Everyone is going to live forever somewhere. Knowing Jesus or not determines where.
If we have time to read social media, we have time to read Scripture.
You cannot be a Christian and support gay marriage. You cannot be a Christian and support abortion. You cannot be a Christian and support transgenderism. You cannot be a Christian and support new-age practices. If you call yourself a Christian and support any of these… repent.
You cannot have faith without having knowledge, but you will not have faith if you have only knowledge.
LIVE TO GIVE, AND BE BLESSED
I have never seen a scripture that we are to live in poverty, to be a failure or to live without hope. The blessings of God do not only consist in the spiritual realm but it also includes the physical realm. There are plenty of examples in scripture that shows how God blessed His people. Isaac was obedient and the Lord blessed him (Gen 26. 12-13). Jacob when he was obedient as he was told of God to leave his land and relatives and set out on a new life with God (Gen. 31:17-18). Joseph even though he was rejected and sold into slavery by his family, was obedient to God and God blessed him so he could bless his family and an entire nation (Gen. 41:41). If you study the scriptures closely you will see from Genesis to Revelations God blessings.
God is our heavenly Father and wants to bless us. Just as we want to protect, help, and bless our children so the Father wants to do that for us. We ask ourselves then why don't I see these blessings? Remember that our God operates on faith. The problem does not lie with Him but with us. Our faith and attitude is the key to open the door of blessings.
All you have to do is to put these truths in to action and you will see how God will move on your behalf. Have a heart to share and bless others and your Father will open the windows of heaven to bless you. Ask God who you should bless this day!
-- Dr. Timothy Emerick
God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into
the nest.
~Josiah G. Holland~
As Christians, we're set free from sowing the rotten and ugly things. You're free to sow goodness and gentleness, and all of the spiritual fruits. Take full advantage of these wonderful gifts He's freely giving to you.
“We could all use a little coaching. When you're playing the game, it's hard to think of everything.”
“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”
“Sharpen your interest in two major subjects: life and people. You will only gather information from a source if you are interested in it.” – Jim Rohn
“If you want to amend your errors, you must begin by amending your philosophy.”– Jim Rohn
My response to greatness does not judge it, it judges me......
Sin may be out of sight, out of mind with man but God sees all and knows all things. We tend to look right and left and behind us but we forget to look up.
There is no better way to celebrate the laborer and their achievements, than spending time with the Lord, thanking Him for all He provides.
Faithfulness to God is our first obligation in all that we are called to do in the service of the Gospel.
~Iain H. Murray~
Jesus meets you wherever you are!
Legalistic judgment is when one sinner climbs over other sinners while pushing them further down into the pit and thinking it might somehow help him or them pull out. Or, when one fallen creation pridefully takes the role of the Creator by judging other fallen creations.
Suspicions subtract, faith adds, but love multiplies. It blesses twice—him who gives it and him who gets it.
~C. T. Studd~
The moment we back off in the spiritual battle, we will be vulnerable. The moment we fall asleep, we will be weak. You don't feed lust; you starve it. Stay away from anything that would encourage immoral living. "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts" (2 Timothy 2:22).
Men must choose to be governed by God or they condemn themselves to be ruled by tyrants.
~William Penn~
Our identity should not be in what we were but who we are.
You may say you love the Lord at church but what is it when no one is looking You may say you love others, even hug at times but have envy and bitterness in Your heart all leading to malice. You may say you love the lost but you never share the love of God with them. Is prayer and praying enough? Woe be unto us if we can't do these simple truths. Unity is of the essence of the body of Christ.
~R. B. Kuiper~
A lot of people say they are Christians, but they have never made any attempt to right wrongs or make restitution, or even give evidence to a watching world that Christ is really living inside of them.
Could people look at you and say, “I see something in you that tells me you’re a follower of Jesus”? Is there such evidence in your life?
You can’t truly rest until every area in your life rests in God.
~A.W. Tozer~
If you are a man full of lust, what do you see? Of the hundreds of people you see in a day you will focus on the one woman with a low cut top or short skirt. If you are full of envy, what do you see? You would see a neighbor's new car, or the vacation brochure on a co-worker's desk. What you see (or rather what draws your attention) is what you are full of. What are you full of.
Nature’s beauty is an enjoyable expression of God, but you must meet Him personally through His Son Jesus Christ to move past the persona to the personality. He is as close as your whispered prayer. Seek to know Him better in His word then act upon it...
