Thomas Merton wrote, "There is always a temptation to diddle around in the contemplative life, making itsy-bitsy statues."
we have already been given everything needed for abundant Christian living. "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness." This is not to say that we are aware of what is ours, or that we are experiencing all that is ours. Nonetheless, God has already given us every spiritual provision needed to live as He desires.
It is by grace that we initially come to know the Lord. As we get to know Him better, grace is then multiplied in our lives. When we first met the Lord, He made available to us everything we needed to live as He intended. As we grow in knowing Him, we access experientially more and more of what He has already made available to us in Christ.
If we say we are followers of Christ and yet we willfully choose to walk in sin and not in righteousness, shame on us. We need to count the cost and live our lives according to God’s Word, not the ways of the world. Holiness is the distinguishing mark of the Christian.
PEOPLE DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE....!
*The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.
People who don't change with time stay behind in the times, at least keep up with current events. This is most important if you have children in school because they get it firsthand.
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Stop Complaining
Did you hear the one about the complaining monk? There was a man who joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years, his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?”
The monk replied, “Food bad.”
After another 10 years, the monk again had an opportunity to voice his thoughts.
He said, “Bed hard.”
Another 10 years went by. Again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.”
“I'm not surprised," said his superior. "You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”
The Cross is the cost of my forgiveness.
A lot of people think God was first the Creator and then the Redeemer—as if Adam and Eve came along and messed up so badly that God said, "Oops! I didn't see that coming. I've got to do something now." Then He decided to send His Son to the earth. Not so. The God who said, "Let Us make man in Our image" (Gen. 1:26) is the same God who knew His image would be marred in man. He knew their sin would require redemption—a redemption as eternal as His power.
Jesus fulfilled everything in the law and everything in the prophets. And Jesus can surely fulfill everything in your life when you surrender it to Him.
The Christian's birthright is the power of the Holy Ghost.
~Lionel Fletcher~
Jesus never wrote a book, and never held an office. He never journeyed more than two hundred miles from His hometown. Friends left Him. One betrayed Him. Those He helped forgot Him. Prior to His death, they abandoned Him. But after His death, they couldn’t resist Him. What made the difference?
His death and resurrection.
The way a Communist dictionary defined the Bible. “It is a collection of fantastic legends without any scientific support.” Communism is diminishing; the movement continues.
The pronouncement of Friedrich Nietzsche in 1882. “God is dead.” The dawn of science, he believed, would be the doom of faith. Science has dawned; the movement continues.
The belief of French philosopher Voltaire. The Bible and Christianity would pass within a hundred years. He died in 1778. The movement continues.
When He died so did your Sin and when He rose so did our hope. Max Lucado
The angel rolled away the stone from Jesus’ tomb, not to let the living Lord out but to let the unconvinced outsiders in. ~Donald Grey Barnhouse~
In Heaven, some will reunite with parents they’ve not seen for decades; some will meet for the first time children who died before birth.
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