Not all independence is good.
At the root of all sin is the will to have it our way. The problem with our way is our understanding is insufficient and often skewed. So how can we make the right choices? Not by vague ethereal thinking that somehow God will work it all out regardless of what we do.
No, it is as we study God's word, follow it joyfully... carefully...and confidently trusting Him to direct our paths!
This week:
* Try it * Change it * Do it
Stop stewing and start doing!
It's never about the destination but rather the journey it takes to get there, serving people and glorifying God!
"We're used to thinking about God speaking to us in and through His Word. But sometimes even His Word doesn't become clear to us until we are quiet and prayerfully listening."
Let grace happen, for heaven’s sake. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them. You have it! Max Lucado
"Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just listening to it. If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave.
For faith to be "real" it must be used, or it will seem useless.
Actions have consequences. Make this your rule of thumb: Do what pleases God!
When Jesus comes again, the remains of ignorance shall be
rolled away.
~J. C. Ryle~
“The goal of effective communication should be for listeners to say, ‘Me, too!’ versus ‘So what?’” — Jim Rohn
“Never assume you understand. Ask the questions.” — Brian Tracy
“There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.” —Dale Carnegie
“Writing is the gold standard of communication. Learn to do it well and see more gold.” — Chris Widener
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” — Benjamin Franklin
The same kind of thinking that has brought us to where we are will not get us to where we want to go. Change is our greatest ally, yet so many—whether individuals, corporations, or communities—resist it, justifying their current strategies by pointing to the success they now enjoy. Yet an entirely different approach maybe required in order to produce a new level of personal and professional success.
The losers in life can’t grow because they’re too busy telling everyone else what their shortcomings are.
The most successful people are mavericks who aren’t afraid to ask why, especially when everyone thinks it’s obvious.
"Everybody's a nobody until they're somebody."
God will bless us when we come together and work to serve one another. He is looking for people who are servants, so He can lead.
Being still is the hard part but when we are not The Lord will take you back into the wilderness and let you go through some thing till you learn your lesson.
You can't do it alone and never think you got this because at that point you will fall. Pride will get you killed! Or keep you out of the promise land.
The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.
~Augustine~
DON'T be a counselor unless you are asked, but rather be a solder for the weak.....
Every marriage starts with the words, "I do", but all lasting marriages are filled with countless, daily "I dos". To choose to truly love, we must choose "I do" in the day-to-day interactions of life. I do...make you a priority. I do...speak to you kindly. I do...practice integrity when you're not around. I do...honor you. I do...make time for you. I do...stop and listen to you. I do...forgive. I do...choose to never give up. I do...choose put my phone down and have a real conversation with you.
This list could go on forever.
As a husband, you can only lead your family as you are led by Christ. You can’t do that if you’re coasting on memories of your relationship with God. Jesus couldn’t live without the Father, how can we expect to survive without him?
When we disobey God, we lose confidence in Him. Disobedience leads to dishonesty and we become con artists, fakes, and hypocrites. Our dishonesty causes us to turn from what we need the most: the Word of God.
Regardless of how messed up or politically incorrect a situation might seem, Jesus is still the answer. And He still reveals Himself as Savior to people looking for mercy and hope. Jesus comes to all who seek Him.
Your hardship can produce something wonderful for another.
"God doesn't give us answers. He gives us himself."Douglas Bond
“God must first have our hearts and then our hands.” — Richard Sibbes
“There are only two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’” - C.S. Lewis
Time is short. Eternity is long. Charles Spurgeon Jesus Christ hath promised, “That him that cometh to him he will in no wise cast out.” And if he hath said it, will he not make it good, I mean even thy salvation? John Bunyan
"Never did I meet a Christian who, in his old age, said that he had made a mistake in relying upon Christ as his Savior." — Charles Spurgeon
"Giving is true having." — Charles Spurgeon "Turn to the Bible, for there is in it the very word you need." — Charles Spurgeon "We gain nothing from the love of those who do not love God." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon "There is nothing in this world to foster a Christian's growth, but everything to destroy it." — Charles Spurgeon
"An expositional sermon is a sermon in which the point of a biblical text is the point of the sermon, applied to the life of the congregation." -Mark Dever
“Don’t cut corners. Christ-centered preaching produces Christ-centered churches.” ~ Conrad Mbewe
“The kind of God we believe in determines the kind of sermons we preach. The essential secret is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions. In other words, theology is more important than methodology.” - John Stott
THEY PLOTTED FOR YOUR HARM; NOT KNOWING GOD PLANNED IT FOR YOUR HELP!