“It is better to get lost in the passion than to lose the passion…It is impossible to exist without passion.“—
Søren Kierkegaard
“No passion or affection, with which we are born, can be in itself sinful; it becomes so only by willful or careless indulgence.”
Jonathan Mayhew (a seventeenth-century preacher)
Jesus's wisdom flows out of His love, and in turn, guides us and teaches us how to live as a “beloved one.”
Ray Bently
Your feelings should never be a gauge of spiritual vitality. God is often most near on my darkest days.
Dustin Benge
God has a way of preparing us for battles that we have yet to face.
It’s through the trials you’re up against today that He is training you for His purposes in the future.
Luke Lezon
Everyone in this fallen world needs strength just to deal with the daily responsibilities and challenges of life. When you add the calling and desire of believers to please and honor God, much strength is needed day by day. David confessed to the Lord as his strength for living. "The LORD is the strength of my life." How wonderful to know that the Lord is with us to impart His strength in us for every aspect of our lives, whether at home, work, ministry, or whatever.
People try to live apart from their Creator. But inevitably, circumstances arise, things happen, and life brings us to a screaming awareness of our incompleteness and inability to live abundantly without God.
Judas Iscariot was not a greatly wicked person, just a common money-lover, and like most money-lovers, he did not understand Christ.
~A.W. Tozer~
God is not out to ruin our lives. The happiness that God gives doesn’t stop when the party’s over. It’s an entirely different approach to life. In fact, the Bible tells us the meaning of life: to know the God who created us. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end”
"Child of God, you cost Christ too much for him to forget you."
— Charles Spurgeon
I desire that I may ever submit to him, walk humbly before him, and put my trust wholly in him.
Jonathan Edwards
“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” -
C.S. Lewis
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” - C.S. Lewis
“God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want.” - C.S. Lewis
“I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” - C.S. Lewis
“There would be no sense in saying you trusted Jesus if you would not take his advice.” - C.S. Lewis
“Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.” — Jonathan Edwards
“Every Christian needs to be reminded of who they are. A form of spiritual amnesia takes place while we sleep at night and it is vital that we begin each new day reminding ourselves of who we are.” — Dr. Derek Thomas
“Where you hear God's glory mentioned, think of his justice. For whatever deserves praise must be just.” — John Calvin
In the Apostle's Creed, we confess that Jesus "descended into Hell." What exactly does that mean? Dr. Guy Waters
“More important than any amount of grandeur of style to those of us who seek to be listened to with obedience is the life of the speaker.” —Augustine “On Christian Teaching”
"Along with being spiritually alive, we must also be dependent upon God Himself as we turn to the Bible to read and study it. It is vital that we pray for light from heaven to understand its teachings, and also for God’s grace to apply what we learn (Ps. 119:18)." - Conrad Mbewe
"I believe that if I should preach to you the atonement of our Lord Jesus, and nothing else, twice every Sabbath day, my ministry would not be unprofitable." - Charles Spurgeon
"A sermon devoid of the Holy Spirit is just a motivational speech." - Nick Harvey
“We may say too much in a single sermon, we may give a field of wheat instead of a loaf of bread.” - Charles Spurgeon
"God has used the faithful efforts of expository preachers of His Word to bring honor to His name and to increase the faith of His saints (1 Cor 2:5) throughout history." - James Stitzinger
"I am an unrepentant believer in the power of preaching." - John Stott
If we have time to read social media, we have time to read Scripture.
Everyone is going to live forever somewhere. Knowing Jesus or not determines where.
Most teens want more out of their Student Ministry than pizza, games, or a 15-minute pep-talk. Because, many of them already know those things will never sustain them, once their faith is challenged by the world, cultural agendas, or future professors that hate Christianity. Students are over fluff and puff. They need Spirit and Truth.
Best way to plant a church? Reach lost people. Best way to revitalize a church? Reach lost people. Best way to impact a community? Reach lost people. Best way to grow a church? Reach lost people. Best way to mature a church? Equip people to reach lost people. Go and tell.
When ministry only focuses on the saved or core group it will die.
