Unresolved conflict is the enemy of peace, and peace is often the casualty of unresolved conflict in relationships.
Temptation always comes when you are tired, Satan always attacks your weaknesses. Your weakness is the condition of your heart not the condition of your body.
Disobedience and unbelief are two sides of the same coin.
~Ronald Dunn~
A little encouragement can be all someone needs.
Love Your Enemies
An Armenian nurse had been held captive along with her brother by the Turks. Her brother was slain by a Turkish soldier before her eyes. Somehow she escaped and later became a nurse in a military hospital. One day she was stunned to find that the same man who had killed her brother had been captured and brought wounded to the hospital where she worked. Something within her cried out "Vengeance." But a stronger voice called for her to love. She nursed the man back to health. Finally, the recuperating soldier asked her, "Why didn’t you let me die?"
Her answer was, "I am a follower of Him who said, ’Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you’." Impressed with her answer, the young soldier replied, "I never heard such words before. Tell me more. I want this kind of religion."
The child is a debtor to his parents, and owes him honor and
obedience.
~William Gurnall~
God will answer our prayers and lead us in the way that we should go. If we keep praying, we will keep growing.
God's remedies are found in a new relationship with Jesus Christ.
Get rid of the clutter. Straighten up your work space to create brain space.
Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
"Problems can make you smarter. Problems can also make you poorer." How you deal with problems will dictate your success. Robert Kiyosaki
Don't fall for tricks, secrets, or get-rich-quick schemes. Make a plan and then work with diligence.
Plan for the Unexpected!
As you prepare to visit relatives or host Thanksgiving dinner remember that not everything may go as planned.
Take time today to read God's Word, praise Him, and seek Him in prayer.
Stay in your own lane. Run your own race. Nothing good happens when you compare and compete. God’s yardstick for measuring faithfulness is how faithful you are with your own gifts.
You are not responsible for the nature of your gift. But you are responsible for how you use it
While God is with us no matter where we are, He established the church for His people to worship, be taught His Word and have fellowship.
Fellowship with Christians is for the sake of
fellowship with God.
~J. I. Packer~
Never give up on each other, always work together.
It's never too late to start conversations toward reconciliation.
Be a Peacemaker - love as God loved with Agape love and stop drawing the lines instead reach out be harmonious with God and love everyone.
Lord, transform my heart so that it reflectively gives thanks when I notice your blessings.
Know what you believe and why it matters!
To be of one mind is to allow the mind of Christ to dwell within each of us. It doesn’t mean we are to be robots programmed to think and act exactly the same. The mind of Christ allows our differences to be expressed in gifts, methods, and types of service, and even in minor doctrinal focus.
“Gratitude is about more than repaying benefits; it is about building relationships… [It] is a detection-and-response system to help find, remind, and bind ourselves to attentive others… Gratitude can be understood as an emotion that serves the social function of promoting such relationships.”
Truth arouses emotion and incites to action. So does error. If we reject the truth and embrace error the consequence is heart-hardening.
~A.W.Tozer~
For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17) The grace of God here is connected with the phrase "much more." What a grand description of His grace- the "much more" grace of God! God's grace is "much more" than forgiveness. It is "much more" than the new birth. It is "much more" than we have yet understood. It is "much more" than we have ever yet experienced.
She’s not looking for a knight in shining armor.
She’s looking for a man covered in the full armor of God.
Life on the New Earth will be like sitting in front of a fire with family and friends, laughing uproariously, dreaming of the adventures to come—and then living those adventures together with no fear that dreams will be shattered or relationships broken.
Randy Alcorn
Better to miss 100 meals than miss your daily reading of the Bible.
Ray Comfort
“Only one life to live, it will soon be past, Only what is done for Christ will last.
The apparent conflict between grace and truth isn’t because they’re incompatible, but because we lack the perspective to resolve their paradox. The two are interdependent. Jesus wasn’t 50% grace, 50% truth, but 100% grace, 100% truth.
Randy Alcorn
If you understand the plan of salvation you are sufficiently instructed to be a good witness for your Lord. Oh, that the Holy Spirit may make you such!
~C.H. Spurgeon~
God is not distant and unapproachable, but rather humble and loving. He comes down off His throne and lowers Himself to interact with His children. He’s our Daddy, after all, and a perfect one at that.
“Give yourself to reading…You need to read… study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible.” — Charles Spurgeon
“Without [the pactum salutis], there would be no election, no incarnation of the Son, no cross, no resurrection, and no promise of heaven. In short, there would be no salvation of sinners.” — Michael Brown and Zach Keele, Sacred Bond, 26. “We rest on Christ not only at conversion, but continually. We repent with faith.” — Glorifying and Enjoying God @RHB_Books “Together with prayer and humility, let us bring a purpose and desire to be taught, and we will find divine wisdom.” — Richard Sibbes “Lord Jesus, Thou hast promised not to quench the smoking flax, not to break the the bruised reed; cherish Thine own grace in me, leave me not to myself, the glory shall be Thine.” - Richard Sibbes. The Bruised Reed, Works 1:98.