GOD'S PURPOSE IS BETTER THAN YOUR PLANS..
If you can't handle a little pruning, you will NEVER handle more FRUIT!
The man who is ‘under grace’ in Christ Jesus, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘵, is a man who will fight sin and hate it and avoid it much more than the man who is ‘under the law.’ —Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Exposition of Romans 7:1-8:4: The Law: Its Functions and Limits, Pg. 278
The holiness and happiness of the saints are the shame and torment of the devil and the devil’s children. —Matthew Henry, Commentary on Job 1:8
I can trust Him to be true, and I can know I am in His will—and that my life will be fruitful in His hands. Ray Bentley
The love of Christ is an infinite love--its heights and depths, its breadths and lengths--surpass our knowledge! -James Smith - What can more strongly expose the evil of sin--than the cross of Christ? -Samuel Davies -
“We’re all God’s children” is not a Biblically accurate statement.
Although God has created everyone…not everyone relationally belongs to Him. Only those who have repented of sin, placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and possess the Holy Spirit of God inside of them can claim Him as their Father: “But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:15b–16).
However, those who don’t have Jesus as their Savior, nor have the Holy Spirit of God inside of them, actually belong to Satan: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1 – 2). “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).
People are spiritual orphans because of sin, and need to be adopted by God through the Gospel to become one of His children.
"The secret of a Christian is that the supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God, and the experience of this works out in the practical details of life, not in times of communion with God."
Oswald Chambers
The creation can not tell the creator what to do STOP ordering God around!
We scamper and scurry, trying to please God, collecting merit badges and brownie points, and scowling at anyone who questions our accomplishments. The result? The weariest people on earth. We so fear failure that we create the image of perfection.
Max Lucado
We need to recognize the non-essentials and let them slide. Kinds of music, smoking, alcohol, even modes of baptism and speaking in tongues...though these are issues, they are all secondary issues. They are worth talking about but not dividing over. They will not separate a person from God for eternity.
So the principle is for the strong to receive the weak but not to argue over non-essentials. They may not have the same level of spiritual maturity that you have, and they may not agree with you on all the fine points of theology, but you need to make a statement to the world: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
“Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
We must be saints on earth if ever we mean to be
saints in heaven.
~J. C. Ryle~
KNOW HOW TO PRAY?
There once was a ship in the middle of a ferocious storm. Everyone knew they were in grave danger of sinking, and were working madly to keep the vessel afloat. For hours, mighty waves thrashed the deck over and over, and the torrential winds threatened to shatter the mast at any moment.
Finally, the grizzled old captain called out to the crew. "Does anyone here know how to pray?"
One man, a brave young sailor on his first voyage, stepped forward. He was thinking of the passage in the New Testament that recounted how Jesus calmed a storm with one word and saved the lives of his terrified disciples. "Yes sir," he said. "I know how to pray."
"Wonderful!" the captain bellowed. "Then you pray while the rest of us put on life jackets. We're one short."
-- Author unknown
I love it when you are asked, what do you think and then people argue with you. Law School 101, Don't ask a question you don't know the answer to unless it is a question and not a lead in to a fact.
How bad does it need to be before you call upon the Lord? Don't wait any longer. No problem is too big or too small for the Lord.
New life in Christ means a new beginning…even in our marriage... No longer do we need to live in self-condemnation, shame, and regret. These are replaced with forgiveness, joy, and hope! Even when we fall back into our old ways of behaving, forgiveness is extended to us. What an amazing gift! ~Emerson
"When obstacles arise you change your direction to achieve your goal. You do not change your decision to get there."- Zig Ziglar
One might think that when the bible says to study to show thyself approved, it is talking to pastor/ teachers but that is not the case at all. To rightly divide the word of truth you have to know it. 2 Chronicles 29 and 30 tomorrow for my kids but the Lord had much to say to me. You can't teach what you have not learned and applied to your life.
Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.
“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
I'm practicing the discipline of not having to have the last word.
If you feel isolated or disconnected I suggest you up your purposed, disciplined, consistent prayer time on behalf of specific individuals and their needs. When we pray for people our hearts become knit together with them and we begin to sense that we are truly members one of another. When we only casually pray at times for others or inordinately focus on our own petitions a sense of isolation and disconnect can come upon us.
"I always thank my God WHEN I pray for YOU,.... Your love has given me much joy and comfort,..." (Philem 4:8)
Actions have consequences. Make it your ‘rule of thumb’ to do what pleases God. Your classmates show you a way to cheat, the Internet provides pornography to watch. When these things happen, ask yourself the question: How can I please God? Psalm 4:5 says, “Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord.” You will never go wrong doing what is right!
