disaster than we think it is and grace is more amazing than we seem to be able to grasp that it is. No one who really understands what Scripture has to say about the comprehensive, every-aspect-of-your-personhood-altering nature of sin would ever think that anyone could muster enough motivation and strength to rise to God’s standard of perfection. The thought that any fallen human being would b e able to perform his or her way into acceptance with God has to be the most insane of delusions. Yet we all tend to think we are more righteous than we are, and when we think this, we have taken the first step to embracing the delusion that maybe we’re not so bad in God’s eyes after all. This is why the reality check of Romans 3:20 is so important. Paul writes, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.” If you prayed every moment of your life, you could not pray enough prayers to earn acceptance with God. If you gave every penny of every dollar that you ever earned in every job you ever had, you could not give enough to deserve acceptance with God. If every word you ever spoke was uttered with the purest of conscientious motivations, you would never be able to speak your way into reconciliation with God. If you gave yourself to an unbroken, moment-by-moment life of ministry, you could never minister enough to achieve God’s favor. Sin is too big. God’s bar is too high. It is beyond the reach of every human being who has ever taken his or her first breath. This is why God, in love, sent his Son: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). You see, there was and is no other way. There is only one portal to acceptance with God–the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness is given over to our account; sinners are welcomed into the presence of a holy God based on the perfect obedience of another. Christ is our hope, Christ is our rest, Christ is our peace. He perfectly fulfilled God’s requirement so that in our sin, weakness, and failure we would never again have to fear God’s anger. This is what grace does! So as the children of grace, we obey as a service of worship, not in a desperate attempt to do what is impossible–independently earn God’s favor. Galatians 3:1-14 J4-“You are a steward of every moment, of every talent, of every gift, of every resource that God has given you. Choose wisely what you do today!” Paul Washer J3- If God has already granted you a place in eternity, then he has also granted you all the grace you need along the way, or you'd never get there. There is Grace for our fickle and easily distracted hearts. There is rescue for our self-absorption and lack of focus. The God of eternity grants you his eternal Grace so you can live with eternity in view. J-2 in moments when you wish you knew what you can't know, there is rest to be found. There is one who knows. He loves you and rules what you don't understand with your good in mind. Paul Tripp J-1 The peace of God is not the Peace of stoicism or passivity. It is the most intense activity. Some people say that they are tired of Life; they mean to say that they are tired of dying. They are tired of the spiritual death that stops activity. May the Lord have a new year in you D30- (Streams in the Desert December 30th ) Peter was in prison awaiting his execution, and the church had no human power or influence that could save him. There was no earthly help available, but help could be obtained by way of heaven. So the church gave themselves to fervent and persistent prayer. And God sent an angel, who “struck Peter on the side and woke him up” (v. 7). Then the angel led him past “the first and second guards and [they] came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself” (v. 10), and Peter was free. Perhaps there is some “iron gate” in your life, blocking your way. Like a caged bird, you have often beaten against the bars, but instead of helping your situation, you have become even more tired and exhausted and caused yourself more heartache. There is a secret for you to learn— the secret of believing prayer. Then when you come to the iron gate, it will open as it did for Peter: “by itself.” How much wasted energy and painful disappointment will be saved once you learn to pray as the early church did in the “upper room” (Acts 1: 13 KJV)! Insurmountable difficulties will disappear and adverse circumstances will turn favorable once you learn to pray—not with your own faith but with the faith of God. Many of your loved ones have been bound by Satan and imprisoned by him for years, and they are simply waiting for the gates to be opened. They will be set free in Christ when you pray fervently and persistently in faith to God. ~C. H. P. Emergencies call for intense prayer. When the person himself becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch. Elijah bowed to the ground on Mount Carmel with his face between his knees, and he became the prayer. Spoken prayer is not always needed, for prayer can often be too intense for words. In the case of Elijah, his entire being was in touch with God and was aligned with Him against the powers of evil. And Elijah’s evil enemies could not withstand this kind of prayer in human form—something that is greatly needed today. ~from The Bent-knee Time “Groans that words cannot express” (Rom. 8: 26) are often prayers that God cannot refuse. ~Charles H. Spurgeon D29- You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter. D-28 Outside of the will of God, there's nothing I want, and in the will of God there's nothing I fear D27- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else." — C.S. Lewis D26- I can only hope that you are wise enough, desirous enough and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that everyday is another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with our heavenly destination in mind. Tozer D25- His Birth and Our New Birth By Oswald Chambers December 25 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” —Matthew 1:23 His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form. His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me. God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ D24- We should have intervals of time when we do nothing, think nothing, and plan nothing but simply lie on the green lap of nature and" rest a while" (Mark 6:31) D23- Happiness is Not the Goal You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.—2 Timothy 2:3-4 That we are born to be happy is scarcely questioned by anyone. No one bothers to prove that fallen men have any moral right to happiness, or that they are in the long run any better off happy. The only question before the house is how to get the most happiness out of life. Almost all popular books and plays assume that personal happiness is the legitimate end of the dramatic human struggle. Now I submit that the whole hectic scramble after happiness is an evil as certainly as is the scramble after money or fame or success.... How far wrong all this is will be discovered easily by the simple act of reading the New Testament through once with meditation. There the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness. God is more concerned with the state of people's hearts than with the state of their feelings. Undoubtedly the will of God brings final happiness to those who obey, but the most important matter is not how happy we are but how holy. The soldier does not seek to be happy in the field; he seeks rather to get the fighting over with, to win the war and get back home to his loved ones. There he may enjoy himself to the full D22- (James 1:2–4, NLT) 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. D21- Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you've had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God's revealed truth is the only faith there is. D20- Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me. Psalm 139:23-24 Make your thoughts a clean sanctuary. To God our thoughts are things. Our thoughts are the decorations inside the sanctuary where we live. If our thoughts are purified by the blood of Christ, we are living in a clean room no matter if we are wearing overalls covered with grease. Your thoughts pretty much decide the mood and weather and climate inside your heart, and God considers your thoughts as part of you. Thoughts of Peace, thoughts of pity, thoughts of mercy, thoughts of kindness, thoughts of charity, thoughts of God, thoughts of the Son of God- these are pure things, good things, and high things. Therefore, if you would cultivate the Spirits acquaintance, you must get a hold of your thoughts and not allow your mind to be a wilderness in which every kind of unclean beast roams and bird flies. You must have a clean heart. And evil thought is the forerunner of the devil; for Satan knows that if a Christian will allow the evil thought he will in time allow the originator of the temptation to come in. (Tozer on the Holy Spirit) D19- As children of God, we can always afford to wait. A saint of God does not have to be concerned about time when he is in the will of God. D18- The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to humankind than the ministry of thrones. D17 - I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to me, but I found something deep within me that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. I did what I could to keep those traits suppressed, but they were still there. Finally I sought Jesus for help, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and removed everything that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. And then He shut the door. George Fox D16- There was also a prophetess, Anna. . . . She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. (Luke 2: 36– 37) There is no doubt that it is by praying that we learn to pray, and that the more we pray, the better our prayers will be. People who pray in spurts are never likely to attain to the kind of prayer described in the Scriptures as “powerful and effective” (James 5: 16). Great power in prayer is within our reach, but we must work to obtain it. We should never even imagine that Abraham could have interceded so successfully for Sodom if he had not communed with God throughout the previous years of his life. Jacob’s entire night of wrestling at Peniel was certainly not the first encounter he had with his God. And we can even look at our Lord’s most beautiful and wonderful prayer in John 17, before His suffering and death, as the fruit of His many nights of devotion, and of His