“We must work upon our hearts that our knowledge may be an affecting knowledge, a knowledge that sinks even to the very affections, that pierces through the whole soul.” — Richard Sibbes
“The law and the gospel are two opposite paths to a righteous standing before God: a perfect record of personal obedience, or a perfect record of imputed obedience.” — Samuel Renihan “Let us never cease until there is a correspondence between the affections and truth. Are they true? Believe them. Are they good? Embrace them.” — Richard Sibbes
Justification and sanctification are not the same. Justification is without us; sanctification is within us. — Thomas Watson However fleeting, changeable and unsatisfactory are all things merely temporal; yet the word of God is stable, unchangeable and everlasting. ~ William S. Plumer “Out of a fallen and condemned mass of humanity, the Father chose sinners who were no more deserving or qualified to be saved than those he did not choose.” — Brown and Keele on Ephesians 1:3-14. “If you cannot confess all you are guilty of (as you cannot), yet comfort yourself with this, that Jesus Christ knew all particulars to satisfy for them, and so entreat the Lord to cleanse you from your secret sins, which were not hid from Him.” - Thomas Goodwin. Works 5:186. “O Good Shepherd, seek me out, and bring me home to Thy fold again. Deal favorably with me according to Thy good pleasure, till I may dwell in Thy house all the days of my life, and praise Thee for ever and ever with them that are there. Amen.” — Jerome “Where spiritual evidence is in the understanding there is spiritual embracing in the affections. Supernatural light and supernatural life go together.” — Richard Sibbes
“… one cannot be more justified than another.” — Thomas Watson Temptations and occasions put nothing into a man, but only draw out what was in him before. — John Owen “Truth is that attribute of God whereby He is in Himself as He reveals Himself to be, and He is in His speaking and acting as He speaks and acts.” — George Swinnock, The Blessed and Boundless God, 55.
For every divine work, and every part of every divine work, is the work of God, that is, of the whole Trinity, inseparably and undividedly. ~ John Owen
justification and sanctification are not the same. Yet for all that, they are never separated! — Thomas Watson "Hear [the Bible] as the Word of God, my friends. It will probe very deep into your life. It will reveal the dark secrets of your sin. But then it will bring you good tidings of salvation as no word of man can do." - J. Gresham Machen. Things Unseen, 40. “The gospel frees us to confess our sins without fear of condemnation.” — Michael Horton “Whereas the Son had the responsibility of accomplishing redemption for those whom the Father gave to him, the Spirit has the responsibility of applying redemption to this same people.” — Brown and Keele on Ephesians 1:3-14.
“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” - C.S. Lewis
Justification is the cause; sanctification the effect. —Ralph Erskine, Works 1:451 The Sabbath day is the hunting day for souls wherein the venison is taken; on the weekday we are to roast it and to live upon it by meditation. —Puritan William Bridge, Works 3:147 A man may have a great acquaintance with ordinances and be a great stranger to God at the same time. Everyone that goes to court and hangs about the palace doth not speak with the prince, and what sorry things are ordinances without communion with God! —William Gurnall
The church is like a river. If it gets wider instead of deeper it will lose its power. —Puritan Thomas Manton Augustine, in his book against Pelagius, affirms that it has been the custom of the church in all ages to baptize infants. Yea, it was an apostolic practice. Paul affirms that he baptized the whole house of Stephanus. —Thomas Watson If there be anything sought from God more than God, or not for God, we do not seek him with the whole heart, but only for other uses. —Thomas Manton, Works 6:93 Thieves do not break into poor cottages, but houses which are filled with treasure. So, in this spiritual war the saints know Satan will always try to break into those hearts which God has filled with his spiritual treasure. —Paul Bayne (1573-1617) God’s promises to us are more powerful and effectual for the mortifying of sin than our promises to God. —Puritan Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 6:326
"Jesus heals all who come and casts out none." — Charles Spurgeon
"When you read the Bible, labor, above all things, to understand it." — Charles Spurgeon "Prayer will ensure you strength equal to your day." — Charles Spurgeon
"He cannot be a disciple who does not learn." — Charles Spurgeon "It is easy for a man to be content when he knows that God has promised to be with him." — Charles Spurgeon "Salvation not only changes my outward actions; it alters the whole purpose of my life." — Charles Spurgeon "When your hope is in God, you cannot hope too much." — Charles Spurgeon
"God, I cannot do much, I cast all my time and eternity into your treasury." — Charles Spurgeon "If we draw near to God, it will have an effect upon our common, everyday life." — Charles Spurgeon "O for grace to study the Bible with Jesus as both our teacher and our lesson!" — Charles Spurgeon "Take care to find your Master and cling close to him." — Charles Spurgeon
"The Word of God will interest men throughout all time; but novelties soon fail." — Charles Spurgeon
"If your theology doesn't change your behavior, it will never change your destiny." — Charles Spurgeon "Joy in the Lord is more injurious to Satan's empire than anything." — Charles Spurgeon "May we never take a dry-eyed look at sin, lest before long we have a tongue parched in the flames of hell." — Charles Spurgeon "Faith fosters every virtue; unbelief murders every virtue." — Charles Spurgeon "God weighs the mountains of our grief in scales, and the hills of our tribulation in balances." — Charles Spurgeon
"Jesus was more than a match for Satan; in the wrestling he gave him a deadly fall." — Charles Spurgeon "Virtues without faith are whitewashed sins." — Charles Spurgeon "It is a crime and an insult to God, for me, an atom, a particle of dust, to dare to deny his words." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon "Christ shall drown our sins in the Red Sea of his blood." — Charles Spurgeon
DON'T CRY AND COMPLAIN WHEN YOU'RE BEING PRUNED, IT'S ONLY GOD LETTING YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO ENTER A NEW SEASON OF GROWTH, FRUIT,
REAL WINNERS PLAY THE HAND THEY'RE DEALT LIKE IT WAS THE HAND THEY WANTED!
