"The true vine gives us the wine of life, the Spirit of joy. We have not to make the wine; we have but to drink it."— Andrew Murray
"To love another person is to see the face of God."— Victor Hugo
"God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'"— Billy Graham
"Joy is the serious business of Heaven."— C.S. Lewis
“Let us look forward to the time when we can take the flag of our country and nail it below the Cross, and there let it wave as it waved in the olden times, and let us gather around it and inscribed for our motto: ‘Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever,’ and exclaim, ‘Christ first, our country next!’“ – Andrew Johnson, January 31, 1862
"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
Lovingkindness is an Old Testament term that is closely related to the New Testament term, grace. It speaks of God's zealous, loyal, steadfast love toward His people. It includes the truth that God is merciful (that is, He provides a way to hold back from us the judgment that our sins deserve). Yet, it goes beyond that wonderful fact. Lovingkindness also includes God's goodness (that is, His commitment to do good things for His children day by day, supplying whatever is needed in our lives).
The need or desire to find a refuge (a place of shelter or protection) is common among mankind. The storms of life can beat down relentlessly. Circumstantially. We long for a shelter. At other times, threats and dangers seem to lurk around every corner. We long for a place of protection. "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Our place of shelter and protection is not a place, but a Person. When troubles come, we can turn to Him. He is totally available to help us ("a very present help"). Whenever we exercise our trust in Him, whenever we pour our hearts out to Him in prayer, we can enjoy the Lord as our refuge. "
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. 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.
Before the first battle at Jericho, God gave Joshua the opportunity to commit to the Lord as the Commander of the army of Israel. "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho…a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, 'Are You for us or for our adversaries'?" The Lord appeared in the form of an armed soldier. Joshua asked if the man was for Israel or against them. The Lord responded that it was not a matter of being for or against Israel, but that He was in charge of Israel. "'No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped." At this point Joshua fully yielded to the Lord as the leader of God's army. "What does my LORD say to His servant?" Any victories would have to be provided by this divine Commander.
When your heart is breaking, you can place your hope and trust in the Lord.
Light not only exposes what the darkness hides, but light also shows the way out. And in the same way, the light that shines from us not only shows people their shortcomings and their sins, but it also shows them the way out. It shows them the way to Jesus Christ.
The reason people don’t believe is they don’t want their sins exposed. They don’t want to acknowledge their shortcomings. And the more godly a Christian is, the more obviously this will take place just by that believer’s great example.
When you are living for Jesus Christ, your very presence sometimes will bother others because His light is shining out of you.
Do people know you’re a Christian? Do your coworkers and your family members know that you’re a follower of Jesus Christ? We need to speak up for the Lord. Our lifestyle, the way that we live, should be evidence of our faith in Christ.
Many who once acknowledged Jesus Christ will ultimately deny Him. One of the signs of the last days is that there will be a great apostasy, or a falling away. Some will fall from the faith, Timothy says, and “follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons” (1 Timothy 4:1 NLT). It’s people of faith. At best, they portray those who believe in God and have certain moral principles as kooks or feeble-minded dolts. And at worst, they blame them for the problems that our society is facing. You can say anything. You can believe in anything. But if you stand up and say, “There are absolutes. There is right and wrong, and the Bible says so,” you’re labeled as a crazed fanatic who’s hurting our society.
We need to shine the light of Jesus Christ into our dark world. We must take it seriously and seek to make a difference in our culture wherever we go, whenever we can.
THE Fear OF GOD is translated from the Hebrew as reverence or respect. The road map for our life journey—God’s Word—is designed to give us warnings, to point us in the right direction, to prevent us from falling, to help us make wise choices, to discover purpose and direction for our lives, and to give us strength to overcome hardships
T.S. Eliot’s lament: “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
Every day, we need to make a conscious decision to meditate on God’s Word and choose to live in the “real” world.
Run to Jesus! We can kick toxic shame to the curb as we walk with Jesus and enjoy intimacy with our Maker. ~
Solitude requires temporarily removing ourselves from people to be present with God.
Slip away to a quiet place and be present with God. Hagah on His Word and stay with it until you find encouragement and hope even in the middle of wanting to turn back, give up, or walk away. God has not forgotten you!
We are mysteriously bound up with our fallen forerunners, no doubt. But, that's not the final story. As believers, our heritage links us directly to the obedient and perfect Son, our Messiah, Jesus. Mercy mercy mercy!
You don’t have to attend a brand-new church to join a fellowship group! Start today and get vulnerable with some new (or not new) Christian friends. We were created for the community. We need each other!