rising often before daybreak to pray. If a person believes he can become powerful in prayer without making a commitment to it, he is living under a great delusion. The prayer of Elijah, which stopped the rain from heaven and later opened heaven’s floodgates, was only one example of a long series of his mighty pleadings with God. Oh, if only we Christians would remember that perseverance in prayer is necessary for it to be effective and victorious! The great intercessors, who are seldom mentioned in connection with the heroes and martyrs of the faith, were nevertheless the greatest benefactors of the church. Yet their becoming the channels of the blessings of mercy to others was only made possible by their abiding at the mercy seat of God. Remember, we must pray to pray, and continue in prayer so our prayers may continue. ~Charles H. Spurgeon D15- God's ministers should speak kind, sympathetic words, but if those ministers are true to the Word of God they will also speak words that are sharper than a two-edged sword. Oliver Greene D14- My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how he will unravel my problems. Tozer D13- I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in dark places... Isaiah 45:3 If you seem to be living in deep darkness because God is working in strange and mysterious ways, to not be afraid. Simply go forward in faith and in love, never doubting Him. He is watching and will bring goodness and beauty from all your pain and tears. J. R. Miller D12-Too many people are ready to carry the stool when the piano needs moving. D11- “Without dark clouds in our lives, we would never know the joy of sunshine. We can become callous and unteachable if we do not learn from pain.” “Sometimes life touches one person with a bouquet and another with a thorn bush. But the first may find a wasp in the flowers, and the second may discover roses among the thorns.” Billy Graham D10- The Lord has many lovers of his crown but few lovers of his cross. Thomas Kempis D9- Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. Chambers D8- The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. D7-Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed. Blaise Pascal D6- “If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.” CS Lewis D5- He went up on the mountainside by himself (Matthew 14:23) One of the blessings of the old time Sabbath day was the calmness, restfulness, and holy peace that came from having a time of quiet solitude away from the world. There is a special strength that is born in solitude. Strength is found not in business and noise but in quietness. For a lake to reflect the heavens on its surface, it must be calm. (Streams in the Desert) D4- A determination to know what cannot be known always works harm to the Christian heart. Human curiosity and pride often combine to drive us to try to understand acts of God which are plainly outside the field of human understanding. A blind confidence which trusts without seeing is far dear to God than any fancy knowledge that can explain everything. D3- It was for me that holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. For me Christ died-- and when He arose on the third day, it was for me. When the promised Holy Spirit came, it was to continue in me the work He had been doing for me since the morning of the creation! So I have every right to claim all of the riches of the Godhead in mercy given. What a blessed thought-- that an infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children! He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of himself as fully as if there were no others. D2- But when he—the Spirit of truth—comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak from himself, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you the things to come (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit is often thought of as a beneficent wind that blows across the Church. If you think of the Holy Spirit as being literally a wind, a breath, then you think of Him as non-personal and non-individual. But the Holy Spirit has will and intelligence and feeling and knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think and hear and speak and desire the same as any person has..... D-1 THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL Chambers "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" James 2:10 The moral law does not consider us as weak human beings at all, it takes no account of our heredity and infirmities, it demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never alters, either for the noblest or for the weakest, it is eternally and abidingly the same. The moral law ordained by God does not make itself weak to the weak, it does not palliate our shortcomings, it remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we do not realize this, it is because we are less than alive; Once we do realize it, life becomes a tragedy. "I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." (Romans 7:9). When we realize this, then the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a man gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Jesus Christ is a farce to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful binding sense of the law, it makes a man hopeless - "sold under sin." (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never get right with God, it is impossible. There is only one way in which I can get right with God, and that is by the Death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the lurking idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience - which of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection! We only realize the power of the moral law when it comes with an "if." God never coerces us. In one mood we wish He would make us do the right thing, and in another mood we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God's will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. When we choose deliberately to obey Him, then He will reach to the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all His almighty power. N30- The most relieving, enriching, wholesome, wondrous things we can know is that sudden sense of the lifting of the burden as the conscience grows free--- God giving freedom to that conscious which has been evil, diseased and protesting. N29-For many years, I was a man riding an ox, looking for an ox to ride on. Meister Eckhart N28- We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into his kingdom through the door of destitution. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was" beyond" us and places it "within" us. And immediately, once "the beyond" has come "within," it rises up to the "the above" and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns. Chambers N27-And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:15 N26-“These bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come… cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.” N25- if the Spirit takes charge of your life He will expect unquestioning obedience in everything. He will not tolerate in you the self- sins even though they are permitted and excused by most Christians. By the self sins I mean self-love, self-pity, self- – seeking, self-confidence, self- righteousness, self-aggrandizement, self-defense. Self-denial consists in the voluntary renunciation of everything which is inconsistent with the glory of God and the highest good of our fellow men. Gardiner Spring N24- The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion. Tozer N23-Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Augustine N22- Happiness is nothing but that inward sweet delight, which will arise from the harmonious agreement between our wills and the will of God. Mary Tileston N21-When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind. C. S. Lewis N20- It is well to remember that a new heart is one thing, and a pure heart is another. They are not synonymous. Any man can have a new heart which loves God and yet not possess a pure heart from which self, man- fear, love of praise and other like things are banished. Tozer N19- Once the seeking heart finds God in personal experience there will be no further problem about loving Him. To know Him is to love Him and to know Him better is to love Him more. N18-Real glory springs from the silent conquest of ourselves. Joseph P. Thompson N17-“If we grow wiser and more learned in our intercourse with wise and learned persons, how much more will we gain in our inner life by communicating with God in prayer.” Huldrych Zwingli N16- If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on; and nobody would know the difference. – AW Tozer – N14- My little children, let us not love and word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.(1 John 3:18) The blight of the Pharisees heart in olden times was doctrine without love. With the teaching of the Pharisees Christ had little quarrel, but with the pharisaic spirit He carried on unceasing warfare to the end. It was religion that put Christ on the cross, religion without the indwelling spirit. N13- There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find to those who knock, it is opened. C.S. Lewis N12- Our hope is never contingent on a political outcome; it’s much more secure than that. Regardless of whether things get worse or better during your lifetime, everything eventually ends well for followers of Christ. “The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.” Job 12:10 N11-God doesn’t call people who are qualified. He calls people who are willing, and then He qualifies them. Richard Parker N10 - Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping .....(Romans 4:18) N9-When we say," what a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!" then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him ( John 12:32). Oswald Chambers N8- Regeneration is like building a house and having the work done well. Sanctification is having the owner come and dwell in the house and fill it with gladness and life and beauty. A. B. Simpson N7- Made as we were in the image of God we scarcely find it strange to take again our God as our All. God was our original habitat and our hearts cannot but feel at home when they enter again that ancient and beautiful abode. N6- The regenerate man often has a more difficult time of it than the unregenerate, for he is not one man but two. He feels within him a power that tends toward holiness and God, while at the same time he is still a child of Adam's flesh and the son of the red clay. This moral dualism is to him a source of distress and struggle wholly unknown to the once born man. Of course the classic critique upon this is Paul's testimony in the 7th chapter of the Roman Epistle. N5- More spiritual progress can be made in one short moment of speechless silence in the awesome presence of God that in years of mere study... The exposure may be brief, but the results are permanent. N4-The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer, with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Edmund P. Clowney N3- In everything that belongs to the excellence of real religion, the true believer is in a state of progression. He seeks and strives, he wrestles and fights. He is ever aiming at the prize..... His obedience, though not perfect, is habitual. Gardiner Spring N2- Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12: 5. Prayer is the link that connects us with God it is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need. Think of the significance of this story of the first-century church: Everything seemed to be coming against it, for Peter was in prison,the Jews appeared triumphant,Herod still reigned supreme, and the arena of martyrdom was eagerly awaiting the next morning so it could drink the apostle’s blood. “But the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” So what was the outcome? The prison was miraculously opened, the apostle freed,the Jews bewildered,and as a display of God’s punishment, wicked King Herod “was eaten by worms and died.”And rolling on to even greater victory, “the word of God continued to increase and spread” (Act 12:23–24). Do we truly know the power of our supernatural weapon of prayer? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that not only asks but also commands? God baptizes us with holy boldness and divine confidence, for He is looking not for great people but for people who will dare to prove the great- ness of their God! “But the church was earnestly praying.” A. B. Simpson
N1- It is the Spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of the world will not care much what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us-- the presence of God's Spirit in our hearts... Satan will never cease to make war on the man child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks O31- Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him -- a faith that says," I will remain true to God's character whatever he may do." The highest and greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is-- "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him". ( Job 13:15) O30- to be entirely safe from the devil snares the man of God must be completely obedient to the Word of the Lord The driver on the highway is safe, not when he reads the signs but when he obeys them. O29- a quiet spirit is of priceless value when performing outward activities. Nothing so greatly hinders the work of God's unseen spiritual forces, upon which our success in everything truly depends, as the spirit of unrest and anxiety O28- Life as we know it in our painfully intricate civilization can be deadly unless we learn to distinguish the things that matter from those that do not. It is never the major things that destroy us, but invariably the multitude of trifling things which are mistakenly thought to be a major importance. There are so many that, unless we get out from under them, there will crush us body and soul... O27- We need to learn that truth consists not in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. (Tozer - The Pursuit of Man) O26- We should be aware of the comfortable habit of assuming that idolatry is found only in heathen lands and that civilized people are free from it. This is an error and results from pride and superficial thinking. The truth is that idolatry is found wherever mankind is found. Whoever entertains an unworthy conception of God is throwing his or her heart wide open to the sin of idolatry. Let that person go on to personalize his or her low mental image of the Deity and pray to it, and he or she has become an idolater- and this is regardless of his or her nominal profession of Christianity. Chambers O25-You didn’t choose me. I chose you (John 15:16, NLT) . Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as he chooses. O24- Our life is very mysterious. In fact, it would be totally unexplainable unless we believed that God was preparing us for events and ministries that lie unseen beyond the veil of the eternal world- where spirits like tempered steel will be required for special service O23-The London Times asked various writers for essays on the topic “What’s Wrong with the World?” G. K. Chesterton replied (in perhaps the shortest essay in history), Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton O22- some Christians think they must be on the mountaintop of extraordinary joy and revelation, but this is not God's way. Those high spiritual times and wonderful communication with the unseen world are not promised to us, but a daily life of communion with Him is. And it is enough for us, for He will give us those times of exceptional revelation if it is the right thing for us O21- Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God's nature. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God- but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people- and this is not learned in 5 minutes. Chambers O20- When a person is convicted of sin and feels the need for repentance yet fails to repent, that person becomes even more sinful. The heart becomes harder and the mind increases in dullness. Oliver Greene O19-“What worries you, masters you.” John Locke O18-“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” – Francis Chan O17-Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground. Dante Alighieri O16-Rabbi Eleazar said: “Repent one day before your death.” Said his pupils: “Does man know when he would die?” He answered: “Then he surely must repent today, lest he die tomorrow.” Eliezer ben Hyrcanus O15-Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters. Thomas Chalmers O14- The hammer is a useful tool, but the nail, if it had feeling and intelligence, could present another side of the story. For the nail knows the hammer only as an opponent, are brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, to beat it down out of sight and clinch it into place. That is the nails view of the hammer, and it is accurate except for one thing: the nail forgets that both it and the hammer are servants of the same workman. Let the nail but remember that the hammer is held by the workman and all resentment toward it will disappear. The carpenter decides whose head shall be beaten next and what Hammer shall be used in the beating. That is his sovereign right. When the nail has surrendered to the will of the workman and has gotten a little glimpse of his benign plans for its future it will yield to the hammer without complaint. O13- Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own Spirit he started to write the wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for 40 years. In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God. Chambers O12- If knowing answers to life's questions is absolutely necessary to you, then forget the journey. You will never make it. For this is a journey of unknowables -- of unanswered questions, enigmas, incomprehensibles, and most of all, things unfair. Jeanne Guyon O11-“Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives.”. Nancy Leigh Demoss O10- Said the Robin to the Sparrow: " I should really like to know Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so." Said the Sparrow to the Robin: "Friend, I think that it must be. That they have no Heavenly Father. Such as cares for you and me." Elizabeth Cheney O9-“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick along side it.” D. L. Moody O8- The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here. O7- Sin is a fundamental relationship- it is not wrong doing, but it is wrong being- it is deliberate and determined independence from God. The first thing Jesus Christ confronted in people was the heredity of sin, and it is because we have ignored this in our presentation of the Gospel that the message of the Gospel has lost its sting and explosive power. The revealed truth of the Bible is not that Jesus Christ took on himself our fleshly sins, but that He took on Himself the heredity of sin that no man can even touch O6-God has a peace plan. It doesn’t need Israel’s or Hamas’s approval. It doesn’t merely cover Gaza or even the Middle East. It can’t be undone by rebels, and it won’t unravel decades later. The Lord’s peace has been a done deal from the beginning of time, sealed with the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s global, it’s unending, and it’s open to all who would lay down their weapons. “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid… Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when he lifts his voice. The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” Psalm 46:1-2, 6-7 O5- condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let him do so O4- no human being knows human beings as God does O3- The best repentance for a wrong act is not to do it again O2- Are you allowing Satan to magnify the memories of your spiritual failures? He will always keep them before you unless you take your stand and move up in the faith. The devil will whisper," you didn't get very far along toward their deeper life, did you?" He will say," you made a big to do about wanting to be filled with the Spirit and you're really flopped, didn't you?" He will taunt you with the fact that you may have stumbled in the faith- and perhaps more than once! The devil wants you to live in a state of discourage chagrin and remorse. Remember, the Bible does not teach that if a man falls down, he can never rise again. The fact that he falls is not the most important thing- but rather that he is forgiven and allows God to lift him up! Tozer O1- We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of Life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. S30- No man is worthy to succeed until he is willing to fail. No man is morally worthy of success in religious activities until he is willing that the honor of succeeding should go to another if God so wills. Tozer S29-“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.” S28 -“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” – Francis Chan S27-“My job is to take care of the possible and to trust God with the impossible.” Ruth Graham S26- , "But when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" Matthew 6:6 Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us- that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it is given...... S25- There can be no surer way to success than by disclaiming all confidence in ourselves, and referring the events of things to God with an implicit affiance. Francis Atterbury S24- Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies a stronghold of obstinacy, and you say," I will not give up my right to myself"- the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. S23- prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts no offering from His creatures that is not accompanied by obedience. S22- True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie. It is enough that God said it, and if the statement should contradict every one of the five senses in all of the conclusions of logic as well, still the believer continues to believe." Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4 ), is the language of true faith. Heaven approved such faith because it rises above mere proofs and rests in the bosom of God S21- "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing" CS Lewis S20 -Death for the Christian is a turning off the light because the dawn has come.Leon Jaworski S19-Verse to consider when you’re evaluating how you use social media… “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 S18- Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things- he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil. S17- temptation is not something we can escape; in fact it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else- what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations- he sustains us in the midst of them. (Hebrews 2:18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested) Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested (LT)S16-Think how completely all the griefs of this mortal life will be compensated by one age, for instance, of the felicities beyond the grave, and then think that one age multiplied ten thousand times is not so much to eternity as one grain of sand is to the whole material universe. Think what a state it will be to be growing happier and happier still as ages pass away, and yet leave something still happier to come! John Foster S15- 3,000 persons were converted at Pentecost, but each one met his sin and his Savior alone. The spiritual birth, like the natural one, is for each one a unique, separate experience shared by in by no one. And so with that uprush of resurgent life we call revival. It can come to the individual only. S14- I know that You are risen, because You live in me today! S13-Exodus 34:2 "Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain". The "morning" is the time I have to meet with the Lord. "Morning"- the very word itself is like a cluster of luscious grapes to crush into sacred wine for me to drink. In the morning! This is when God wants me at my best in strength and hope so that I may begin my daily climb, not in weakness but in strength. Last night I buried yesterday's fatigue, and this morning I took on a new supply of energy. Blessed is the day when the morning is sanctified- set apart to God! Successful is a day when the first victory is one in prayer! Holy is the day when the dawn finds me on the mountaintop with God! ( L.B. Cowman; Streams in the Desert - Sept 14) S12- Apart from God nothing matters S11- The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings. S10- We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us- it simply reveals what we are made of already. S9- The whole Bible and all past history unite to teach that battles are always won before the armies take the field. The critical moment for any army is not the day it engages the foe in actual combat; it is the day before or the month before or the year before..... Preparation is vital.... We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose. S8-Direct contact with the power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely wonderful, but do not forget that “ankle deep” is God’s minimum! It is a tragedy that so many Christians seem to park in this position. It is sound advice never to follow a parked vehicle because you will go nowhere. S7- Matthew 20:32-" And Jesus stood still, and called them and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?" "Jesus stood still....." Jesus always has time to hear the cry of a needy soul. The voice of sincere prayer from the poor, lost souls will cause the Son of God to "standstill" and hear the plea of that prayer. He is equally able to supply the need of his born-again ones." "..... and called them, and said, what will ye that I shall do unto you?" This meant that whatever the need, Jesus was able to supply that need. They should make their requests known- although, because He was God in the flesh, Jesus already knew what that request would be. (Greene - The Gospel According to Matthew) S6-He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38 A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe…” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others. A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source. Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others. (Chambers; My Utmost For His Highest - Sept. 6). S5-They were services like no others, these times in Barracks 28, within our concentration camp. A single meeting night might include a recital of the Magnificat in Latin by a group of Roman Catholics, a whispered hymn by some Lutherans, and a sotto-voce chant by Eastern Orthodox women. With each moment the crowd around us would swell, packing the nearby platforms, hanging over the edges, until the high structures groaned and swayed. At last either Betsie or I would open the Bible. Because only the Hollanders could understand the Dutch text we would translate aloud in German. And then we would hear the life-giving words passed back along the aisles in French, Polish, Russian, Czech, back into Dutch. They were little previews of heaven, these evenings beneath the light bulb. Corrie ten Boom S4- Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival. C.S. Lewis S3- We have the power within us to reject God's instruction- but where else shall we go? If we turn away from the authority of God's Word, to whose authority do we yield? S2-The secret of perpetual revival is the constant offering of thanksgiving in every circumstance. S1- It is the spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of the world will not much care what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us- the presence of God's spirit in our hearts. They may not know the cause of that strange feeling of antagonism which rises within them, but it will be nonetheless real and dangerous. Satan will never cease to make war on the man- child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks. Immediately after a person has received the witness of the spirit, the adversary charges down upon the soul. It is well for all such assaulted individuals to remember that just as soon as the son of God received the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the banks of the Jordan, that He was immediately afterwards driven into the wilderness and there tempted 40 days by the devil. He conquered by faith and in the use of the Word of God. We can do the same. A31- A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing. A30- to oppose Faith to works is to make the fruit the enemy to the tree A29-“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis A28-Most Christians understand that salvation comes by faith, apart from feelings. But they think that the Spirit-controlled life requires some type of mystical experience—a feeling, a surge of power, or being overcome by waves of love. Those experiences are usually not around when you need them. What you need is spiritual power, independent of feelings, experiences, or circumstances. That comes when we give each day to God and anticipate his blessing. Erwin W. Lutzer A27- The only true Christian is the practicing Christian. A26- that Faith which passively accepts all the pleasant texts of the Scriptures while it overlooks or rejects the stern warnings and commandments of those same Scriptures is not the faith of which Christ and His apostles spoke A25- True Faith requires that we believe everything God has said about Himself, but also that we believe everything He has said about us. Until we believe that we are as bad as God says we are, we can never believe that He will do for us what he says he will do. Right here is where popular religion breaks down. It never quite accepts the severity of God or the depravity of man. It stresses the goodness of God and mans' misfortune. Sin is a pardonable frailty and God is not tomuch concerned about it. He merely wants us to trust in His goodness. To believe this is to ground faith upon falsehood and build our eternal hope upon sand. No man has any right to pick and choose among revealed truths. God has spoken.... A24- The natural man is forever crying out," what do I get out of this?". But when we become spiritual, when the Spirit of God abides in our bosom, then the desire of the heart should be," what can I do to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ who has done so much for me?" We do not then think of what we will receive, we praise God for what we have already received- the forgiveness of sins. A23- Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idol and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on the willful, deliberate prayer. Jesus says to "shut your door ". Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. A22 -God's promises and His providence do not lift us from the world of common sense in everyday trials, for it is through these very things that our faith is perfected. And it is in this world that God loves to interweave the golden threads of His love with the twists and turns of our common, everyday experiences. (Hard Places in the Way of Faith) A21-Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us. A. J. Cronin A20-It would seem, after having been a Christian for almost 80 years, that I would no longer do ugly things that need forgiving. Yet I am constantly doing things to others that cause me to have to go back and ask their forgiveness. Sometimes these are things I actually do—other times they are simply attitudes I let creep in which break the circle of God’s perfect love. Corrie ten Boom A19-Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve…You don’t have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Martin Luther King, Jr A18- It is well to remember that a new heart is one thing, and a pure heart is another. They are not synonymous. Any man can have a new heart which loves God and yet not possess a pure heart from which self, man- fear, love of praise and other like things are banished. B. Carrandine A17-“We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them.” A16-Proverbs 1:17 17 How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it We have such a short time to prepare for such a long time. Failing to get ready in time for eternity, and failing to get ready now for the great then that lies out yonder, is a trapping plain sight A15- Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations…of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Wilferd Arlan Peterson A14- Isn't it glorious to know that no matter how unjust something may be, even when it seems to have come from Satan himself, by the time it reaches us it is God's will for us and will ultimately work to our good? A13- It cannot but be a major tragedy in the life of any man or woman to live in a church from childhood to old age and know nothing more real than some synthetic god compounded of theology and logic, but having no eyes to see, no ears to hear- and no heart to love! Tozer A12-To hold the same views at forty as we held at twenty is to have been stupefied for a score of years, and take rank, not as a prophet, but as an unteachable brat, well birched and none the wiser. Robert Louis Stevenson A11-“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement.” John O’Donohue A10- God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be. A9- When the Holy Spirit ceases to be incidental and again becomes fundamental, the power of the Spirit will be asserted once more among the people called Christians. A8- Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives. A7-Fear. His modus operandi is to manipulate you with the mysterious, to taunt you with the unknown. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow—his arsenal is vast. His goal? To create cowardly, joyless souls. He doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. He figures if he can rattle you enough, you will take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands. Max Lucado A6- God's purpose in all His dealings with us is to make us grow into something higher. The greatest calamity that can come to a soul is to be satisfied with its present condition. A.B. Simpson A5- Never change God's facts into hope or prayers but simply accept them as realities, and you will find them to be powerful as you believe them. H.W. Webb Peploe A4- God's friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all- we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God's compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack. Chambers A3- never pray for an easier life- pray to be a stronger person A2-“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Augustine A1- The truest and most acceptable repentance is to reverse the acts and attitudes of which we repent.... J31- The event is certain- the timing is uncertain. When the mighty Angel of Revelation shouts a signal and raises his hand having a word, it'll be eternally too late for unrepentant centers. J30- What shall I do? I expect to pass through this world but once. Therefore any good work, kindness, or service I can render to any person or animal, let me do it now. Let me not neglect or delay to do it, for I will not pass this way again. (An old Quaker saying) J29- “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Abraham Lincoln J28- An old Italian proverb says," He that will have none but a perfect brother must behind himself to remain brotherless." However earnestly we may desire that our Christian brother go on toward perfection, we must accept him as he is and learn to get along with him. To treat an imperfect brother impatiently is to advertise our own imperfections. J27- Of all the calamities that have been visited upon this world and its inhabitants, the willing surrender of the human spirit to materialistic values is the worst! We who were made for higher worlds are accepting the ways of this world as the ultimate. This is a tragedy of staggering proportions. Tozer J26- The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolutely unblemished purity. J25-When a man resists sin on human motives only, he will not hold out long. Daniel Wilson J24- The world says that "seeing is believing," but God wants us to believe in order to see. J23- Sanctification means nothing less than the Holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life. J22- There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized- something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately J21- If you are too sit with Christ upon His throne, you must go with Him through His Gethsemane. J20- The problems that vex us here will be fully solved hereafter; eternity will explain this brief life. This is the wondrous music which we wring from the jarring notes of the world’s pain and sin. Morris Joseph J19-Do not want things to turn out as they seem best to you, but as God pleases. Then you will be free from confusion, and thankful in prayer. The Desert Fathers J18- We try to substitute praying for obeying; and it simply will not work. Prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. J17-Many years ago, a courageous and devoted American broadcast a message to his listeners that served as a harbinger for where the nation was headed societally and culturally. In his broadcast he revealed what he would do if he were “the devil,” to destroy our culture and undermine our collective societal standards and social mores. That man was Paul Harvey Aurandt, known to the nation simply as Paul Harvey, and his message not only has proven to be prophetic, but serves as a warning to Americans today of where our society continues to trend. “If I Were The Devil": A Warning to America From Paul Harvey “If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of its real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please. To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington… And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography — soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle. If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich? I would caution against extremes and hard work in Patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on the TV is the way to be. And thus, I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.” Paul Harvey, good day J16- Patience is the guardian of faith, the preserver of peace, the cherisher of love, the teacher of humility; Patience governs the flesh, strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride; she bridles the tongue, refrains the hand, tramples upon temptations, endures persecutions, consummates martyrdom: Patience produces unity in the church, loyalty in the State, harmony in families and societies; she comforts the poor and moderates the rich; she makes us humble in prosperity, cheerful in adversity, unmoved by calumny and reproach; she teaches us to forgive those who have injured us, and to be the first in asking forgiveness of those whom we have injured; she delights the faithful, and invites the unbelieving; she adorns the woman, and approves the man; Is loved in a child, praised in a young man, admired in an old man; she is beautiful in either sex and every age. George Horne J15-It is one thing to see the land of peace from a wooded ridge…and another to tread the road that leads to it. Augustine J14-“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter (Matthew 7:21, NLT) Because the human mind as two compartments, the practical and the ideal, people are able to live comfortably with their dreamy, romantic conception of Jesus while paying no attention whatsoever to His words. It is this neat division between the fanciful and the real that enables countless thousands of persons to say "Lord, Lord" in all sincerity while living every moment and flat defiance of His authority. J13- My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can be revealed to me. Before I can say" I saw the Lord," there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God surgical procedure- His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification. Chambers J12- Even among those who acknowledge the deity of Christ there is often a failure to recognize His manhood. We are quick to assert that when He walked the Earth He was God with men, but we overlook a truth equally as important, that where He sits now on His mediatorial throne he is man with God. Tozer J11-“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” J10-“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick along side it.”