WORK FOR GOD, THE RETIREMENT BENEFITS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD!
THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN YOUR MIND FOR BOTH FEAR AND FAITH. REMEMBER: YOU'RE THE LANDLORD AND ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE WHICH ONE WILL LIVE THERE!
Faith in Jesus is meant to be personal, but it’s not meant to be private. Faith must be lived out: - publicly - in community - with accountability
Self-help says: “You are enough. You don’t need anyone else.” The Bible says: “You are not enough, but there is a Savior who is. His name is Jesus. You need Him.” Trust the Bible, not self-help.
In a world obsessed with what you “identify as”, these are the most important identities to have: Child of God, Jesus follower, Disciple, Saved, Redeemed, Delivered, Reconciled, Rescued, Justified, Born-Again, Sanctified, Found, Empowered, Alive, Chosen, Victorious, Loved.
Every age has its own outlook. It is especially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. C. S. Lewis Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory or one of unthinkable horror. C. S. Lewis The result of busyness is that an individual is very seldom permitted to form a heart. Soren Kierkegaard
It was not the worthiness of Abraham, or Moses, or David or Peter, or Paul, but the mercy of God, that made them inheritors of Heaven. John Bunyan
"It is possible to approach the sacred truths of the cross & pollute those words with the wisdom of the world." - Alistair Begg
“If we say too much in a single sermon, we may give a field of wheat instead of a loaf of bread.” - Charles Spurgeon.
none can dwell with Him eternally-who do not in this world-loathe, resist, and turn from all that is repulsive to His pure eye. -A.W. Pink - Preachers of the Gospel and others are not to consider what man can do or will do, but what God requires. -John Owen -
“When we study theology, we are seeking to engage our mind and reason in that which the totality of our existence has been drawn into.” — Dr. Michael Allen
Do the commonplace things, the ordinary things that come in your way, and you will begin to serve your generation, as David served his. - Charles Spurgeon
The law demands perfect righteousness, but the gospel grants it. —Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4:453
How far does my knowledge of spiritual things influence my heart, govern my will, and regulate my life? -A.W. Pink -
We never know the treacherous path that others take to arrive in the pew that we share Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day. Rosaria Butterfield
“If you’re thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you’re embarking on something, which will take the whole of you.” - C.S. Lewis
"Study likeness to Him in all things." -Robert Murray M'Cheyne. "Preaching is the communicating of divine truth through human personality." -Phillips Brooks
Because God is infinite, He cannot be fully comprehended by finite creatures. —W. Robert Godfrey "We're broken, chipped, fragile, misshapen. But God, as the Potter, does not discard His work. Why? Because He's good; because His steadfast love never ceases." —Alistair Begg
Get and keep close to God. Come to Him with boldness. Offer up a heart broken for your sin. -Jonathan Edwards - Night and day are all one to a blind man, truth and error are all one to an ignorant man. -Martyn Lloyd-Jones -
“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.” — Augustine
I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men. - Richard Baxter, 19 November 1672
"Sin forsaken is one of the best evidences of sin forgiven." -J.C.Ryle.
You can't love Jesus and not love His Word. -R.C. Sproul - What peace can they have who are not at peace with God? -Matthew Henry -
Those who pervert the right ways of the Lord are commonly so hardened in it that, though the equity of those ways be set before them by the most powerful and commanding evidence, yet they will not cease to do it. Matthew Henry
The Bible not only corrects us; it also oxygenates us. We need a Bible not only because we are wrong in our minds but also because we are empty in our souls. - Dane Ortlund
It is better to be God’s dog than the Devil’s darling. Charles Spurgeon “Give yourself to reading…You need to read… study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible.” — Charles Spurgeon
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