We do what we feel comfortable doing so if I am not comfortable I tend not to do it. Many will not share the gospel because it makes them uncomfortable that is a time we need to rely on the the Lord and grow. Every believer is called to "go and make disciples of all the nations . . .
humility and faith are relational realities. Neither can be produced by us. They are not the result of human labor. They can only develop as an increasing reality through a growing relationship with the Lord Jesus.
~Bob Hoekstra~~
Love without truth, facts, and grace is not love
Our lives are not an accident. God knows you, designed you, and planned on your life being here at this time for specific reasons.
Ray Bently
Without Ruth’s partnership and encouragement over the years, my own work would have been impossible. We were called by God as a team.
~Billy Graham~
It is good to be in agreement together so there is no rubbing of the elbows––friction. Everything should flow in unity, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, in a good balance.
God uses many people to build His kingdom and no two people are exactly alike, but true servants of God have many attributes in common.
Why is the Word of God so effective? Because it IS His Word
When the Devil tempted Jesus for forty days in the wilderness, it was God’s Word that Jesus used to defeat the enemy (see Luke 4). Jesus said, “It is written,” as a preference to each of His quotations from God’s Word. In the same way, as Christian soldiers we must make certain to have God’s Word stored securely in our hearts so the Holy Spirit may bring it forward at the appropriate time.
When we draw strength from the indwelling Spirit, we find peace and confidence that exceed our own capacity. We find compassion to love those who are otherwise unlovable. We find the strength to serve and sacrifice in ways that imitate Jesus. The Spirit of God empowers us to minister in the church and in the world—wherever we are—in amazing ways so that God’s purposes might be advanced through us.
Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers
and won with thanks.
~Thomas Goodwin~
“Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man.” — Abraham Lincoln, speaking of the Bible.
I thank God that He does not strike me down (as He did Herod), every time I accept personally the honor or glory that is justly due Him. How many times in a day do you accept praise without glorifying God? What impression is left with others when we give the glory to God versus accepting it ourselves? How can you change your perspective? Look for an opportunity today to sincerely and honestly give God the glory for your life, your work, and your circumstances.
Modern technology has turned the same old sins into more convenient ones. Nothing much has changed about human nature.
If you have a problem with the Bible, your problem is not with those preaching it, teaching it, or living it. Your problem is ultimately with the God who wrote it. It’s amazing to think that some of the very same people yelling to “crucify Jesus” in Luke 23 are the same people being saved and baptized in Acts 2. That’s how the Gospel works. It’s truly amazing grace.
"PRACTICE SPIRITUAL WARFARE FOR YOUR MARRIAGE"
"NEVER ALLOW ANYONE WHO DIDN'T PUSH YOU FORWARD TO PULL YOU BACKWARD!"
IF OIL AND WATER DON'T MIX, SURELY BEING MESSY AND ANOINTED WON'T EITHER!
NEVER GO BACK TO THE EJIPT WHERE GOD FREED YOU FROM! DOGS RETURN TO THEIR VOMIT, NOT YOU!
The secret of preaching is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions. John Stott
“Those who preach only out of duty produce listeners who listen only out of duty, a miserable exchange of boredom.” - Darius Salter
“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory or one of unthinkable horror.” - C.S. Lewis
“There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him.” - C.S. Lewis
No, indeed! The principal fight of the Christian is with the world, the flesh, and the devil.” — J. C. Ryle, Fighting For Holiness, 29-30.
“We must remind ourselves that God loves us, not because we are loveable, but because we are in Christ, and the love which the Father has for his Son flows over to us because we are in him.” — Jerry Bridges, Who Am I?, 51.
“… we can prove from this passage that no one is justified by works; for if they alone are justified by the law who fulfill the law, it follows that no one is justified; for no one can be found who can boast of having fulfilled the law.” — John Calvin on Romans 2:13
You say, “If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.” You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. Charles Spurgeon Unless our motivation in pursuing holiness is gospel-based and grace-centered, our efforts toward holiness become attempts to win God’s favor. Derek Thomas
“Family doesn’t break up over doctrine” (False teacher) John Bevere Our only business here below is to cry, ‘Behold the Lamb.’ Are any of you sent of God with any other message? It cannot be. The one message which God has given to His people for to It is one thing to hope that God is with us and another thing to know that He is. Charles Spurgeon
It is one thing to hope that God is with us and another thing to know that He is. Charles Spurgeon
Many have passed the rocks of gross sins--who have suffered shipwreck upon the sands of self-righteousness. -William Secker - Blessed be God, our calamities are matters of time, but our safety is a matter of eternity -C.H. Spurgeon -
God has allowed this nation, that has rejected Him, to go down the path of Romans 1; through a sexual revolution, homosexual revolution, to the point of insanity.” John MacArthur
"We never sing praise to ourselves, we do not glorify ourselves." — Charles Spurgeon
If you have a problem with the Bible, you’re problem is not with those preaching it, teaching it, or living it. Your problem is ultimately with the God who wrote it.