. D. L. Moody J9-“When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.” CS Lewis J8- No matter how overwhelming, any burden God has lovingly placed with His own hands on our shoulders is a blessing. Frederick William Faber J7- God's grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence. J6- It is such a comfort to drop the entanglements and perplexities of life into God's hands and leave them there. J5- People remark how favored the churches in this country. It does not have to face persecution and rejection. If the truth were known, our freedom from persecution is because we have taken the easy, the popular way. If we would love righteousness until it became an overpowering passion, if we would renounce everything that is evil, our day of popularity and pleasantness would uickly end. The world would soon turn on us. - Tozer on the Holy Spirit J4- We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree while they are still green, yet God wants us to wait until they are fully right." The Lord longs to be gracious to you..... Blessed are all who wait for Him" Isaiah 30:18 J3- The ideal Christian is one who knows he is free to do as he will- and wills to be a servant. J2- Where adequate power is present almost any means will suffice, but where the power is absent not all the means in the world can secure the desired end. The Spirit of God may use a song, a sermon, a good deed, a text or the mystery and majesty of nature, but always the final work will be done by the pressure of the inliving Spirit upon the human heart. J1-Learning from Bartimaeus’ example of persistence, we should not let people keep us back when we have a goal. When we are certain of what we want to achieve in life, like Bartimaeus, we should push even harder when we face opposition. Some criticism may be worth paying attention to. Hear those and be cautious if necessary. But don’t let baseless critiques keep you back. Use them as fuel to go harder. J30- “In all of our deeds God looks at the intention, whether we do it for His sake, or for the sake of some other intention.” J29- God would have His people learn regular holy habits and follow them right along day by day. He doesn't ask us to become slaves to habits, but He does insist that our holy habits of life should become servants of His grace and Glory J28- Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are- you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace. J27- never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say" why should I be treated like this?" If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. J26- Prayer without faith quickly degenerates into an aimless routine or heartless hypocrisy. However, prayer with faith brings the omnipotence of God to the support of our petitions. It is better not to pray until your entire being responds to, and understands, the power of prayer. When genuine prayer is even whispered, Earth and Heaven, and the past and the future say," Amen!" This is the kind of prayer Christ prayed. Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except those things outside the will of God J25- If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people. - Chambers J24- It is our understanding that God's patience and His time of grace will endure until the world's cup of iniquity overflows. According to the Scriptures, patience -the ability to wait- is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. J23- If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. J22- You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things (Romans 2:1) God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts J21-“The point of the Bible is not simply education, though there is much to learn. Its point is not simply entertainment, though its stories and songs are inspirational. Its point is not simply ethical improvement, though it has shaped the moral life of civilizations. The point of the Bible is to encounter Jesus.” J20-“Unity does not mean sameness. It means oneness of purpose.”Priscilla Shirer J19- Isaiah 28:27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;caraway is beaten out with a rod,and cumin with a stick. The farmer's wisdo God's measured app Gentle co J18-Our response to things outside our control should reflect our faith in Christ and encourage others. In the face of anxiety-inducing news, seek to reflect the peace of God, which surpasses understanding. “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.” Edward Mote, 1863 (Scriptural basis: Hebrews 13:8, Matthew 7:24, Psalm 18:2) J17- The answer to our prayer may be coming, although we may not discern its approach. A seed that is underground during the winter, although hidden and seemingly dead and lost, is never the last taken root for a later spring and harvest. (Bickersteth).Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of Faith; they also give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in him even when facing the apparent denial of our request.(Spurgeon). J16- Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it costs God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. J15-“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” Billy Graham J14-“You should be careful about criticizing other churches. Yes, there are places where your church’s practices or secondary doctrines might differ from those of other churches. . . . But keep in mind that those secondary matters over which your church might disagree with other churches are never as important as the gospel we all share.”Mark Dever J13- My peace I give you. (John 14:27). Two painters were once asked to paint a picture illustrating his own idea of rest. The first chose for his scene a quiet, lonely lake, nestled among mountains far away. The second, using Swift, broad strokes on his canvas, painted a thundering waterfall. Beneath The falls were a fragile birch tree, bending over the phone. On its branches, nearly wet with the spray from the falls, such a robin on its nest. The first painting was simply a picture of stagnation and inactivity. The second, however, depicted rest. Outwardly, Christ endured one of the most troubled lives ever lived. Storms and turmoil, turmoil and storm- wave after wave broke over Him until His worn body was laid in the tomb. Yet His inner life was as smooth as a sea of glass, and a great calm was always there. Anyone could have gone to Him at any time and found rest. Even as the human bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, He turned to His disciples, offering them a final legacy:" My peace." Rest is not some holy feeling that comes upon us in church. It is a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God. Henry Drummond J12- God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we might look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don't dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him- self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased. Put no conditions on your life- let Jesus be everywhere to you and he will take you home with him not only for a day, but for eternity. J11-“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.” Jerome J10- We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. What a tremendous claim Paul makes in this verse! He does not say," we know that in some things,"" most things," or even" joyful things" but "all things." This promise spans from the very smallest detail of life to the most important, and from the most humbling of daily tasks to God's greatest works of Grace performed during a crisis Paul states this in the present tense:" God works," he does not say," worked" or" will work." It is a continuing operation. J9 - There's a stream of trouble across my path; It is dark and deep and wide. Bitter the hour the future hath. When I cross its swelling tide. But I smile and sing and say: "I will hope and trust alway; I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow, But I'll borrow none today." Tomorrow's bridge is a dangerous thing; I dare not cross it now. I can see it's timbers sway and swing, And its arches reel and bow. O heart, you must hope alway; You must sing and trust and say: " I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow, But I'll borrow none today." Hannah Whitall Smith
J-8-Jesus is not committed to repairing Adam’s old world. He is committed to raising up his new world. It’s more glorious this way—not simply to heal the illness but to turn the funeral into a homecoming. What Jesus does for Lazarus is a picture of his plans for the world. He is not committed to repairing this fallen world, but to raising it from the dead. Glen Scrivener J7-"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” C.S. Lewis J6-Do I believe that almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it. Chambers J5- it is not within our power to create the wind or to change its direction, but we can raise our sails to catch it when it comes. We do not create electricity, yet we can tap into it with a wire that will conduct it, allowing it to work. We do not control God's Spirit, but we can place ourselves before the Lord out of obedience to what He has called us to do, and we will come under the influence and power of His mighty breath. J4- We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing- that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God's assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorify Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life. J3-Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. (Psalm 25:12, NLT). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying," I wonder why I shouldn't do this?" God instructs us and what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teaching and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking," now, Lord, what is your will?" J2- I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this Earth who was bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven. (Whatever Happened to Worship - Tozer) J1- Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm. You would not even be able to adjust the sails, yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. Be quiet, dear soul- God is the Master. (Spurgeon) M31- When Victor Hugo was more than 80 years old, he expressed his faith in this beautiful way:" Within my soul I feel the evidence of my future life. I am like a forest that has been cut down more than once, yet the new growth has more life than ever. I am always rising toward the sky, with the sun shining down on my head. The Earth provides abundance sap for me, but the heaven lights my way to worlds unknown. People say the soul is nothing but the effect of our bodily powers at work. If that were true, then why is my soul becoming brighter as my body begins to fail? Winter may be filling my head, but an eternals frame raises from my heart. At the this late hour of my life, I smell the fragrance of lilacs, violets, and roses, just as I did when I was 20. And the closer I come to the immortal symphonies of eternal world inviting me to come. It is awe-inspiring yet profoundly simple." M30- There are few unqualified things in our lives, but I believe that the reverential fear of God, mixed with love and fascination and astonishment and adoration, is the most enjoyable state in the most purifying emotion the human soul can know. A true fear of God is a beautiful thing, for it is worship, it is love, it is veneration. It is a high moral happiness because God is! A.W. Tozer M29- We should thank God for giving us our own individual personalities and temperaments and abilities. We should never waste time and energy trying to fashion ourselves after someone else no matter how much we admire that person. God does not expect us to become identical copies of our spiritual heroes.... In only these respects should we all try to be alike: we should love God more than anything else or anyone else, we should hate sin and iniquity even as Jesus hated them, and we should be willing to always to obey God through the leading of His Word and His Spirit. Apart from that, it is perfectly natural for us to be ourselves, that is, different from each other. (Jesus, Author of Our Faith) M28- “Christ has taken our nature into Heaven to represent us; and has left us on earth, with His nature, to represent Him.” John Newton M27-We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ -- it is evidence of the ascended Christ. M26 -“As we think of the selflessness and heroism of [soldiers], we are reminded of the words of Jesus Christ who said: ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’” Billy Graham M25- " If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left" (Genesis 13:9). God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you are not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully wave your right and allow God to make your choice for you. M24- As passengers, it is not for us to interfere with the charts and the compass. We should leave the masterful Captain alone to do His own work. Robert Hall M23- No one can know the truth except the one who obeys truth. You think you know truth. People memorize the scriptures by the yard, but that is not a guarantee of knowing the truth. Truth is not a text. Truth is in the text, but it takes the text plus the Holy Spirit to bring truth to a human soul...