We are hungry for the warm touch of someone who cares - a word of kindness, an act of compassion, a hug of encouragement. I believe God created the family to be the first place where that hunger is best satisfied. Yet, I am amazed that we can stand in silence, watching homes, marriages and families disintegrate before our very eyes. Silence is agreement. It is time for us, as the body of Christ, to boldly stand against anyone and anything that undermines the marriage or threatens the solidarity of our family. In Ephesians 5, Paul says, I show you a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Other than pride, I think it's one of the main reasons people in need have difficulty reaching out or accepting mercy. There are too many strings attached. If we are doing the work of the church by showing mercy let's do so cheerfully -- whether it's caring for people in the hospital, sympathizing with those going through a traumatic experience, or crying compassionately with children whose parents are divorcing.
We can't rely on our strength to do battle with the enemy. We need each other. Take some time to read the book of 1 John and underline all the times that "one another" is mentioned. God is encouraging us to work together; that's how He designed us to function.
Worship, then, is not part of the Christian life;
it is the Christian life.
~Gerald Vann~
Prayer may not change things for you, but it sure changes you for things.
"People too weak to follow their own dreams will always find a way to discourage yours."
"Be good to yourself. People will only treat you as well as you treat yourself." ~ Mark Victor Hansen
"The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping-stones is the way you use them."
“Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.” Just Do It!
Erma Bombeck
“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.
Mark Twain
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
God wants you to have the confidence that you can shine like a bright beacon in this dark world. God has begun a good work in you and He promises to complete it. For some of you, that work began 20+ years ago, for some it has been a couple of years, and for others maybe just a couple of days, but He is doing a good work in you. No matter where you are today and what you are doing, like Paul, let your light shine as you allow the Holy Spirit to use you! ~ Mike Macintosh
"Tears will get you sympathy. Sweat will get you results."
We all have a tendency to think: "God, you certainly made a wise choice when you chose me. Everyone knows I am a wonderful person. You are so wise!" (Our self-righteous thoughts and attitudes must be comical from God's perspective.) However, the Bible teaches just the opposite: We are not chosen for the glory of God's wisdom, but to be the glory of His grace. The Lord chose Israel for the same reason He chose you and me: To be a trophy of His grace.
Before man had any other calling
he was called to be a husband.
~Henry Smith~
We’d be foolish to think we’re invulnerable. But we’d be just as foolish to think evil wins the day. The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith; God recycles evil into righteousness.
“Don't say, ‘If I could, I would.’ Say, ‘If I can, I will.’” – Jim Rohn
“Life is part positive and part negative. Suppose you went to hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little, happy, high notes? Would you leave soon? Let me hear the rumble of the bass, the crash of the cymbals, and the minor keys.” – Jim Rohn
“Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.” by Jim Rohn
*** “Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is something you design.” by Jim Rohn
*** “The greatest source of unhappiness comes from inside.” by Jim Rohn
*** “Happiness is the art of learning how to get joy from your substance.” by Jim Rohn
*** “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” by Jim Rohn
Success may stroke our egos but God changes hearts.....!
Our view for Jesus will determine what we do for Jesus.
Fanny Crosby Quotes >>
Oh, what a happy soul am I Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be. How many blessings I enjoy that other people don't To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot, and I won't.
Fanny Crosby was asked did she regret not being able to see and she said no for the that first person when she does will be Jesus Christ Our Lord..
Only one life will soon be passed only one life with Jesus will last...
C.T. STUDD
Advancing On Our Knees By Alan Redpath
The victories won by prayer,
By prayer must still be held;
The foe retreats, but only when
By prayer he is compelled.
We will only advance in our evangelistic work as fast and as far as we advance on our knees. Prayer opens
the channel between a soul and God; prayerlessness closes it. Prayer releases the grip of Satan’s power;
prayerlessness increases it.
That is why prayer is so exhausting and so vital. If we believed it, the prayer meeting would be as full as the church.
Sacrifice without obedience is sacrilege.
~William Gurball~
If you commit a sin, thinking the outcome will be good, you are only deceiving yourself. Sin only leads to death. A man can no more extract blessedness out of sin than he can suck health out of poison.
~Thomas Watson~
The Holy Spirit can't change you unless you are willing to submit to the will of God!
Only God can make you aware of your need for Christ, but only you can put your faith in Him. God won’t do it for you because He has given you a free will. It’s up to you to respond and decide to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
A holy God calls his people to holy living. It is inconceivable
that it should be otherwise.
~John Blanchard~
C.S. Lewis wrote, “The hills and valleys of Heaven will be to those you now experience not as a copy is to an original, nor as a substitute is to the genuine article, but as the flower to the root or the diamond to the coal.”
As Randy Alcorn pointed out, the problem is that “we tend to start with Earth and reason up toward Heaven, when instead we should start with Heaven and reason down toward Earth.”
Without holiness, there is no wholeness, no spiritual happiness, and no heaven.
~John Blanchard~
The Lord is a loving Father who knows what will give us the abundant life He desires for us. He teaches us valuable lessons in life; gratitude is one of them. He promised His children a land flowing with milk and honey. A full fridge.