When you kill time, remember that it has no resurrection. -A.W. Tozer -
Let us daily strive to copy our Saviour's humility. -J.C. Ryle -
Dare, dare, my dear brethren in Christ, 2 follow the Captain of your salvation, who was made perfect through sufferings -George Whitefield -
The Lamb is one of His special and eternal titles, the name by which #Jesus is best known in heaven -Horatius Bonar -
The gospel does not get ground in any place, nor is restrained from any place or people, by accident, or by the endeavours of men; but it is sent and disposed of according to the sovereign will and pleasure of the Spirit of God.
Without being constantly reformed by the Word the church becomes something very different. We must always keep the church under the Word. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones #Church #Christianity It is a contradiction to be a sanctified man, or a true christian, and not humble. Richard Baxter
God's truth is not only addressed to our understanding, but to our conscience. -A.W. Pink - Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the #Savior. -C.H. Spurgeon -
Nothing is so filthy, so impure, so loathsome - as the human heart! -James Smith -
A sense of our own folly is a great step toward being wise when it leads us to rely on the wisdom of the Lord. -C H Spurgeon -
The immediate efficient cause in the communication of the love and kindness of the Father, through the mediation of the Son, unto us, is the Holy Spirit. The church is always to be under the Word; she must be; we must keep her there. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The sorrow of the world is not occasioned by mourning over sin as sin-but over the retribution which sin brings. -A.W. Pink - And yet how many are there-who had rather have sinful-self satisfied, than to have sinful-self crucified. -William Dyer
“God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by it’s being rejoiced in.” —Jonathan Edwards He who stands upon his own strength will never stand. -Thomas Brooks - Measure your spiritual growth rather by the extent you are learning to look away from both sinful self and religious self. -A.W. Pink -
"May we never look elsewhere for rest, but abide in Christ with an unwavering, immutable confidence." — Charles Spurgeon
Small numbers make no difference to God. There is nothing small if God is in it. Dwight L. Moody
Not to beware of the occasion of sin, and yet pray, “Lead us not into temptation,’ is, as if one should put his finger into the candle, and yet pray that it may not be burnt. —Puritan Thomas Watson, The Ten Commandments, 158 The martyrs were bound, imprisoned, scourged, racked, burnt, rent, butchered - and they multiplied. AUGUSTINE
"Brothers, pride is an evil, wicked, tenacious cancer." – Mike Riccardi
YOU MAY HAVE DESERVED IT, BUT GOD DIDN'T ALLOW IT. THAT'S CALLED GRACE AND MERCY!
BE IT PEOPLE, PLACES OR THINGS, IF IT COSTS YOU YOUR PEACE, IT'S OUT OF YOUR PRICE RANGE!
HASN'T HAPPENED YET? DON'T BE DISCOURAGED. SATAN IS TRYING HIS BEST TO CONVINCE YOU TO GIVE UP. DON'T!
"IF YOU AREN'T WILLING TO WORK FOR IT, DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT NOT HAVING IT!"
SO MANY DESIRE GREATNESS, SO FEW UNDERSTAND THE GREAT SUFFERING THAT COMES WITH GREATNESS.
“What goes from a people when the gospel goes? Answer: peace, prosperity, safety, civil liberty, true glory, and soul-happiness, the presence of God.” — Thomas Brooks
The ministers of the Gospel claim it as a right to go into every nation, however fenced around & guarded from intrusion, & to demand an entrance in the name of Him who sent them, even although the magistrate should bid them depart from his coasts. —James Bannerman, CoC, 1:140 Those who require a perfect church apparently forget that even the original churches—churches founded by the apostles—were not perfect. They had their faults and failures also. - Ralph Woodrow
"The enthroned Lamb himself is all the heaven we desire." — Charles Spurgeon
Prayerless souls are graceless souls. —Nicolas Claget
"Every pardon a sinner has, is written in Christ’s blood."
- Thomas Watson, The Believer’s Privileges in the Covenant of Grace
“… Scripture, as the ultimate authority, establishes divinely delegated authority within the family, church, and the government.”
— Abner Chou
"While we are crying to Christ to be sanctified, may we not doubt his power to sanctify."
— Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon: I thank God that I have undergone fearful depression. I know the borders of despair and the horrible brink of that dark gulf into which my feet have almost gone. Because of this, I have been able to help brothers and sisters in the same condition. I believe that the Christian’s darkest and most dreadful experiences will lead them to follow Christ and become fishers of men (Mark 1:17). Keep close to your Lord and He will make every step a blessing.