(Faith Beyond Reason) M22- John 17 M-21Our prayers can go where we cannot… there are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.” M20- Massive weather events and natural disasters remind us that all of the world is not as it should be. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there’s redemption not just for people, but for creation itself. “For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.” Romans 8:20-21 M19 - When you ask in faith and in Christ's name- that is, in oneness with Him and His will-" it will be giving you" (John 15:7). Since God's word cannot fail, whenever we meet these simple conditions, the answer to our prayer has already been granted and is complete in heaven as we pray, even though it may not be revealed on Earth until much later. M18 - Truth divorced from life is not truth in its biblical sense, but something else and something less. If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live- yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of him M17- The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God- He returned to his Father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited his omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Oswald Chambers M16- Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives. C. S. Lewis M15- instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for delayed obedience is disobedience. M14- “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” CS Lewis M13- God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? M12- philosophy and science have not always been friendly toward the idea of God, the reason being that they are dedicated to the task of accounting for things and are impatient with anything that refuses to give an account of itself. The philosopher and the scientist will admit that there is much they do not know; but that is quite another thing from admitting that there is something which they can never know..... To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason... this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage him M11 - The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.M10 - “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”’ Mr. Rogers M9- He who does not seek and find God everywhere, and in everything, finds Him nowhere and in nothing. And he who is not at the Lord's service in everything, is at His service in nothing. Mary Tileston M8- This is a word of caution in the matter of Christian experience- there is no pattern or formula for identical Christian experiences. It is actually a tragic thing for believers to try to be exactly like each other in their Christian faith and life. God has given us each and individual temperament and distinct characteristics. Therefore it is the office of the Holy Spirit to work out as He will the details of Christian experience. They will vary with personality. Tozer M7- None of us can approach a serious study and consideration of the Eternal nature and person of Jesus Christ without sensing and confessing our complete inadequacy in the face of the divine revelation M6- God may send you some valuable gifts wrapped in unattractive paper. But do not worry about the wrappings, for you can be sure that inside He has hidden treasures of love, kindness, and wisdom. If we will simply take what He sends and trust Him for the blessings inside, we will learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence, even in times of darkness. A. B. Simpson M5- Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power. M4- My situation is urgent, and I cannot see how I will ever be delivered. Yet this is not my concern, for He who made the promise we'll find a way to keep it. My part is simply to obey His commands, not to direct His ways. I am his servant, not His advisor. I call upon him and he will deliver me. Charles H Spurgeon M3-“You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.” Athanasius of Alexandria M2- Obedience is always followed by blessing. Willoughby M1- listen to no man who fails to listen to God. No man has any right to offer advice who has not first heard God speak. No man has any right to counsel others who is not ready to hear and follow the counsel of the Lord. A30- The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. It is absurd to think that the love of God is naturally in our hearts, as a result of our own nature. His love is there only because it "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit..." Romans 5:5 A29- Our natural inclination is to be so precise- trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next- that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Chambers A28- Holiness depends upon contact with God. Anything that breaks or impairs his vital contact, however slight it may be, interrupts our communion with Christ and brings defeat instead of victory into our lives. Pardington (The Crisis of the Deeper Life) A27-There are no promises of earthly riches or easy living. In fact, Jesus leads us into a suffering world to engage with it more, not less. While most people spend their lives keeping back, filling up, and clinging on, Jesus teaches us to press it, pour out, and give away. The way of Jesus is not a trouble-free existence—far from it. But Jesus does promise that, in giving ourselves away, we will truly find ourselves A26- If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of himself A25- The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate. A24- “Jesus entered our hell so we could have his heaven. . . . Jesus joins us in our failures so we can join him in his family.” A23 - God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work." Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might ..."Ecclesiastes 9:10 A22- The secret of the servant's life is that he stays in tune with God all the time. A21- Are there any among Us who have an honest desire to be Christ-like? We should all be aware that everyday is a day of testing. Some come to their own Kadesh Barnea and turn back. Tozer A20- “The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.” - Kate McGahan A19 - We must recognize the character of our self-life....We must consent to its destruction....and lay it at the feet of God in willing sacrifice. A18- nothing is impossible to the man who prays in faith, just as nothing is impossible with God. A17- Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God—the Creator of the universe, Great Innovator, and Inventor of everything. However you engage with social media, remember to use technology to point others to eternal hope in him. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:15-16 A16 - Christiandom as a whole is just as blinded by the devil as were those poor Jews 2,000 years ago. We are well aware that the majority of churches today are liberal, denying the signs of the times and the power of God; but we can thank God for the minority who are true to the cardinal truths of Christianity and the fundamentals of the faith. Oliver Greene (The Gospel According to Matthew Vol 4) A15 - you no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. A14- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." A13- Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1. Christian churches are never told to carry on their proclamation of the Savior in a spirit of competition with other Jesus churches. The Holy Spirit tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus not on others who are also running the race. A12- when a person has the fullness of the Spirit of God, he will experience great conflicts with the Tempter. God allows temptation because it does for us what storms do for oak trees, rooting us deeper, and it does for us what he does for paint on porcelain, giving us long-lasting endurance. A11- I have enjoyed already enough of God's benefits to supply me with matter for constant praise for at least a thousand years to come. A9 - God wants us to worship Him. He doesn't need us, for He couldn't be a self-sufficient God and need anything or anybody, but He wants us. When Adam sinned it was not he who cried, "God, where art thou?" It was God who cried, "Adam, where art thou?" Tozer A8 - “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” Desiderius Erasmus A7 - We represent Christ well when we are not only kind to people we agree with but also to people we believe are wrong, going out of our way to serve and care for them. This is what it means to “love your enemies.” | ||||||
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” |
Habakkuk 3:17-19
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment
A3- The three men who were thrown into the fiery furnace came out just as they went in- except for the ropes that had bound them. How often God removes our shackles in the furnace of affliction! Daniel 3:25
A2- The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others.
A1- True prayer cannot be imitated nor can it be learned from someone else. (God Tells the Man Who Cares)
M31 - Jesus Christ is not my security against the storms of life, but He is my perfect security in the storms. He has never promised me an easy passage, only a safe landing.