What a privilege is this, to be free from the curses and penalties of the law, so that if the law 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴, Christ 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴; if the law 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴, Christ 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴. —Puritan Samuel Bolton, The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, Pg. 34
"The kingdom of Christ shall have the upper hand; it shall not be cast down." — Charles Spurgeon
All of us think that happiness lies right around the corner—a little more money, and we’ll be happy; a little more education or job security, and we’ll be content. So did poor Solomon. He was at the top of every conceivable arena. He had nowhere else to go, nothing else for which…
May our worship be inspired by a pure heart—with thanksgiving for those things God has done in our lives, and awe for His glory, His majesty, and His beauty. Chuck Smith
Don’t be afraid to go deeper, to launch out where the Lord directs. Don’t stand on the shore of life and watch the river flow by. Don’t harden your hearts to the sounds and needs of humanity. Jesus didn’t. He heard it all. He wept, He prayed, and He gave Himself. Look around…
"We need grace to learn the gospel rightly, and to teach the whole of it." — Charles Spurgeon
Have we a missionary sense with regard to our fellow citizens in 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 country? —Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Exposition of Ephesians, Volume 2, Pg. 23
We must fix eyes on God, who commands us to extend our love for him to all men, so that we always have this foundation: whatever a man maybe like, you must, nevertheless love him if we love God. John Calvin
This is not legalism: “The law sends us to the Gospel that we may be justified; and the Gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty as those who are justified.” —Puritan Samuel Bolton (1606-1654), The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, Pg. 71
Did Christ finish His work for us? Then there can be no doubt but He will also finish His work in us. —John Flavel
...proving afresh that 'in my flesh dwells no good thing' -- in this sad state I fly to Jesus as my only refuge! -Ruth Bryan -
As the merit of Christ's blood pacifies God--so the virtue of it purifies us. -Thomas Watson -
"Be satisfied to believe what you cannot understand." — Charles Spurgeon
My faith rests not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what he has done, and in what he is doing for me. Charles Spurgeon
"There is no fact which has been more fully demonstrated than this: that God hears prayers." — Charles Spurgeon Israel's ambassador to the UN, Erdan, leaves the assembly hall during the speech of Iran's president Raisi, holding a picture of Mahsa Amini, who was murdered because she refused to wear a hijab. (Amir Tsarfati).
Believers ought not to mourn over, or confess their iniquities, in a legal manner, viewing them as [if] under the covenant of works; but ought to confess and mourn over them as sins done against a reconciled father, and breaches of his law as a rule of life. — Thomas Boston “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” — John Calvin "Never do what you are ashamed of; it matters not who sees." — Charles Spurgeon
None know freedom from sin but those who trust the atoning blood. - Charles Spurgeon
"A vision of God is the end of boasting." — Charles Spurgeon
We are not under the law’s curses, but we are under its commands. We are not under the law for judgement, but we are under the law for conduct. —Samuel Bolton
"I would hardly give a penny for any salvation that I could lose." — Charles Spurgeon Like the eternity of God, we cannot fathom where His love begins, or where it terminates. -Octavius Winslow - God must do everything for us. Our part is to yield and trust -A.W. Tozer -
I have no hesitation in asserting that as we grow in grace, we talk less about ourselves and our experiences, and much more about Him. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Volume 1, Pg. 33
“I don't think many skeptics actually question anything. They may phrase their challenges as questions, but their heart is set on rejection and disproving, not asking.” —Barnabas Piper
"This Bible is a letter from [God], and we prize it beyond the finest gold[…]" - Charles Spurgeon
"Your business is not to try to make yourselves fit to come to Christ, but to come to him just as you are." — Charles Spurgeon
"God made heaven and earth with his fingers, but he gave his Son with his heart in order that he might save sinners." - Charles Spurgeon
"If you desire to see God most Godlike, it is in the pardon of sin, and the saving of men." - Charles Spurgeon
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