"The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament." — Charles Spurgeon
In the apostle who lived by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20), the grace of God was not abused, but improved; not received in vain to an idle, loose, offensive lifestyle (2 Cor. 15:10), but was operative to holy and heavenly labors for the gospel. —Nicolas Claget (1610-1663)
"The subject of the Bible is grace." — Charles Spurgeon “The Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays.” - C.S. Lewis
Another misuse of the Law is when people seek justification through it. This is a dangerous and desperate error, prevalent in Popery, and it lurks in the hearts of all by nature. —Anthony Burgess
"Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven." — Charles Spurgeon
“Until sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” — Puritan, Thomas Watson Ah! Lazy, doubting Christians, were you all lit on fire, in hearing, in praying; it would not be long before the windows of heaven would be open, before God would rain down manna, before he would drop down assurance into your bosoms. —Puritan Thomas Brooks, Works 2:388 "I cannot get directly to God, I must have a mediator." — Charles Spurgeon
Most men have more heat in their brains than in their hearts and services; and therefore it is that they walk in darkness, that they lack assurance. —Thomas Brooks, Works 2:388
The Lord has a calling for each of us to accomplish for Him. God's strength is sufficient for you to fulfill that plan, so why not surrender to His will? Chuck Smith
Any teaching, whatever authority is may claim, which does not glorify Christ, is most assuredly false." — Charles Spurgeon The love of Christ is unto us the cause of life, grace, holiness, and the reward of heaven. - John Owen Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules. And family education and order are some of the chief of the means of grace. — Jonathan Edwards
"A church is a soul-saving company or it is nothing." — Charles Spurgeon
"...as it (the Church) existed at first independently of the favour of the State, and in the face of its hostility, so it may continue to exist without any external connection or support [from the State]." —James Bannerman (1807-1868), The Church of Christ, 24-25 “Thus, magistrates… have no jurisdiction when it comes to the terms and order of our gathered worship, the preaching of the word of God, or the administration of the sacraments.” — Oliver Allmand-Smith, “Under God, Over The People,” 98.
"Having made Jesus his all, he shall find all in Jesus." — Charles Spurgeon
It is essential that we handle both Law and Gospel with a godly love and zeal for truth, not to create divisions or seek applause. —Anthony Burgess
The Gospel of Christ is not, like the systems of polytheism, compatible with every other system of falsehood. It is exclusive in its character & pretensions; & demands that it be received & owned & submitted to, to the abandonment & rejection of every other faith. Bannerman
“If [the civil magistrates] command anything against [the King of Kings], let it go unesteemed.” — Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.20.32
“Where there has been persecution, pastors and church leaders have found their source of strength in the authority of God’s Word, which is sufficient to equip God’s people to think and act in accord with Christ’s mind on the matter.” — Mark Tatlock
"It is better to be happy than to be rich. And happiness lies in the heart rather than in the purse." — Charles Spurgeon This is the crowning comfort to a sensible and understanding soul: that he stands righteous before a judgment-seat, in that full, exact, perfect, complete, matchless, spotless, peerless, and most acceptable righteousness of Christ imputed to him. -Thomas Brooks, Works 5:249 It is not a man’s whining and complaining over sin, but his 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 of sin, that will make his life a paradise of pleasure. —Puritan Thomas Brooks, Works 2:394
“The greatest single reason why the church is declining is that it has ceased to go out to the lost.” — Alex Montoya
“… get your two circles sorted out. Give to God what belongs to God: give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar… The government cannot regulate the affairs of the church—that's outside its domain.” –– Jesse Johnson
The redemption of the church is not seen in that she is delivered from the troubles of this world, as in that she shall be delivered from her sins. —Robert Rollock
God helps those who cannot help themselves." — Charles Spurgeon
If he be good for any thing (as he is for all things), he is certainly good at this, to make our salvation sure and steadfast against all opposition, it being founded on him, and committed to him. He is a sure Christ. Goodwin
The power of God is more seen in preserving a poor believer in the state of grace than in preserving the angels in the state of innocence. —Christopher Love, Grace, Pg. 22 "No enmity exists between the believer and his God. The enmity is dead forever, because Christ died." — Charles Spurgeon
"I am an unrepentant believer in the power of preaching." - John Stott
There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us. —Sibbes