M30- It is better to walk in the dark with God than walk alone in the light. (The Still Small Voice)
M29- Many years ago there was a monk who needed olive oil, so he planted an olive tree sapling. After he finished planting it, he prayed," Lord, my tree needs rain so it's tender roots may drink and grow. Send gentle showers ". And the Lord sent gentle showers. Then the monk prayed," Lord my tree needs sun. Please send it sun." And the sun shown, gilding the once dripping clouds." Now send frost, dear Lord, to strengthen the branches" cried the monk. And soon the little tree was covered in sparkling frost, but by evening it had died. Then the monk sought out a brother Monk in his cell and told him of his strange experience. After hearing the story, the other monk said," I also have planted a little tree. See how it is thriving! But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better than a man like me what it needs. I gave God no constraints or conditions, except to pray," Lord, send me what it needs whether that be a storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. You made it, and you know best what it needs."
M28- The only remedy for human nature is to destroy it and receive instead the divine nature. God does not improve man. He crucifies the natural life with Christ and creates the new man in Christ Jesus. A.B. Simpson
M27- What a joyful experience it is for us in this church age to be part of a congregation drawn together by the desire to know God's presence, to sense His awareness. (Tozer)
M26- Improve your mind for the honor of God. When you are chopping wood, and you have a dull ax you must work all the harder to cut the log. A sharp ax makes easy work. So sharpen your ax all you can. Andy Dolbow
M25 - goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ.
M24 -Verse to consider when your plans go sideways… “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
M23- If the spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn't ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of Truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of darkness will say" oh I can explain that" . When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
M22 - It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart, unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus. (Chambers)
M-21- let us remember that no earthly circumstances can hinder the fulfillment of God's Word
M20- The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.
M19
- “It is the most counterintuitive aspect of
Christianity, that we are declared right with God not once we begin to get our act together but once we collapse into honest acknowledgment that we never will.”
Dane C. Ortlund
Zphaniahh 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
This is but one verse among thousands which serve to form our rational picture of what God is like, and they tell us plainly that God feels something like our love, like our joy, and what He feels makes Him act very much as we would in a similar situation; He rejoices over His loved ones with joy and singing. Here is emotion on a as high a plane as it can ever be seen, emotion flowing out of the heart of God himself.
M12 - I do not know why God does some things, but I am convinced that nothing is accidental in His universe. The fact that we do not know the reason behind some things is not basis enough for us to call them divine accidents.
M11- God has ordained our truest and richest comfort to be found by pressing on toward the goal. Sitting down and brooding over our sorrow deepens the darkness surrounding us, allowing it to creep into our heart. And soon our strength has changed to weakness. But if we will turn from the gloom and remain faithful to the calling of God, the light will shine again and we will grow stronger. J. R. Miller
M10 - David Brainerd once compared a man without the power of the Spirit trying to do spiritual work to a workman without fingers attempting to do manual labor: The figure is striking but the it does not overstate the facts. The Holy Spirit is not a luxury.... The Spirit is an imperative necessity. Only the Eternal Spirit can do eternal deeds. (Man: The Dwelling Place of God)
M9 - Obedience is the pathway to blessing. It’s the means of protection. It’s the means of joy. It’s the means to finding God’s best in our lives.”
Nancy Leigh Demoss
M8- Oh, how sad it is for a poor Christian to stand at the very door of a promise during a dark night of affliction, being afraid to turn the knob and thereby come boldly into the shelter as a child entering his Father's house! (William Gurnell)
M7- There is no way to learn of Faith except through trials. They are God's School of Faith, and it is much better for us to learn to trust Him than to live a life of enjoyment. And once the lesson of Faith has been learned, it is an everlasting possession and in an eternal fortune gained. Yet without trust in God, even great riches will leave us in poverty. (Days of heaven upon Earth)
M6 - I have always been so sorry that the two disciples walking with Jesus on the road to Emanus did not say to him" we still hope" instead of" we had hoped" the situation is very sad, because in their minds it is over. May we never express our faith, as these disciples did, in the past tense. May we always say," I have hope". Zorn
M5- It is when heaven's heights are in full view that the Gates of hell are most persistent and full of deadly peril.
M4- " Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing."
M3 - It is one thing, to hear for oneself a sweet lute, sweetly played, and quite another thing merely to hear about i
M2 - The morning is a critically important time of day. You must never face the day until you have faced God, nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His. You cannot expect to be victorious, if you begin your day in your own strength alone. Begin the work of everyday after having been influenced by a few reflective, quiet moments between your heart and God. (Streams In The Desert)
M1 - The Church is found wherever the Holy Spirit has drawn together a few persons who trust Christ for their salvation, worship God in spirit and have no dealings with the world and the flesh. The church was never intended to be a natural and intellectual organization, but a supernatural instrumentality wholly dependent upon the power of God
F28 - being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean. You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a little bit of the ocean. So it is with a Christian. A. B. Simpson
F27 - “Trusting God does not mean believing he will do what you want, but rather believing he will do everything he knows is good.” Ken Sande
F26 - Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls. (Spurgeon) There is always a large balance credited to our account in the Bank of heaven. It is waiting for us to exercise our faith to draw upon it. Draw heavily on God's resources.
F25 - God wants worshipers before workers
F24 - to please God, a person must be just an instrument for God to use. For a few seconds, picture in your mind, the variety of wonderful and useful appliances we have in our homes. They have been engineered and built to perform tasks of all kinds. But without the inflow of electrical power, they are just lumps of metal and plastic, unable to function and serve. They cannot do their work until power is applied from a dynamic outside source. So it is in the work of God in the church. A.W.T
F23- If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us if from serving one another. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for his sake. (O. Chambers)
F22 -Your approval before God is woven into the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, not what other men and women think about you.”
Matt Chandler
F21 - Truth consists not in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit
F20 - “Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.”
St. John Chrysostom
F19 - Truth consists not in the correct doctrine, but in the correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit....
F18 - never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
F17 - There are two extremes. The Word without the Spirit is dry and dead, but the Spirit without the Word is incomplete. AB Simpson
F16 - Our Father takes away the rod when His purpose in using it is fully accomplished. Cowman
F15 - Friction caused by fretting is an indication of the absence of the anointing oil of the grace of God. When we worry, a little bit of sand gets into the bearings. It may be some slight disappointment, ungratefulness, or discourtesy we have experienced. Suddenly our life is no longer running smoothly. Friction leads to heat and heat can lead to very dangerous conditions. Do not allow your bearings to become heated. Let the oil of the Lord keep you cool.
F14 - let us sing even when we do not feel like it, for in this way we give wings to heavy feet and turn weariness into strength. Jowett
F13 - If I am United with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God's message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don't want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions.
F12 - it is not the body of truth that enlightens; it is the Spirit of truth who enlightens.
F11 - If we would only move straight ahead in faith, the path would be opened for us. But we stand still, waiting for the obstacle to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacles at all. Winslow (Evening Thoughts)
F10 - I would rather be part of a small group with inner knowledge than part of a vast group with only intellectual knowledge. Tozer
F9- A sanctified life is a life conformed to the Scriptures in every particular. It commences with our hearts; it next reaches to our ears, and then it is accomplished in our feet.