If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Pastor Denis Davenport
Talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours. Pastor Denis Davenport
A great stage director once said, "Acting is reacting. It's done with the ears, not the mouth." Contrary to popular belief, listening is not passive, it's active.
If you want to get people interested in you, talk about what's important to them. The biggest mistake most people make in communicating is talking about me, myself, and I:
A Christian’s life should be nothing but a visible
representation of Christ.
~Thomas Brooks~
"It is God who is at work within you, both to say: 'roll up your sleeves,' and to enable you to roll up your sleeves." -Alistair Begg
“Challenge everything you do. Expand your thinking. Refocus your efforts. Rededicate yourself to your future.” — Patricia Fripp
“A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn’t particularly feel like it.” — Alistair Cooke
“With more success, comes greater problems, along with greater ability to solve them.” — Mark Victor Hansen
“Mastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt, but a gathering power that moves steadily through time, like the weather.” — John Champlin Gardner Jr.
“Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances.” — Thomas Jefferson
"Just because a woman most often speaks a love language, does not mean she doesn’t desire respect. And just because a man most often speaks the language of respect, does not mean he has no need for love. Love and respect will interact and flow back and forth on both sides in order for a marriage to stay energized." ~Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
There can be no victory where there is no combat.
~Richard Sibbes~
If you are tearing people down instead of building them up, you are working for the enemy.
~Raul Ries~
Never report what may hurt another unless it be
a greater hurt to conceal it.
~William Penn~
C. H. Spurgeon said, "It is a very blessed thing to be on the watch for Christ, it is a blessing to us now. How it detaches you from the world! You can be poor without murmuring; you can be rich without worldliness. . . . untold blessings are wrapped up in the glorious hope."
The Bible says that "faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17). If watching for the Lord's return is the evidence of faith, then working is the evidence of faith in action. We are not only to be anxiously awaiting Christ's return, but we are to be working. Watching will help us prepare our own lives, but working will assure that we bring others with us.
Greg Laurie
“Joy is love exalted; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love enduring; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love in school; and temperance is love in training.”
― D.L. Moody
"We must not allow our personalities to be bigger influences than God's character." - John K Schaffer
If your soul can not handle the speed of your life you need to slow down. (Pastor Casey Kendall).
People who were willing to speak honestly, listen, be open to the Spirit, and come to an agreement. It required a certain amount of compromise —not in God’s principles, but in giving up stubborn views that were rooted more in tradition and culture than the Lord. Paul became all things to all men.
one but also in the daily distress that so often
creeps into our lives.
~Billy Graham~
We are witnessing the stage-setting for the seven-year Great Tribulation that is described in the last book of the Bible. We will not, however, be on Earth during that terrible Time of Jacob’s Trouble.
The resurrection and rapture of the church are imminent. It could happen at any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.
What we’ve gone through wasn’t designed to destroy us but to make us the person God wants us to be, a truly happy person
We can’t control all the circumstances of our lives, but we can control how we will react to them. And no matter how bad our upbringing was or what we have gone through, God can take our setbacks and turn them into setups. He can effectively turn our pain into gain. He can turn our tests into testimonies.
I’ve discovered something about defeating the flesh. If I fill my stomach with healthy foods before being tempted with pasta, I can say no. It’s so much easier to turn away a dish of pasta if you’re completely full already.
Lysa TerKeurst
Stop coddling false teachers under the stupid guise of "giving grace". The false teachers are wolves. Would you "give grace" to a wolf tearing the jugular of your child? Of course not. The picture is dramatically vivid, but apt same- false teachers are wolves ravening for the sheep.
Holding on to a grudge, hating someone or refusing to forgive a person who hurt me deeply won’t take the pain away any quicker. It won’t help me heal any faster. It won’t help mend a broken heart. Forgiving them as God has forgiven me in Christ will accomplish all of the above.
Only those who have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves, and to be confounded with shame at their wretchedness truly understand the Christian gospel. John Calvin
We're most Pharisaical when we create laws around God’s laws and try to make our own preferences, suggestions, and habits the obligatory standards for all.
A man who is born again does not use the world’s opinion as his standard of right and wrong. J.C. Ryle
You glorify God when you do good works. Tim Challies
Many blame God for pain, but in reality our rebellion against God has created all pain. -A.W. Tozer
A Christian is a walking sermon. They preach far more than a minister does, for they preach all week long. -J.C. Ryle -
The only way to please Jesus, and the best test of your love to Him-is obedience to His commandments. -Samuel Davies - Why dear reader do you crave signs and wonders? Isn't the gospel it's own sign and wonder? -C.H. Spurgeon -
"My sin was punished upon the great Substitute and put away forever." — Charles Spurgeon The world is behind us. The cross is before us. The Lord is for us. The Spirit is within us.