When we comprehend His love, our vision clears, and we can respond with attitudes and actions that reflect wisdom working in our lives. Ray Bentley
"Our salvation hinges upon the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus." — Charles Spurgeon Thou must not neglect thy work, though God delays comfort; thou must be as obedient in the absence of assurance, as thou art thankful under the enjoyment of assurance. —Puritan Thomas Brooks, Works 2:365 “When Christ died, he died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world.” - C.S. Lewis
“The more bitterness we taste in sin, the more sweetness we shall taste in Christ.” — Thomas Watson
We have to live and die, and we must have the gospel." — Charles Spurgeon
"Faith alone actuates justification. God's gracious act by which He considers and declares righteous those who place their trust in His Son, Jesus Christ." Pastor John MacArthur, over 3 decades ago
"Jesus stood in our place. God will not exact payment both from us and from our Substitute." — Charles Spurgeon
Civil authorities should regulate what is good and evil based on what is observable in creation, written on the human heart and established beyond question in the Scriptures.” — Oliver Allmand-Smith, “Under God, Over the People, 36
"The rising of Christ from the dead proved that he was innocent of every sin." — Charles Spurgeon
"The state does not have the right to rule over the church or regulate its worship, for headship over the church has not been given to government." –– Bret M. Laird, Family, Government, and Church The joy that attends the subduing of a sin is a noble joy, a pure joy, a peculiar joy, an increasing joy, and a lasting joy; but that joy that attends the committing a sin is an ignoble joy, a corrupt joy, a decreasing joy, a dying joy. —Puritan Thomas Brooks Works 2:393
Sometimes providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backward. John Flavel
The first great characteristic of us as Christian people, is that we are no longer self-confident. We know the truth about ourselves. Martyn Lloyd-Jones "You must either let Christ reign over you, or else you will have to lie beneath his feet." — Charles Spurgeon
Only when we’re thoroughly convinced that the Christian life is entirely of grace are we able to serve God out of a grateful and loving heart. Jerry Bridges
Let not time be wasted; it is too precious." — Charles Spurgeon
Solomon got more hurt by his wealth, than he got good by his wisdom. —Thomas Brooks, Works 2:390
"Why should pardoned sinners live at a distance from their God?" — Charles Spurgeon
God is preparing me for the place He has prepared for me.
When God has a plan for an individual, He often begins with discipline in the form of affliction and sorrow. Just as a good farmer cuts down the trees and clears the land before planting, God cuts down our trees of pleasure and pride, that our hearts may be plowed, broken, raked,…
"Men have to be very busy or very faithful, if they are to avoid being sinful." — Charles Spurgeon
The pleasure and sweetness that follows victory over sin, is a thousand times beyond that seeming sweetness that is in the gratifying of sin. —Puritan Thomas Brooks Works 2:393
Why, then, O despairing soul! Dost thou make thy life a hell by having such low thoughts of God’s mercy? —Puritan Thomas Brooks, Works 2:378 Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst: He promises honor and pays with disgrace. He promises pleasure and pays with pain. He promises profit and pays with loss. He promises life and pays with death. —Thomas Brooks, Works 2:322
"God, having loved me with an everlasting love, will never hate me." — Charles Spurgeon I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will, no doubt, through the mediation of his blessed Son, receive me, though a sinner; where I hope we ere long shall meet, to sing the new song, and remain everlastingly happy, world without end. - John Bunyan died 31 August 1688
The Spirit whom Scripture reveals is no friend of murder, debauchery, drunkenness, pride, conflict, greed and deceit. He is the author of love, chastity, sobriety, temperance, peace, self control and truth. John Calvin
O that the glory of electing love should rest upon thy head, and that the glory of the exceeding grace of God should take hold of thy heart, and bring thee to Jesus Christ! John Bunyan
We are concerned with present comfort, but God is concerned with our eternal welfare. Remember that the next time He says "no." Chuck Smith
A good wife and health are a man's best wealth." — Charles Spurgeon
Lord, I surrender. I am completely overcome by your love. Richard Baxter "Alas! though I know in theory what a Christian should be, I am still sadly deficient in practice." -John Newton.
"The truth that is in Jesus never was palatable to carnal men." — Charles Spurgeon
A Christian should be like Christ in his boldness. Never blush to own your religion." — Charles Spurgeon
The righteousness with which we are justified before God, is not our conformity with the law, nor our good works, nor our faith; but it is the satisfaction which Christ rendered to the law in our stead. —Zacharias Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechusm, Pg. 327
"You must plead guilty, or remain guilty forever." — Charles Spurgeon
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