A full, satisfying life!
All too often people want change in their lives because they're unhappy. They think a new job, new address, new marriage, something material, will give them the peace and joy they desperately seek. Unfortunately, it is far greater and more materiality for which they hope.
THINK OF WORRY AS A NIGHT STALKER…
He jimmies the latch and prowls into your mind. He’s
wearing two gloves with which he strangles his victims.
On the back of one glove is written the word “what.”
On the back of the other hand appears the word “if.”
“What If” becomes the criminal’s deadly chokehold.
"What if we can't make the payment?”
"What if the traffic is bad?”
"What if the baby throws up?”
“What if the weather doesn’t cooperate?”
"What if the computer goes down?"
"What if, what if, what if" - our lives become strangled
There’s profound joy in the mutual and reckless pursuit of each other in marriage. Marriage requires a fierce tenacity that never gives up and never gives in.
NO MATTER WHAT YOU SEE, GOD IS WORKING ON YOUR BEHALF! DON'T GET WEARY AND DON'T GET IN THE WAY!
“I am not a Calvinist by choice, but because I cannot help it.” — Charles Spurgeon
“One of the greatest temptations in the world for men is to avoid conflict or to pervert everything into a conflict!” — Mike Riccardi
“There is an unmistakable connection between acting like a man, and loving.” — Mike Riccardi
God Almighty has placed before me two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners [morals]. - William Wilberforce, 28 October 1787 Our principle duty in this world is, to know aright what it is to be holy, and so to be indeed. - John Owen
“The Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays.” - C.S. Lewis
Jesus didn’t spend time and eat with sinners because He wanted to appear tolerant and affirming. He spent time with them to show them He is God, and how to live differently. The Gospel is not about affirmation, but transformation.
Hypocrisy will make a man pray to be seen and heard of men, rather than to be heard of God. —John Bunyan, Works 2:539
Hypocrisy will make a man show zeal in duties, when his heart is as cold, as senseless, and as much without savour as a clod*. —John Bunyan, Works 1:539
On those who profess Christ but dress immodestly: “God knoweth their hearts without their outsides: and we know their hearts by their outsides.” —John Bunyan, Works 2:569 Christ hath taught us to pray for the pardon of sin; which gives unquestionable security that it may be attained. On this supposition it is the highest blasphemy and reproach of God imaginable, to conceive that there is not forgiveness with Him for us. —John Owen, Works 6:468 "The way of holiness that leads to happiness is a narrow way; there is but just room enough for a holy God and a holy soul to walk together." - Thomas Brooks. Works 4:481.
The church is like a river. If it gets wider instead of deeper it will lose its power. —Puritan Thomas Manton
"I feel myself to be a lump of unworthiness, a mass of corruption, and a heap of sin, apart from his almighty love." — Charles Spurgeon "God loves you. He who made the heavens and the earth has set his heart's affection upon you." — Charles Spurgeon
"They who seek Christ are already being sought by him." — Charles Spurgeon "Christ did not die to make his Father loving, but because his Father is loving." — Charles Spurgeon "Preach Christ's life as much as you will, but never apart from his death. For it is by his blood that we are redeemed." — Charles Spurgeon "The gospel is not a reward for health, but a medicine for sickness." — Charles Spurgeon
"Even in the holiest deeds we do there is still sin, but even then God is still forgiving." — Charles Spurgeon "We must all learn to hear what we do not like. The question is not, 'Is it pleasant?' but, 'Is it true?'" — Charles Spurgeon
"Jesus Christ deserves the best men to preach his cross, not the empty-headed." — Charles Spurgeon
The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon "As long as a man has anything to boast of, there is no Christ for him, but the moment he has nothing of his own, Christ is his." — Charles Spurgeon
“Covenants are like the architecture of a building, giving a structural framework for redemptive history.” — Dr. Richard P. Belcher
Undeserved and unrequited love is the currency that purchased our own salvation. And if Christ has shared with us the treasures of his mercy, we will want to spend this same currency on our spouse as well. ― Dr. Chad Van Dixhoorn
“We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.” — R.C. Sproul
Have you ever known that you had wronged another person and, instead of confessing it, you just tried to be extra nice? It doesn’t work. Confession is the only way to deal with relational wrongs. Welch
"There is no freewill in any of you but to sin." -George Whitefield.
"There is a direct correlation between the reading of the law of God and the confession of sin." —Alistair Begg
Liberal theology is nothing more than humanism using theological terms. -Francis Schaeffer - God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies. -Hudson Taylor -
We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. C. S. Lewis
Today we live in the time when the rapture of the church is possible, but no one knows the exact day. Yet we can live every day in expectation, just like with the birth of a baby.
How sweet is rest, after fatigue! How sweet will Heaven be, when our toilsome journey is ended. George Whitefield
Lord, whether prosperity smiles or adversity frowns, let your praise be ever in my mouth. -Augustine - To be ever looking for the Lord's appearing is one of the best helps to a close walk with God. -J.C. Ryle -
He [Christ] has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. C. S. Lewis
𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 they come to mortify our self-confidence. —Puritan Richard Sibbes, Works 1:145
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