Before the work of grace the heart is 'stony'. It can do no more than a stone can do to please God. -John Owen - Christianity is Christ plus nothing! -Leonard Ravenhill -
"No man with genuine faith in Christ will lose it, for the faith which God gives will live forever." — Charles Spurgeon
The daily sight of a bleeding, groaning, dying Savior-is the only thing which will subdue and mortify darling sins! -Thomas Brooks - God has laid great stress in His word upon the confession of sin -Octavius Winslow -
"Grace means that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and grace means that there is nothing we can do to make God love us less." —Alistair Begg
It stretches our imaginations beyond our ability to grasp that the One who made the entire cosmos will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Sinclair Ferguson
If men have no inward grief on account of their ingratitude to a dying Savior-it indicates a lack of love to Him -John Fawcett - How far from being godly are those who scarcely ever shed a tear for sin! -Thomas Watson -
If a preacher “steps on your toes” by preaching the Bible. Don’t get mad at them, instead thank the Lord for them being faithful to the Word. And, pray that the Lord would raise up more just like them. Don’t just attend church. Love the church. Serve the church. Give through the church. Invite people to church. Worship Jesus with the church. Encourage the church. Participate in the church. Pray for the church. Be the church.
Don’t allow the national media to shape your opinion of people. Instead, allow the Holy Bible to shape your love for people.
Some Christian men put more time and effort into building up their fantasy football than they do in building up their soul. If you can understand the basics of football, you can understand the basics of the faith. Passion reveals priorities. Football is good, but God is great. Don’t miss out on Him.
This school year is a great year to encourage students to: - worship God above all - read their Bible daily - pray without ceasing - tell people about Jesus - serve in the church - live on mission - be discipled by someone - disciple someone else - have fun being a Christian If you’re going to believe the parts of the Bible that talk the Savior’s love, then you must also believe the parts that talk about His judgment against sin.
“You may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God.” - C.S. Lewis
“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” - C.S. Lewis
"God is no man's debtor, but every man's creditor." — Charles Spurgeon "The rewards God gives are so rich, we will take up the cross with songs and go on our way rejoicing." — Charles Spurgeon
"Let us watch that we never undo with our hands what we say with our tongues." — Charles Spurgeon
"God's rainbow is hung over the cloud of our sins and sorrows to announce deliverance." — Charles Spurgeon "May we ever feel an influence drawing us Christward when the Bible is open before us!" — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon "If you love the Lord, live as if you loved him." — Charles Spurgeon
Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God's people. Spurgeon
“The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.” — John Wesley
When governments… (a) require disobedience against God, or restrict obedience to God (b) demand worship or prevent worship (c) intrude on the exclusive authority of the church or the family … then we must, as the apostles said, “obey God rather than men.” — Brett M. Laird
"Faith is putting out your empty hands to receive the fullness of God." — Charles Spurgeon
“As God suffers a multitude of sins in the world to evidence His patience to the wicked, so He suffers great remainders of sin in His people to show His patience to the godly.” - Stephen Charnock. Existence and Attributes of God, 2:1602.
“The job of the shepherd is to gather, not to scatter the sheep (Jer. 23; Jn. 10; Acts 20:18-35; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).” — Tim Cantrell For [John] Owen, God can be described using the scholastic notion of pure or simple act. — Carl Trueman
Christ died for us—this is our justification. But if he died for us, we also died with him—this is the guarantee of sanctification. — John Murray
“Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in.” — Charles Spurgeon
“What happens just before we fall into temptation? We decide that the thing we desire is good for us.” — Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr.
People wrestle with the evil and injustice we see in the world. But the greatest injustice and the thing that should shock us is the unfairness that Christ died on the cross for unworthy sinners." — Dr. Richard Belcher, Jr.
It is good to recall the distinction between true obedience and perfect obedience.
Preaching the Word is the primary task of the Church, the primary task of the leaders of the Church, the people who are set in this position of authority; and we must not allow anything to deflect us from this, however good the cause, however great the need. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“The business of the preacher is to state the truth of God, clearly, fully, simply; the rest the Spirit will take care of.“ — Francis Grimké
Have you failed recently in some area? God is not trying to frustrate you, but to motivate you to spend time in His Word as you seek Him more diligently. Courson
If you havent accepted Jesus as your Savior, or if your not sure, please do so now, DO NOT wait on salvation! The Rapture could be any moment, you dont want to miss it!
