Be careful to pray, observe, and remember what you see God do. All things are possible with Him (Matthew 19:26).
As Jesus would trust in the Father, He would also be prepared for the mounting difficulties that He would face. "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting." In approaching the cross, these prophecies of Jesus (and the enablement He found through depending upon the Father) were fulfilled. "Then they spat in His face and beat Him; others struck Him with the palms of their hands" (Matthew 26:67).
The curse is upon those who attempt to establish an acceptable relationship with God based on human works, as measured by God's holy law.
While there are some who erringly teach that when the church has dominion over the world Jesus will come back, what the Bible actually says is that Jesus coming back is when the saints will rule and reign with Him as kings and priests to God. Until then, we live in a messed up, mixed-up world where evil is called good and good is called evil.
“That’s God knocking on your door. Are you going to answer it?”
Every one of us believers can live the message of the Gospel in our lives. We don’t have to be a pastor or theology professors to share the Word of God and His love with those around us.
Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own beliefs.
~John Calvin~
Interestingly, the name Jesus in the Hebrew language is Yehoshua or Joshua meaning “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” Jesus’ name also means “to deliver; to rescue.” The name Christ means “Messiah,” the “Anointed One.” Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God. Do you need Jesus to rescue you from your sins and deliver you from a sinner’s eternal destination in the lake of fire? Then call on His name!
We can’t escape disappointments and hurt, even devastation that turns everything we held dear to dust. But, we can remember that we can trust God to make something beautiful out of that dust. We can choose His will over our own.
We can’t fully appreciate the good news until we know the bad news.
There was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of God. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. Any message countering that is not the true gospel.
The Bible] warns us about “the little foxes, that spoil the vines.” This is a picture of the way “little” sins can destroy our fruitfulness for the Lord.
~Billy Graham~
As a child of God, there must be fruitfulness in your life. There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian. If you are fruitless, there is no genuine evidence of your Christianity. Jesus explained in Matthew 7:17-20, the test to identify a true born-again Christian who is full of the Holy Spirit:
“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits, you will know them.”
It is necessary to examine your life in the light of the Scriptures to determine what kind of hearer you are and what fruit you bear.
“The more holy a man is, the more he hates sin. It is a token of growth in sanctification, not that repentance becomes less acute, but that it becomes deeper and deeper.” -
Charles Spurgeon
"Keep up a humble sense of your own faults, and that will make you compassionate to others." -Richard Baxter.
Grace is the seed of glory - John Newton
O, friends! Heart sins are root sins! They are the springs that set all the wheels a-going, the fountain that sets all the streams a-running, the fire that sets the furnace a-smoking! —
Thomas Brooks, Works 3:314
"Great numbers of persons have no concern about eternal things. They care more about their cats and dogs than about their souls." — Charles Spurgeon
God’s promises are longer than life, broader than sin, deeper than the grave, and higher than the clouds. Charles H. Spurgeon
“How could I feel that he loved me and gave himself for me, without bursting into a passion of holy affection and sorrow?” - Charles Spurgeon
"Chastity is a Christian obligation. It means abstention from sexual activity. For the Christian, there is one rule & one rule only: total abstention from sexual activity outside of marriage and total faithfulness inside marriage. Period. No ifs, and, or buts."
-Elisabeth Elliot.
Nothing torments the devil more than to see his old companions neglect their former sinful pleasures and spend time studying the Scriptures instead. —
William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, 1:65
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