He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only.
C. S. Lewis
Trusting in God & in Christ when we feel nothing but guilt & destruction in ourselves is the greatest honor we can give to God.
…living by [inward] signs is more comfortable to us, living by faith [in Christ] is a greater honor to God. —
Anthony Burgess
“By applying 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 to an unmortified sin, or one, not 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 endeavored to be mortified, is this deceit carried on. This is a sign of a heart greatly entangled with the love of sin.” John Owen
Our heavenly Father wants us to give our attention to seeking after Him, not after our needs. He wants us to be on a quest to know Him. He desires that we seek after His holy rule and His righteous ways. He will be faithful to "supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Many religious and irreligious people alike hate to accept that humility is God's path of the promised blessing. To them, humility is weakness and foolishness. They are convinced that self-confidence and self-assertion will gain whatever is desired. They refuse to accept that humility will lead to blessing. Nevertheless, humility is what pleases the Lord.
Also remember, God's saving work is completed within our lives: "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it." The Lord has established an eternal position for us with Him in heavenly places: "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). Yet, He wants to effect a godly walk for us here on earth.
God's word reveals His will for us to grow in godliness. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12). If we seek the Lord and trust in Him for ongoing growth in godliness, He "will perfect that which concerns [us]" in this area as well.
We live in a war every day: A war between two natures, between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light; a hard-fought battle wages over our souls and eternal destinies.
Turn your mind to the Lord and fix your thoughts on His love, faithfulness, righteousness, justice, abundance, delight, life, and light (Psalm 36:5-9) instead. Ask for His help. Ask Him into the hurt places and let Him do the work that only He can do.
The apostolic church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death and heaven. The early Christians were looking, not for a cleft in the ground called the grave but for a cleavage in the sky called to glory.
~Alexander Maclaren~
The enemy doesn’t have the power to think your thoughts for you; he only has the power to toss seeds at you. What are you going to do with them? What do you think is important? Victory can be yours in Christ Jesus!
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith ... In fact, in some ways the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the most important of events because it’s the end of the story because the Second Coming consummates everything, everything.
~John MacArthur~
The servants of the Lord are to sing his praises in this life to the world's end, and in the next life world without end.
~John Boys~
Being knocked down hurts, so take the time you need to heal, but don’t stay down so long that you begin to believe that you belong there.
Falling is so painful. It’s embarrassing. It can cause you to forget your dreams. But, God has new dreams for you and a bright future ahead of you. You belong out in the world making a difference for the Kingdom of God!
In a single moment in time, you can make a decision that affects your entire life.
The Cross grants us position, the Holy Spirit gives us experience.
~Watchman Nee~
God’s love for us sometimes takes us to deep, dark caves where we grow in intimacy and faith. Where we too will cry out ABBA FATHER.
Most of us have at least one hater in our lives. People who chose to be difficult and mean no matter how much grace, peace, hope, and love are offered and even with years of effort. They’re hard to forgive. Hard to tolerate. Hard to pray for. And yet, that’s our commandment from the Lord!
C. S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
~C.T. Studd~
In his book, Why Grace Changes Everything, Pastor Chuck Smith wrote, “God has a special work for each of us to do and it is necessary that all of us be prepared for that work. Many of us will spend the majority of our lives in preparation...We may be going through difficult trials, but hardships are necessary. God wants to develop in us the characteristics that will enable us to fulfill His plan for us.”
Let us not hesitate to await the Lord’s coming, not only with longing, but also with groaning and sighs, as the happiest thing of all. He will come to us as Redeemer.
~John Calvin~
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