The judgement of abusing God’s grace will be the hottest room in hell’s flames. —Nicolas Claget, The Abuse of God’s Grace, Pg. 210
God sends our trials at the right time. If He puts an extra burden on us in one way, He takes something off in another. Spurgeon
Carnal gospellers, after thousands of sermons on God’s grace, are not changed into the image of its glory because their hearts are hardened. —Nicolas Claget, The Abuse of God’s Grace, Pg. 206
You don’t need to board a plane to 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 evangelistic opportunities, your own city or town is filled with them. “If our heart is but determined to be thus engaged [in personal evangelism], numerous opportunities will present themselves.” —Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711)
The proof of regeneration is not a life of sinless perfection but rather a deep conviction of sin which causes one to run to Calvary & kneel at the pierced feet of the Crucified One with the cry “Wash me Savior or I die!” —RB Kuiper, God-Centred Evangelism, 165
For before (in His humiliation) Christ knew not when the day of judgement should be, but now (in His exalted state) when He wrote this book of Revelation He did. —Puritan Thomas Goodwin, The Heart of Christ, in Works, 4:121
Because the active disobedience of the first Adam made us all sinners; therefore we must be made righteous by the active obedience of the second Adam (Rom. 5:19). —Puritan David Dickson, Truth’s Victory Over Error: [The First] Commentary on The Westminster Confession, Pg. 52
"Grace means that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and grace means that there is nothing we can do to make God love us less." —Alistair Begg
First the kingdom. Reality. Then God’s will, where His blessings will be poured out upon you. Every day, we need to make a conscious decision to meditate on God’s Word and choose to live in the “real” world. Ray Bentley
If the Holy Spirit has shown you an area of pretense, an area where you have allowed your heart to be divided, repent and renew your commitment. God deserves true worship from you. He deserves your whole heart. Chuck Smith
“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.” - C.S. Lewis
Who of the godly would dare to deny that he has ever enjoyed something of this [inward] peace? And if he has experienced something of this, let him be assured that, even though the feeling vanishes, this peace between God and his soul will never be broken. —Wilhelmus à Brakel
A Christian doubles his Christianity by fellowship with other Christians; and there is a blessing which cannot be enjoyed alone, nor unless shared at the same time with fellow-believers. James Bannerman
"I consider letter-writing a God-given method of doing good." -Charles Alexander.
"You will not perish even if you have denied Christ, if now you fly to him for refuge." — Charles Spurgeon
When Satan talks to you about God, he lies. Wiersbe
When the dust of the world has clogged the wheels of our affections so that they can scarcely move toward God, the Sabbath arrives and oils the wheels of our affections, and they move swiftly on! —Thomas Watson, H/T @therhetorick #TheLordsDay "The Lord Jesus is a deep sea of joy. My soul shall dive in and be swallowed up in delight." — Charles Spurgeon
Do you know that great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought about it? Does it stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking saint. Spurgeon Christ doth not pray ‘Father, send me twelve legions of angels’, but ‘Father, forgive them.’ —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 3:491 Good works are only such as God hath commanded in his holy Word, and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men, out of blind zeal, or upon any pretense of good intentions. —Westminster Confession of Faith, 16.1
"When we come to the study of Holy Scripture we should have our mind well awake to it." — Charles Spurgeon
"When Jesus is your leader, he will at once divide the Red Sea of the Lord's wrath." — Charles Spurgeon “Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.” - C.S. Lewis No sinner was ever saved by giving his heart to God. We are not saved by our giving, we are saved by God’s giving. – A.W. Pink
Some brothers argue that we should read Aquinas since he said some good things despite getting justification wrong & his Mariology. The same brothers say that Doug Wilson should be avoided due to some of his beliefs despite saying some good things. Why the different standards?
"The teachings of the New Testament are as sound and true today as they were eighteen hundred years ago." — Charles Spurgeon
Beware of using the Law for our justification. It is an unwarranted approach that cannot bring comfort. Instead, focus on Christ as the source of righteousness and comfort more than before. —Puritan Anthony Burgess “Kings have not an absolute power in their regiment to do what pleases them; but their power is limited by God’s Word.” — John Knox If any such family be found [neglecting family worship], the head of the family is to be first admonished privately to amend his fault… —1647 Directory for Family Worship Those who abuse the blood of the Lamb shall feel the wrath of the Lamb. There is no damnation like that which is heightened by the abuse of salvation. —Nicolas Claget, The Abuse of God’s Grace, 200 "Let us be willing to lose everything rather than lose Christ." — Charles Spurgeon
Adversity hath slain her thousand, but prosperity her ten thousand." — Thomas Brooks
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